The care and feeding of attendees at meetings and conventions has become something of a science in recent years. The public’s knowledge of nutrition has increased, as has interest in food in general. Local restaurant and hotel food-service meeting planners find themselves advising their clients on what to eat almost as often as when to eat during business gatherings.
Elise Shatraw, catering sales manager of the Providence Biltmore finds themed meals and breaks during meetings are popular, such as a New England-style breakfast or a baseball game-oriented snack assortment named for historic Cardines Field in Newport. The Cardines menu includes Cracker Jack, pretzels with mustard, mixed nuts and Rhode Island-bottled Yacht Club soda. Shatraw says some of her clients with meeting rooms at their facilities are opting to stay at their locations due to budgets, while larger groups staying at the hotel plan at least a month or more in advance.
Rick Paolino, a well-known personality on the Rhode Island meeting accommodation scene, is catering sales manager of the Westin Providence. He sees a trend towards keeping meeting-goers awake through those afternoon seminars: “You don’t see elaborate luncheons such as stuffed chicken any more, and that may not only be due to cost, but health reasons. People are thinking more about what they eat and not so much on how much they eat. No one can be productive in the afternoon part of a meeting after eating a three-course meal with dessert. Smaller meetings generally book a few weeks in advance at the Westin. Paolino books larger events-400 or more attendees-up to a year in advance, “not because we need that much time but because in many cases tickets have to be sold and speakers have to be booked and that sometimes is done way into the future.”
At the Chanler Hotel and Spiced Pear restaurant in Newport, sales and catering manager Nick Vitale observes of his meeting clientele, “They want a private space in which to meet, sleep, and eat in the same building.”
Sanjiv Dhar, proprietor and chef of Rasoi, an Indian restaurant on the Providence-Pawtucket line, has begun catering off-site business luncheons called Thali lunches. Similar to combination lunches, they offer a way to sample different Indian regional items and are quickly served. Several medical offices on the East Side are among Rasoi’s regular catering customers.
Sardella’s Italian Ristorante in Newport has attracted a luncheon clientele among business and social gatherings with a minimum of 40 people. The restaurant is not open for lunch. Meetings are held in a newly renovated indoor-outdoor terrace adjacent to the dining room. Some clients have requested specific themes for meeting meals and Sardella’s works with a local designer to accommodate their requests. Another request from business meeting planners is for as few interruptions from the waitstaff as possible. In response, Sardella’s – a sponsor of my radio show – has created a tasting of three dinner entrees presented on a three tiered server placed in the center of the table.
The venerable White Horse Tavern in Newport is in the meetings game with a custom breakfast menu even though the historic tavern is not open for breakfast. Its best customer these days is the nearby Naval War College which regularly books early morning brainstorming sessions. The White Horse may have the title of Most Unusual Business Meeting this year. On Sept. 17, all of the speakers of the house from every state that has one will gather at the White Horse, which was the site of Colonial legislative activity in Rhode Island. •
Dining Out with Bruce Newbury can be heard on 920 WHJJ-AM Fridays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at noon. You can reach Bruce by e-mail at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
