Alice Waters Improbably Adds to Hyatt Hotel's Kids' Menu

Hey, what's Berkeley's favorite restaurateur/dreamer/molecular gastronomy hater Alice Waters up to these days? The Chez Panisse founder has teamed up with Hyatt to develop dishes for an all-organic kids menu for the hotel chain called "For Kids, By Kids." Wait, but isn't it by Alice Waters? Here is the menu:

· Breakfast: Top Your Own Taco, a whole wheat tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, cheese and fun toppings; Waffle Dipping Sticks with peanut butter, maple syrup and fruit sauces.
· Lunch: Shaken Chopped Salad with roasted chicken, vegetables, brown rice and yogurt basil dressing; Build Your Own Whole Wheat Sub Sandwich with turkey, lettuce, tomato, cheese on a whole wheat mini-sub. (These offerings are also available during dinner hours).
· Dinner: Natural Beef grilled and served with potatoes, roasted vegetables and garden salad; Vegetable and Sesame Rice Noodles with marinated tofu, corn, green beans, basil and cherry tomatoes.

See, so the kids can customize some of the dishes. No wood burning fire for them to cook their eggs on, though. And why stop there: Waters has also created a three-course prix fixe meal for kids. Sure, why not. The For Kids, By Kids menu will be available at Hyatt locations in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. Here are a couple of press releases:

HYATT ANNOUNCES GROUNDBREAKING CHILDREN’S MENU “FOR KIDS BY KIDS” AND THREE-COURSE ORGANIC MENU DEVELOPED BY ALICE WATERS

Developed for Kids, by Kids, Hyatt’s New, Healthier Menu Offers Fun, Fresh and Flavorful items

CHICAGO (July 16, 2012) – Hyatt Corporation today announced the launch of a new, innovative menu, “For Kids By Kids,” which provides more nutritious, fresh and interactive offerings for the three million children served annually in all full-service Hyatt hotels and resorts throughout the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. The menu is grounded in Hyatt’s industry-leading philosophy Food. Thoughtfully Sourced. Carefully Served. – promoting healthy people, a healthy planet and healthy communities – and has been developed in association with the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA). As part of the roll out, separate from its PHA commitment, Hyatt hotels will offer a three-course organic meal for children developed exclusively for the brand by renowned food pioneer and chef, Alice Waters.

With nearly one in three children diagnosed as overweight or obese in the United States1, Hyatt is leading the industry in making children’s health a priority and has worked to make the healthy choice the easy choice for guests. In addition to the new menu, kids also have the option of ordering a half portion off the regular menu at half the price.

Hyatt worked with Alice Waters, known for her culinary philosophy that maintains cooking should be based on the finest, freshest, seasonal ingredients that are produced sustainably and locally, to develop a full organic meal offering including a salad, chicken entrée and a dessert.

“All children deserve to eat real food – fresh, seasonal, organic, and delicious,” said Alice Waters. “I wanted to do a small, three course meal, within the context of Hyatt’s initiative, that could be sourced exclusively from organic farms across the country. Of course it’s about taste and ripeness and seasonality—but it’s bigger than that, too: it’s about supporting the people who are taking care of the land for our future generations.”

The “For Kids By Kids” menu was tasted, tested and approved by kids, including 11-year-old Haile Thomas, who is spearheading a campaign for healthy eating through her online cooking show, Kids Can Cook. Hyatt’s food and beverage team worked with Haile and her peers to ensure new menu offerings not only meet the brand’s standards for nutrition and quality, and are also fun. Through their research, Hyatt learned that kids today have a greater level of sophistication in their taste preferences, but also enjoy items with which they can interact. To that end, new menu offerings will present a creative way for kids to engage with their food, such as customizing their own pasta dish and “shaking” their own salad.

“We have made an industry-leading commitment to serving food and beverages that are good for our people, our planet and our communities. That is why we have transformed our children’s menu and looked to experts such as Alice Waters, to help guide our offerings,” said Susan Santiago, vice president of food and beverage, North America operations, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. “The new menu is just one of the ways we will be looking to impact health and wellness of the children that stay with us. We hope that this critical step forward will change the way that our guests and the industry think about kids menus.”

“For Kids By Kids” further illustrates Hyatt’s commitment to Partnership for a Healthier America, which will hold Hyatt accountable for continuously improving the nutritional profile of food menus at full-service Hyatt properties across the U.S. over the next ten years. Through this commitment, Hyatt’s “For Kids By Kids” will offer fruits or vegetables as the default side item, make low-fat milk available with free refills, meet the most recent U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, MyPlate and PHA’s standards and ensure food illustrations depict healthier options.

Select menu items include:

Breakfast: Top Your Own Taco, a whole wheat tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, cheese and fun toppings; Waffle Dipping Sticks with peanut butter, maple syrup and fruit sauces.
Lunch: Shaken Chopped Salad with roasted chicken, vegetables, brown rice and yogurt basil dressing; Build Your Own Whole Wheat Sub Sandwich with turkey, lettuce, tomato, cheese on a whole wheat mini-sub. (These offerings are also available during dinner hours).
Dinner: Natural Beef grilled and served with potatoes, roasted vegetables and garden salad; Vegetable and Sesame Rice Noodles with marinated tofu, corn, green beans, basil and cherry tomatoes.

To add another layer of fun to mealtime, Hyatt will launch HyattFlavorJourney in September where kids and parents can learn more about “For Kids By Kids” and enjoy games and activities. Guests can use a QR code on their menu to link to the site.

HYATT TREATS CHILDREN TO NEW ORGANIC MENU CREATED BY RENOWNED FOOD PIONEER AND CHEF ALICE WATERS

Exclusive organic menu complements Hyatt’s industry-leading children’s menu “For Kids By
Kids” and marks the first hotel partnership for Waters

CHICAGO (August 7, 2012) – Hyatt today announced details of its new organic and seasonal children’s menu created exclusively for Hyatt by renowned food pioneer and chef, Alice Waters. The new menu, featuring a three-course organic meal, marks the first hotel project for Waters and complements Hyatt’s groundbreaking “For Kids By Kids” menu, providing children more nutritious, fresh and interactive offerings. The new children’s food and beverage offerings at Hyatt are grounded in the brand’s industry-leading philosophy Food. Thoughtfully Sourced. Carefully Served., promoting healthy people, a healthy planet and healthy communities, and will be offered in all full-service Hyatt hotels and resorts throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean.

Waters, known for her culinary philosophy that maintains cooking should be based on fresh, organic, and seasonal ingredients that are produced sustainably and locally, worked with Hyatt to develop a full organic meal offering including a salad, chicken entrée and a dessert.

“All children deserve to eat real food,” said Alice Waters. “I wanted to do a small, three course meal, within the context of Hyatt’s initiative, that could be sourced exclusively from organic farms across the country. Of course it’s about taste and ripeness and seasonality—but it’s bigger than that, too: it’s about supporting the people who are taking care of the land for our future generations.”

“As Alice Waters is a pioneer, we feel this aligns perfectly with Hyatt’s commitment to being a leader in our industry as it relates to the health of our youngest guests,” said Susan Santiago, vice president, food and beverage, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, North America. “We’ve done extensive research and it shows that kids have a more sophisticated palate than ever, and so working with Alice is a natural fit.”

Alice Waters’ menu at Hyatt features:

Romaine Lettuce Hearts, Carrot Curls and a Radish Rose with Lemon Vinaigrette for Dipping. “Contrary to prevailing beliefs, getting kids to eat vegetables is not difficult. We simply have to meet their most basic impulses: to eat something that is engaging and that tastes delicious,” said Waters. “The aliveness of textures and colors, as well as the ‘do-it-yourself’ nature of this salad, makes this universally appealing to kids.”
Grilled Chicken with Pesto Sauce, Roasted Potatoes and Cherry Tomatoes. “This is a dish of simple grilled and roasted ingredients, served with a pesto sauce. The trick with something so straightforward is to be confident that the ingredients are the best that they can be.”
Strawberry and Orange Slices served with a Sweet Juice in a Real Orange Cup. “The goal here is to appeal to kids’ imagination about ‘dessert,’ without feeding them unhealthy, sugary food,” said Waters. “A real orange cup filled with a luxurious amount of perfectly sliced ripe fruit feels special, and the juice is made with a touch of honey to sweeten it.”

To add another layer of fun to mealtime, Hyatt will launch a Flavor Journey online experience in September where kids and parents can learn more about organic foods, the “For Kids By Kids” menu and enjoy games and activities. Guests can use a QR code on the “For Kids By Kids” menu to link to the site.

· HYATT ANNOUNCES CHILDREN’S MENU “FOR KIDS BY KIDS” DEVELOPED BY ALICE WATERS [Hyatt]
· HYATT TREATS CHILDREN TO NEW ORGANIC MENU CREATED BY ALICE WATERS [Hyatt via Eater SF]
· All Alice Waters Coverage on Eater [-E-]