Hotel chef’s tables can add spice to any business dinner

The mod chef's table at New York Central, at the Grand Hyatt New York.

By Mark Chesnut

Doing business during a meal may not be the most exciting way to dine, but from New York hotels to Chicago hotels, reserving a chef’s table at the property’s restaurant can impress clients as well as provide entertainment, thanks to the up-close view it provides of the chef at work.

Among the newest options is New York Central, the mod new eatery at Grand Hyatt New York, where the chef’s table is perched on an elevated space above the open kitchen, with a vista of the work of chef Christian Ragano, former chef de cuisine at Park Hyatt Chicago’s NoMI. In Las Vegas, visitors can choose from two chef’s tables — one made of wood that seats eight, and the other made of polished granite that seats 10 — at the Bellagio’s Sensi restaurant.

Chef de cuisine Royden Ellamar can customize the tasting menu according to each group, and will describe each dish as it is presented. Chic dining extends south of the border to the industrial city of Puebla, Mexico, where the trendy boutique hotel La Purificadora features a 12-person “GRANmesa” that allows patrons to observe the Mexican fusion magic of chef Enrique Olvera.

Business travelers headed to Orlando, meanwhile, can conduct business on-site at Walt Disney World while avoiding potential distractions from the younger set at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The hotel’s Victoria & Albert’s restaurant has a chef’s table that offers a three-hour, seven-course dining experience for up to 10 people. And in spite of the theme park nearby that teems with vacationers, the chef’s table does not permit jeans, shorts, sandals, flip-flops, or tennis shoes — oranyone under 10 years of age.

Mark Chesnut, Orbitz’s new business travel blogger,  is the  travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyerBlog.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America.

Tagged: Hotels