What do the cuisines of Ecuador, Russia, Ireland, Mexico, Croatia, Egypt, and Tibet have in common?

They are each represented at different times on the SkyWater restaurant menu at the Hilton Minneapolis. Executive Chef Julian Grainger encourages his cooks to add their homeland’s ingredients, flavors, and accents to what is, at its core, a traditional Minnesota comfort food menu.

“I want our culinary staff to feel like they’re a part of the operation, and the best place to start is with getting their menu ideas,” says Grainger, a native of Ireland. “We tend to feature Midwest specific dishes, so we ask them what they would do with those dishes if they were back home.”

TALENT SHOW
Grainger says ideas from his cooks make up about a quarter of the SkyWater menu at any given time, but there are a series of filters in place to remove recipes that may be too “out there” for the average guest.

“We’re in the Midwest, where sizzling steak bites and artichoke dips are always popular. It’s comfort food, and people know exactly what’s in front of them, so my cooks have to use identifiable products and flavors,” says Grainger, who jokes that his Ecuadorian cooks have lobbied unsuccessfully to have cuy (guinea pig) put on the menu.

The process starts with what Grainger playfully calls culinary “smackdowns”—recipe competitions among the cooks using one common ingredient, such as a piece of walleye. They create personalized versions of the dish, and the kitchen staff tastes and judges which ones might make it on the menu.

If they do make it, items are first tested as specials, and—if customer feedback is positive—the dish becomes a part of the regular lineup. Even ideas that are rejected allow Grainger to educate his cooks about why the recipe might work in their home countries but not in Minnesota.

“Applying it to the culture here is one of the hardest things to do,” says Ecuadorian cook Carlos Quizhpi. “I have to be careful with the ingredients. I don’t want the customer to walk out having a bad experience, because the whole hotel will be affected.”

Often it’s not an entrée, but a traditional side dish, such as coleslaw, that’s given an international twist and becomes a hit with customers. “In Russia, we put fruit into our coleslaw, but here, people like vegetables. So I put both together, and people say, ‘This is really good, mixing vegetables and fruit in coleslaw,’” says Russian cook Grigoriy Ilevskiy.

HERE COMES A REGULAR
The program has generated excellent feedback since Grainger joined the property in 2007. One comment that makes the chef particularly proud was from a guest who raved about Tibetan cook Jamphel Jamphel’s curry chicken dish.

“When they tried the Tibetan chicken, they said it was one of the best curries they’d ever had in the United States. That’s the kind of feedback coming from our regular customers, the Silver and Diamond VIP members. They say the food is great, and that it’s nice to see a change,” says Grainger.

SkyWater’s top-selling entrée is a Minnesota staple, given a twist by Ecuadorian cook Angelo Quito: Pan-roasted walleye with a sweet-and-sour chili pepper glaze, on a bed of sweet potato and sweet corn hash. “My ideas are not always from my country. I like to play around with Asian styles too, because my wife is from Thailand, and she makes great food at home,” says Quito. Another hit with customers is Quito’s seafood plantain soup, which is listed on the menu as “Angelo’s Seafood Plantain Soup.”

The hotel promotes the program away from SkyWater; Quito and Grainger appear in separate elevator and skyway posters proudly holding their dishes, showing the guest who’s behind the food they’re eating.

Grainger says that in addition to customer compliments, the program has elevated morale in the back of the house. “It has definitely paid off, because we have less turnover in the kitchen,” he says. “I believe they don’t want to go anywhere else because they’re getting paid to try their recipes right here.”

Michael Costa is industry relations editor for HOTEL F&B. He worked for several years in the kitchen and in F&B purchasing at a large convention hotel in Chicago, as well as having attended culinary school.