Meeting Breaks By Ashley Brown Allen The Bernards Inn Gingerbread Break, designed to help executives overcome the doldrums when forced to work during the holiday season, is a popular, spirited teambuilding activity.
BERNARDS INN—If not treated with a little dose of holiday cheer, being stuck in a meeting in late December could give some employees a case of the Humbugs.
“A group of executives was forced to schedule a meeting in the third week of December last year,” says Diane Carr, GM of the Bernards Inn, Bernardsville, New Jersey. “They had a feeling attendees would be pretty unhappy about it, so they wanted some meeting break ideas to get people back in the holiday spirit.” To this end, Carr and Pastry Chef Duane Hendershot created two Gingerbread Breaks.
For the morning break, attendees were surprised to find gingerbread men cookies waiting to be outfitted with chocolate chips, red hots, gum drops, colored sprinkles, and sugar. Five colored icing tubes were equipped with decorative tips for crafting fancy duds. Egg nog, cappuccino, espresso, and spiced coffee were available for sipping.
“You should have seen how excited people were—most hadn’t decorated cookies since they were kids,” says Carr. “The company even purchased the gingerbread molds so employees could take them home and do this again with their families.”
After the meeting recommenced, the Bernards Inn team set to work on the setup for the afternoon break, another pleasant surprise for attendees. Chef Hendershot was in attendance to present the components and pointers for assembling and decorating a gingerbread house. Broken peppermint sticks, whole candy canes, gummy bears, colored candy wafers, and assorted hard candies were just some of the trimmings available to the attendees.
“This break was not only a cheerful holiday activity, it was great teambuilding for employees and supervisors who seldom get to work together in such a lighthearted setting,” adds Carr. “If people had any prior hard feelings about being in that meeting, I have a feeling these breaks magically cured them.”
This winter break, offered on a dreary February day at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia, includes stuffed brioche nestled among heated river stones, “to create an overall illusion of warmth,” says Chef Dan Pino.
PARK HYATT PHILADELPHIA—When dreaming up meeting breaks for around 600 meetings per year, Park Hyatt Philadelphia’s Pastry Chef Dan Pino admits he has to dig deep for new ideas. For clients who want a break that’s out-of-the-box, he finds inspiration in the time of the year, but not just in terms of seasonal foods.
“When crafting a break, I try to imagine how attendees might feel from a sensory perspective. On a bleak winter day, people feel gloomy and cold, so I try to give them something that’s warm and soothing,” Pino explains. Last February, for instance, Pino delighted meeting-goers on a chilly day with Warm Sweet Cheese-Stuffed Brioche atop heated river rocks. The brioche, made with 40 percent Plugrá butter, was stuffed with a cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla concoction and served with housemade fruit chutneys, including strawberry- lemon-verbena and blackberry-sage. Richly hued plums from Peru added a splash of color to the earthy presentation.
“I tried to create an overall illusion of warmth with the display,” says Pino. “I heated ordinary river rocks for an hour in a 500°F oven and placed them in clay pots on a pedestal. That way, no one could get burned, but people could enjoy the heat emanating from the pots.”
On the other side of the thermostat, Pino recently developed an afternoon Ice Cream Break to help overheated meeting attendees chill out at the peak of summer. Unique flavors on the menu include Rocky Road with Bourbon Marshmallows, Milk Chocolate Chocolate Chunk (with 73 percent chocolate), Chocolate Truffle Mint, and Peanut Butter and Jelly (peanut butter ice cream with raspberry jam swirls). For an extra sensory blast, Pino set up fans behind these frozen displays, aiming them directly on attendees as they ordered their favorites.
Another summertime break, the new Citrus Break, acts as a pick-me-up and consolation prize for attendees who would rather be outside on a sunny day. On an all-white backdrop, freshly squeezed orange juice, Citrus Zest Madeleines with Lemon Curd Dipping Sauce, and peeled pink grapefruit slices sprinkled with Muscovado sugar effectively popped with visual color and appeal.
“It’s a break that’s light, aromatic, and a visual eye-opener,” Pino says. “Who says coffee’s the only thing that can wake you up in the morning?”
Finally, a break for all seasons is the Park Hyatt’s top-selling Cookie Break. Clients choose three housemade cookie varieties from a selection of chocolate chip, chocolate and vanilla sandwiches (à la Oreo), chocolate-chocolate chip, peanut butter, and sugar. Meant as an interactive break, Pino usually supplies white paper bags so attendees can mix up their picks and chat as they chew.
“Recently, I bought a bunch of miniature glass cookie jars and offered them instead of the bags at a smaller meeting. The attendees loved the idea, and they were all chatting and giggling with each other,” Pino adds. “The power of the cookie … it brings the world closer together.”
Beth Rogers is a frequent contributor to HOTEL F&B.
