JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa —As the largest resort in Arizona, JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, Phoenix, hosts an average of 533 meetings per year within 240,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. As a result, the catering and culinary teams constantly strive to create innovative and exciting meeting break menus to wow the influx of clients.

Because Phoenix’s hot, arid climate can make people prone to thirst, many of the meeting breaks aim to cool and refresh. For instance, Executive Chef Scott Simpson created the Gelato Station and the Sundae Station for tasty variations on the traditional ice cream bar found on many banquet menus.

“We prepare fresh gelato in seasonal flavors,” says Simpson. “Flavors like Sour Cream Peach, Key Lime Pie, Coconut Almond Crunch, Banana Maple Walnut, Pumpkin Praline Spice, Brandied Fruit Cake, Burgundy Cherry, and Egg Nog are popular at various times of the year.”

As if this flavor explosion weren’t enough, attendees can choose from toppings like candied hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, and almonds; dulce de leche caramel, chocolate, and strawberry sauces; fruits including prickly pears, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, maraschino cherries, and blackberries; fudge; shredded coconut; Oreo crumbles; and, to top it off, flavored whipped creams. “We’ve also done gelato sandwiches for clients, with green tea gelato between ginger snap cookies or fromage blanc between thin chocolate brownie cookies,” Simpson adds.

In the same neighborhood, the Sundae Station is a break that offers homemade ice creams in flavor combinations that are not of this earth. The break begins with attendees choosing cones dipped in either white or dark chocolate and then rolled in chopped pistachios, almonds, or macadamia nuts. Next, scoops of pure heaven are plunked onto the cones. Flavors like Caramel Balsamic, Chocolate Hazelnut Gianduja, Bananas Foster, Coffee Praline, Local Goat Cheese Honey, Rose Pistachio Kulfi (a popular South Asian dessert), Tiramisu, Green Tea Lemongrass, and Kahlúa Dutch Almond are just a few of the selections.

“Root beer floats with local sarsaparilla are also available for this break, as are the toppings from the Gelato Station,” says Simpson. “Plus, we offer healthy alternatives like frozen yogurt or soy-based ice cream.”

Not quite as cold but equally refreshing, apples are the mainstays of the resort’s aptly named Applelicious Break. This includes a beautiful slicedapple station of heirloom apple varieties paired with honey burrata or cambozola cheese and Arizona pistachios. While toasting their Champagne flutes of sparkling apple juice, guests also enjoy Mini Apple and Kumquat Tarts, Homemade Caramel-Dipped Lady Apples, Apple Pecan Cakes, and Peanut Butter Apple Spoons.

“These consist of small curved silver spoons topped with delicate peanut brittle disks, creamed peanut butter, and slices of apple,” Simpson explains.

As a tribute to the 21 tribes and nearly 300,000 Native Americans residing in Arizona, Chef Simpson created the Native American Break. The menu features homemade beef and game jerky, native heirloom popcorn, Cactus Candy, spiced hot nuts in paper cones, stuffed fry breads with traditional preserves, squash and blue cornbreads, Cowboy Coffee, and native teas served with agave nectar. “In all our breaks, we try to incorporate ingredients native to our Sonoran Desert location,” Simpson adds.

With these creative and alluring breaks, JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa’s food and beverage teams have succeeded in providing clients with menus they’ve never seen before and ones they won’t soon forget.

Viceroy Hotel—Meeting break menus at just about every hotel across the country feature at least one healthy break option, evidence that consumers are becoming more conscious of what goes into their bodies. The Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, California, decided to take that consciousness one step further by developing the Tai Chi Exercise Break.

“Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese exercise that integrates the mind and body, skeletal and muscular systems, and right and left brain,” says Food and Beverage Director Gerhard Tratter. He added the Tai Chi Break to the Viceroy’s repertoire after he happened upon a group of devotees practicing the exercises on the hotel’s poolside patio.

“We developed the break knowing it would appeal to companies willing to invest in their employees’ health and creativity. It has become a popular choice with video production companies, which is a market we definitely target in this area.”

The break is led by a certified Tai Chi instructor from a local fitness studio, who teaches a series of slow but strenuous group stretches and exercises for 30 to 45 minutes. After the workout, the group is treated to a tonic refreshment bar, where a Viceroy mixologist prepares individual e•lix•r tonics with crushed ice and club soda or mineral water. A favorite with spas and health clubs worldwide and a mainstay on the Viceroy’s own menus, e•lix•r products are all-natural fruit and herbal extracts that “invigorate the mind, body, and spirit.”

“We present each tonic by explaining the health virtues and flavors inherent in each one, then show the attendees how to prepare them,” Tratter says.

Flavors include Mind over Muddle, which enhances focus, concentration, and mental clarity, and is composed of plums, raspberries, and herbs including gingko leaf, eleuthero, and schizandra berries. Liquid Yoga, a tonic promoting relaxation, combines the flavor of apricots with calming botanicals such as jujube, Chinese peony, fleece flower, longan, and aucklandia. Also available is Tame the Elements, an herbal tonic used to ward off sickness from heat or cold exposure. The historical Chinese recipe includes lemon, honey, Goldenbell, Chinese bellflower, Chinese mint, and honeysuckle.

Since the servings equal almost a pint of frothy liquid, Tratter says he’s not inclined to offer snacks with the break; the tonics are filling enough by themselves.

“We can add snacks like nuts, berries, and health bars at the meeting planner’s request, of course,” says Tratter. “But we’ve found that most people aren’t at all hungry after the combination of exercise and tonics. They’re just refreshed and ready to go back to work.”