SHANGHAI, China, Dec. 29 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- As it continues to transform the hotel experience and infuse artistry and creativity into the main guest touch points, Le Meridien today unveiled a new point of view on cuisine, featuring a unique Signature Breakfast designed in partnership with culinary genius and three-star Michelin Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
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Rolling out this year in all Le Meridien hotels worldwide, Le Meridien’s new Signature Breakfast features eye-opening elixirs with unconventional combinations of fruits such as oranges, carrots and raspberries, and herbs and spices such as chilies, cloves and pepper, created by Jean-Georges. Breakfast entrees are new interpretations of classic breakfast items such as Croque Madame, Smoked Salmon Silken Tofu Crunchy Bagel, and Espresso Steamed Eggs and Toasted Brioche, among others.
The Signature Breakfast was introduced today at Le Meridien Barcelona during ONE NIGHT BARCELONA, the latest in a series of global signature events from Monte Carlo to Miami designed to debut new hotel initiatives and programming in collaboration with contemporary creators from the world of art, architecture, design, fashion and cuisine.
Le Meridien Signature Breakfast
European-rooted Le Meridien and Jean-Georges have many things in common: both are French-born and internationally renowned. In addition, Jean-Georges has a special relationship with Le Meridien: in 1983, during the early stages of his career, Vongerichten worked as a chef at Le Meridien Singapore. Jean-Georges’ approach to combining fresh, high quality ingredients, striving for excellence and creativity, as well as his goal of making haute cuisine accessible, match Le Meridien’s ambitions to develop a reputation for a unique point of view on cuisine.
“Le Meridien continues to reinterpret every aspect of the hotel experience, with the goal of breaking the mold and awakening our guests’ creative curiosity by delivering cultural experiences that stimulate their senses,” said Eva Zielger, Global Brand Leader, Le Meridien and W Hotels Worldwide. “Jean-Georges is a natural and strategic choice for us as he is an innovator who has successfully reinterpreted classic cuisine in a new way. This approach fits perfectly with Le Meridien’s creative vision.”
“My goal for Le Meridien was to create a breakfast experience that not only delivers the basics at a high quality level, but also provides a level of 'discovery' for guests by blending exotic flavors with everyday ingredients. The dishes deliver a unique blend of flavors that invigorate and awaken the palate,” added Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Jean-Georges Vongerichten is a member of LM100, a diverse international group of established and emerging creative souls, curated by Le Meridien’s Cultural Curator, Jerome Sans. LM100 members offer their creativity to develop original and interactive programs for Le Meridien hotels worldwide that will transform the guest experience. In addition to Jean-Georges' breakfast menu items, Le Meridien will offer guests a set of authentic international breakfast items from China, Japan, India and the Middle East to appeal to Le Meridien’s global customer.
In addition to redefining breakfast, Le Meridien is introducing a new point of view on Coffee Culture. illycaffe, Europe’s innovative, premium coffee brand, led by Andrea Illy, grandson of the founder of illycaffe, will support the development of Le Meridien’s unique coffee culture. In addition, illycaffe’s World Barista Champion, Giorgio Milos, will join Le Meridien creative team, will curate new programming around coffee for the brand’s hotels around the globe and will design a series of specialty coffee drinks exclusively for the hotel brand. Le Meridien will also designate one of its hotels to serve as a coffee laboratory enabling illycaffe to test products and bring new coffee experiences to life.
About Le Meridien
Le Meridien brand, currently represented by approximately 120 properties in 52 countries, was acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in November 2005. With close to 70 percent of its properties located in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, Le Meridien provides a strong international complement to Starwood’s primarily North American holdings. Plans call for dynamic expansion of Le Meridien-branded hotels and resorts within the next five years, concentrating in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, including destinations such as India, Thailand and China.
Le Meridien is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), Sheraton(R), Westin(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, W(R), Le Meridien(R), and the recently launched Aloft(SM), and Element(SM). Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit http://www.starwoodhotels.com and http://www.starwoodpressclub.com .
About Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges
Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges develops, owns, operates, manages and licenses world-class restaurants created by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. In a partnership with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) and private equity firm Catterton Partners, Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges creates international, multi-concept restaurant and licensing businesses to be utilized both in Starwood’s luxury hotel brands including W, Westin, Le Meridien, Sheraton’s Luxury Collection, and the St. Regis as well as freestanding locations throughout the world. Culinary Concepts’ current portfolio includes 10 concepts that are either existing or in development. Existing properties include Spice Market in New York City, Chambers Kitchen at Chambers Hotel, Minneapolis, and Lagoon at St. Regis Resort, Bora Bora. For more information, please visit http://www.culinaryconcepts.com .
About Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Internationally renowned for his innovative, groundbreaking cuisine, Jean-Georges Vongerichten has emerged as one of the world’s leading chefs. Acclaimed by critics as ‘formidably gifted’ and a ‘residential genius,’ his culinary vision has consistently set new standards and helped define modern cuisine. He has earned an unprecedented total of 20 stars from The New York Times for his New York City restaurants - Jean Georges, JoJo, Vong, Mercer Kitchen, Perry St and Spice Market. In 2007, Jean-Georges was awarded a total of six Michelin stars; three for Jean Georges, one each for Vong, JoJo and Perry St. A singularly notable accomplishment was the presentation of three major awards to Jean-Georges in 1998 by the James Beard Foundation - Best New Restaurant for Jean Georges, America’s Outstanding Chef, and Who’s Who of Food & Beverage. This ‘triple crown’ to the same chef in the same year was a first for the Foundation. Vongerichten has published several cookbooks including Simple Cuisine (Wiley, 1990); Cooking at Home with a Four Star Chef (Broadway, 1998), for which he won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Cookbook in 1999; Simple to Spectacular (Random House, 2000); and most recently, Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges (Broadway, 2007).
About illycaffe
Based in Trieste, Italy, illycaffe produces and markets a unique blend of espresso coffee, under a single brand leader in quality. It is available in more than 50,000 of the best restaurants and coffee bars and is sold in 140 countries around the world, serving over six million cups of illy espresso coffee a day. espressamente illy, the chain of franchised Italian-style coffee bars is now present in 32 countries and comprises 160 outlets. With the aim of spreading the coffee culture, illy has founded the University of coffee, the centre of excellence offering theoretical and practical training on every aspect of coffee for coffee growers, coffee bars staff and enthusiasts. On a global level it employs more than 700 people and has a consolidated turnover of 270 million euros.
