Meliá Hotels International has announced that as food and beverage plays such a key role in its development and expansion strategy, the company has created an ad hoc department to meet all the challenges and provide a more strategic long-term vision. The Global F&B team at Meliá Hotels International is led by Helmut Arthold as Global F&B Director, Valentin Gomez as Culinary Director and Oscar Torres as Global F&B Concept Manager.
Meliá Hotels International F&B strategy is based on a number of fundamental values that define the way forward and the overall operational features that govern the project. In the words of Oscar Torres, “F&B values are inherent to the Company, and these values are applied to each of the brands when we create and develop the different gastronomic concepts which allow us to differentiate ourselves between brands and before our competitors, while at the same time helping us become a leader in the hospitality industry.”
Given its commitment to sustainability and the responsible management of resources, Meliá Hotels International also aims to use sustainable products whose traceability can be verified at every stage of the process to ensure greater quality, and also to ensure the use of local produce in all those locations in which the Company operates. Creativity and innovation are also fundamental foundations of the entire Meliá F&B strategy.
A library of gastronomic concepts
This is the short-term challenge that the company is finishing defining: the creation of a source of culinary concepts adapted to the characteristics of each of the brands is something that allows guests to imagine the “taste” of the different brands as if it were an additional brand attribute. This is a differentiating factor that increases the diversification of the brands and allows Meliá to further calibrate the offer and increase the level of product personalization.
Not surprisingly, Meliá Hotels International already has a significant number of restaurant concepts associated with the different brands. Such is the case of The Rooftop, a must in the ME by Meliá hotels, located on the rooftops of the hotels and providing spectacular panoramic views of the city and fantastic tapas.
One of the F&B features of hotels under the Meliá Hotels & Resorts brand is The Market buffet restaurant, combining the best Mediterranean cuisine with a Show Cooking Station, all located on an idyllic terrace alongside the sea. Also the Cape Nao Beach Club & Restaurant, only available in Meliá hotels, offers the finest Mediterranean cuisine in an avant-garde venue with stunning sea views.
Famous chefs
Meliá Hotels Internationa makes special mention must be made of the agreements it has reached with famous world-class chefs to add dining facilities operated by the chefs themselves to its hotels.
Alfonso Iaccarino, with his Viva Voce restaurant at the Gran Meliá Rome or Marga Coll with her Arrels restaurant at the Gran Meliá de Mar, are examples of simple cuisine based on local, natural and seasonal products. In fact, the menu at Arrels is renewed every day depending on the availability of products in the market. Also the chef Angel León inhis Alevante restaurant at the Meliá Sancti Petri has chosen a menu based on fresh, organic and “km 0” seafood.
The famous Torres brothers also have a place on the 24th floor of the Meliá Barcelona Sky, where they delight diners with dishes based on Mediterranean cuisine with an experimental twist at the Dos Cielos restaurant, winner of a Michelin star.
Meanwhile, Sanjeev Kapoor brings an innovative touch to several hotels in the Middle East, such as his Signature restaurants at the Meliá Dubai and Meliá Doha hotels. True to his roots, the restaurant menus are entirely based on authentic Indian cuisine, and the dishes on offer preserve tradition with a modern flair.
Making F&B so important is not an easy challenge for a company operating in 44 countries around the world, and also taking into account the enormous variety of culinary cultures. This emerging project is now supported by a department created ad hoc to fully respond to the needs created by their actions, and it aims to become a key differentiating factor for the company in the future.
