MarriottintheKitchen

It's June and the news is all about tomatoes. Nothing says SUMMER more than the "fruit disguised as vegetable." There is no better harbinger of the summer garden than the perfectly ripe tomato, just picked and dressed with a sprinkle of sea salt and fruity olive oil. The anticipation of the perfect BLT has been clouded by headlines cautioning US consumers to be wary of tomatoes, especially the commodity red round and roma varieties. Marriott responded quickly with confidence in our redundant safe-sourcing protocols, and are ensuring our supply line of tomatoes are only from those growing areas free of any concern. In fact, the red round and roma varieties don't make...

Since launching this blog in January, I have received quite a few emails on the posting subjects. It is inspiring to learn of guests individual culinary experiences, and equally beneficial to hear our culinary associates viewpoints on food. Though I cannot respond to every posting, I thought a compilation of some of the questions I have received might make for further dialogue. Below is the third of three installments to a few of the questions I have been asked recently: What's your take on cooking with organic and sustainable foods? Organic really isn't new though it would seem to be newly discovered from all of the media energy behind it. I think that's always been the point...

Since launching this blog in January, I have received quite a few emails on the posting subjects. It is inspiring to learn of guests individual culinary experiences, and equally beneficial to hear our culinary associates viewpoints on food. Though I cannot respond to every posting, I thought a compilation of some of the questions I have received might make for further dialogue. Below is the second of three installments to a few of the questions I have been asked recently: How often are you on the road? I travel quite a bit, and though that may sound exciting, I spend a lot of time...

Since launching this blog in January, I have received quite a few emails on the posting subjects. It is inspiring to learn of guests individual culinary experiences, and equally beneficial to hear our culinary associates viewpoints on food. Though I cannot respond to every posting, I thought a compilation of some of the questions I have received might make for further dialogue. Below is the first of three...

Food prices are going up around the world. Rice has tripled since the beginning of the year; declining wheat stores have caused pasta crisis in Italy; corn and soybeans have been severely impacted by weather and fuel grain conversions. We hear about this every day and hear the same concerns in every corner of our Marriott globe. Our chefs are doing a great job through this, and we remain committed to our high standards of quality. I recently had dinner with some friends at Two Amy's in Washington DC, a great but loud pizza restaurant. Incredible house cured salamis (Italian cured meats and Salamis) and the best dough in town. My favorite pizza restaurant...so far. During dinner and over the din of the dining crowd, the topic came up about rising food prices...

One of my first cooking memories was helping my mom make soup. I know, most kids made cookies with their mom. I made soup at the age of 9. Kind of foretold my future, I guess you would say. Each April, Marriott participates in "Take Your Children to Work Day". Bustling through the hallways of the corporate office, peeking up from behind the front desk in our hotels, and showing up as shadow servers in the restaurants, the kids of Marriott were all over the place on April 24! Kids love to cook, (though maybe not every kid wants to make soup), and chefs love to show kids...