Westin Hotels and Resorts

"To reduce labor cost, we will have to look beyond traditional
approaches.  Frozen product fits in there most definitely."

The technology for fresh-frozen seafood, and to a certain extent for beef, is so well developed, that it is almost impossible for the consumer to tell the difference [from fresh]," so says Kurt Fischer, vice president of food and beverage for Westin Hotels and Resorts, the Seattle-based hotel company.  It even fooled hotel honchos in a Westin taste test of fresh and frozen beef -- identical cuts, prepared the same way.  "Without exception, none of us could tell the difference," said hotel executives. Westin Hotels is just beginning to profit from frozen products on its menu, adds Fischer.  One notable step forward was its Salmon World Tour Promotion, in which Westin Properties sold more than 50,000 salmon dishes in just 30 days.

The product was frozen Alaska salmon.  A dependable frozen supply was a crucial underpinning of the systemwide promotion. 

It's all part of a changing ethic in hotel food and beverage, in which high-quality value-added products are becoming increasingly important.  "We have to become more effective as operators," says Fischer.  "We will no longer run such elaborate cuisines as we did in the past.  We have to be more cost-efficient."

He finds seafood in general the most useful frozen food category today, followed by poultry and beef cuts.  Soup bases "aren't bad at all," Fischer says, with the finishing touches being done by the chef.  And frozen baked goods "are a much more economical alternative to very costly pastry chefs."