Meeting News - December 17, 2007 - (Page 11)

Chef Talk World traveler adds international intrigue to Miami resort We were able to do this because a new, 1,500-sf kitchen was built as His Viennese origins are clear when he speaks— his accent endures—but Chef Manfred Jonas is a part of the Legends Ballroom when citizen of the world. A career hotel chef who’s it opened earlier this year. The freecooked globally, Jonas was appointed executive standing facility encompasses 60,000 chef at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa, in Miami, just sf of meeting space, including a one month ago. Before his responsibilities boiled 24,000-sf ballroom with 22-foot ceilings and 27,000 sf of indoor and outover, he talked to MeetingNews. door prefunction space. On our revised banquet menus, Most of your career has been at hotels and, grilled ﬁlet mignon with applewood in particular, with Marriott [which manages the Doral]. What has kept you in the industry and smoked bacon replaced a churrasco, a thick cut of skirt steak; grilled out of restaurants? mahimahi with papaya relish and A Jonas original dish: red snapper with habanero pineapple salsa. Being with Marriott for the last 20 years has coconut rice replaced a pan-seared allowed me to see the world, meet and under- tilapia with roasted potatoes and vegetables. shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and shrimp. It In addition, we’ve improved our breakfast pres- gets opened tableside like a large ﬂower. stand all kinds of people, and learn different cuisines. I’ve worked in Dubai, Maui, Tokyo, Vien- entation. People want good, fresh products so that na, and now Miami. In Maui this past September, I they feel they’ve had a good breakfast. So we have a You have won Marriott’s Manager of the cooked breakfast for the Dalai Lama (he loves lot of fresh fruit, both local and exotic. Fresh is in, Quarter Award three times, as well as the frozen is out. We are putting a twist Award for Culinary Excellence and Executive muesli and buffalo mozzarella). on some traditional items: we Chef of the Year, and you were nominated for the have introduced oatmeal J. Willard Marriott Award of Excellence in 2003. At the Doral, you are responsible for running banana crème brulee, and it’s Can you speak to these? What were they for? four restaurants. How does gone over well. one pull that off? In Dubai, we opened a restaurant, called Spice Island, that had 600 customers a day. That’s What do your world travwhat I won the Culinary Excellence award for. els mean for the average It sounds hard but it’s actuIn terms of receiving awards for management, diner at the hotel? ally very easy. I have 10 for me, it’s always about a team. It’s the staff that managers and 108 people in the department, so I have people I have never seen a better makes it happen, by working together and having a taking care of things. My job is omelet than what I saw great time. We work 14-hour days but I love what to oversee things and push them made in Japan. In fact, I’ve never I do. If someone doesn’t enjoy it, they won’t survive. in the right direction. had better food than what I was Manfred Jonas served there, so I learned from Does your management style impact diners’ that experience. Other local speexperience? If so, how? What do you hope to Executive Chef cialties I have incorporated into bring to the Doral that Doral Golf Resort & Spa my menu include chicken maybe it didn’t offer before— Absolutely. There’s an old Marriott saying: If shawarma with tahini dip from especially to meeting and you take care of the employees, they’ll take care Dubai, and fried green tea ice cream of the guest. And our employees are very happy. incentive groups? from Japan. Also, at breakfast here we have added a Viennese Golf is number one here, but we want the food What’s your favorite food? to be close behind. We changed our banquet sweet table. Included in that is the famous Sacher menus a month ago, and we added a chef’s table, torte, which originated at the Hotel Sacher, where I where groups can sit in the middle of the kitchen to got my start. Curry. I think you have to grow up in that area Other dishes I have created, from my time in watch us work and ask questions. We will even train of India to make it the right way. I haven’t guests on how to cook and then assemble the food Hawaii, include Ahi Poke in a fried wonton, served found a good Indian restaurant in the U.S., and I’ve for the events they are attending. We can do this for with wasabi mayonnaise; and a dish called lau lau, made it, but it’s not the same. H up to 30 people. Contact Rayna Katz at rayna.katz@nielsen.com which is tea leaves stuffed with ono or mahimahi, By Rayna Katz Q A Q A Q A Q A Q A Q A Q A www.meetingnews.com December 17, 2007 MeetingNews 11 http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - December 17, 2007

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