Jill Fergus authored the article titled New Trends in Hotel Room Service. This article examines the latest trends that have been taking place in dining room services. The author uses illustrations from hotels all over the globe to support all the major points that he puts forward in this article. The first trend that is described in the paper is the synergy that can be identified between in-room dining and in-house restaurants. Most chefs are considering the option of using room service menus after opening new restaurants. In addition, chefs prefer to expand the menu of in-rooms with food that are commonly found on the onsite restaurants. The author argues that this trend can be observed in West Atlanta. In this area, BLT Steak is responsible for offering in-house restaurant services. Luce Wine Restaurant also has a sophisticated in-room dining menu that contains additional dishes such as grilled ahi tuna containing a truffle.
The second trend occurring in the dining room service is the increase in locally grown foods and organic foods on in-room dining menus. According to Fergus, “Food and beverage directors are noticing that guests, in their quest for healthier eating, are asking more detailed questions about the cuisine.” Most guests want to know the origin of a particular dish served in a restaurant. In addition, the guests want to know the techniques that are used to prepare dishes so that they can be able to know whether the techniques used are healthy. Adopt-a-Farmer program, launched by Loews Hotels, aims at supporting all the area farmers that provide it with food supply for its dishes. One of its hotels known as Loews Miami Beach obtains its supply from a local farm known as Paradise Farms. In addition, Elements Hotels uses organic foods in its menu since it allows its guests to choose organic foods such as Army’s California Veggie Burger.
The author also identified the return of comfort food as a trend in the dining room service. Consumers love comfort food since it is quick to prepare and cheap at the same moment. Liberty located in Boston offers New England crab cakes benedicts in its breakfast menu. This hotel also offers dishes such as sweet-potato fries and Maine lobster pot pie that can be classified as the return of comfort foods. Furthermore, InterContinental Mark Hopkins located in San Francisco offers meat loaf and shepherd’s pie. The last trend that Fergus identified is the increase in desserts offered in dining services. In the past, most consumers did not like to order desserts on in room dining menus. However, consumers have lately adopted the trend of ordering such foods. The author gives an example of Liberty. This hotel serves its consumers cookies and milk. These foods are considered as desserts. Toni Roberts, a chef at C- House offers consumers Sweet Treats that is an in-room dessert menu.
Reasons for Choosing the Article
This article was chosen due to several reasons. It identifies the most common trends that are occurring in restaurant industry that also affect culinary arts. One of these trends is how consumers are stressing the importance of having a healthy diet. Putting on a healthy diet helps consumers to reduce the risk of suffering from a stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. If people keep to healthy diets, they are also able to escape the risk of having type 2 diabetes or coronary artery diseases. Health eating also helps a person to manage his/her personal weight. This reduces the chances of a person becoming obese, therefore, eliminating the risk of suffering from hypertension. The author shows how consumers prefer organic food while receiving dining services. That is the main reason causing guests in a particular restaurant to inquire where a particular food comes from and the techniques that are used during its preparation. This is because the customers want to know whether a particular dish is healthy or not.
This article was also chosen since the study that its author conducted is both credible and reliable. The author uses evidence from hotels such Loews Hotels, Liberty, Bowery Hotel and InterContinental Mark Hopkins to support the trends that he identified. These hotels are known for the excellent dining services that they offer to their consumers; thus, it is very likely that their trends match the industrial trends. In addition, the hotels and restaurants chosen are located in countries all over the globe. It shows that the sample chosen by the author was representative. The author also used examples of famous chefs. He used the example of the brand built by a celebrity chef called Laurent Tourondel while explaining the synergy that is occurring between in-room dining and in-house restaurant. A chef known as Toni Roberts is also used to illustrate how desserts are an increase. The use of chefs and other workers in the hotel industry helps to ensure that the topic of culinary arts is covered.
This article is relevant to the Front of the House in several ways. Front of House settings stresses the importance of dining rooms, restrooms and bars providing good customer service so that guests are satisfied with the services that they receive in a particular restaurant. The synergy between in-room dining and in-house restaurant, as well as offering comfort foods helps to ensure that high levels of consumer satisfaction are achieved.