Two decades ago, hotel restaurants served up great meals by some of the best local chefs, but the industry lost its way. The carpet from the lobby tended to roll straight into the restaurant. The atmosphere was so hushed you could hear a hotel bill drop. Even guests went somewhere else for dinner.
But big hotel chains have long tried to emulate developments in popular culture, and recently they have turned their attention to the celebrity chef culture that has invaded American cities, making near rock stars out of Ripert and Wolfgang Puck and Tom Colicchio, the head judge on the popular TV show "Top Chef."
"They are trying to go back to the days when hotels were destination dining," said Michael Costa, an editor at Hotel F&B magazine. "One of the hardest things to do in the restaurant business is get someone to walk through the door. Having a celebrity chef is a way to get them there."
In most of the recent hotel deals, the celebrity chefs license their names for hefty fees, design the menu and the concept, oversee operations with regular visits and install proteges as the everyday operators.
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Source - The Courier-Journal/Washington Post
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