Marcus Hotels Press

05.29.15

Creating a Food Art Experience with Guests

By Brian Frakes, Executive Chef, The Pfister Hotel

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For good or for bad, the days of us (chefs) being the yelling, cursing guy behind the curtain are behind us.  Guests want to know us, have our email address, be able to call us with questions, and tell their friends they know us.  I frankly enjoy this. It feeds the part of me that never was able to be a front-of-house person.

Guests are seeking more and more interaction with us and the food we present.  They like to know what inspires us, what inside tricks we might have, and how to become a better cook. Being in a high-profile culinary position at Milwaukee’s Pfister Hotel, I understand that our responsibility to the customer can also be an opportunity to engage and interact on a more personable level.

We as a culinary team are always looking for ways to interact with our guests and recently launched the Pfister #foodart Experience. Designed as an experience specifically for intimate VIP parties, team building events or corporate retreats, the #foodart Experience combines food styling and gourmet dining with social media.
1577803_orig#Foodart is about guests learning to plate and style food with the chef, and then being challenged to create their own food art masterpiece.  To make it fun and easy to share, photos are taken of their final dishes, which are then emailed to guests while they eat.  This is an important way of encouraging them to share and help us promote on social media.  The food styling lesson, paired with the professional photograph of their creation, provides guests with an impressive image to share with their social communities—not to mention, an interactive dining experience they’ll never forget!
This one-on-one interaction between the chef and the customer allows guests to learn about the art of food, while also utilizing their creative juices and having fun!