Interview: Hilton's MEA vice president of F&B

Hilton Worldwide VP food and beverage for Middle East & Africa Simon Lazarus.

Hilton Worldwide’s regional F&B department is pioneering new initiatives for both restaurant creation and management in its hotels. VP of food & beverage for Middle East & Africa Simon Lazarus reveals the group’s strategy, as embodied at the newest launch, Conrad Dubai

Hilton Worldwide has kept its F&B department on its toes in the region with vice president of food and beverage Simon Lazarus working on launching two of the group’s luxury brands in the UAE, along with the refurbishment and reformatting of existing venues, and keeping an eye on its competitors.

The Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah and the Conrad Dubai both launched this year, with the Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeirah currently under construction.

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Hilton Worldwide has also split its concept-creators from the operators, and is experimenting with a new method of operating its restaurants and bars in order to ensure its outlets can compete with the fast-growing casual dining sector creeping in.

Listening to the Consumers
“We have had a flurry of activity over the last couple of years and they have culminated with the launch of our two luxury brands within the region — we have the Waldorf Astoria in Ras Al Khaimah and Conrad Dubai. We have changed a lot as we go along, we learn and listen to what our customer wants,” says Lazarus, who has worked on the Conrad for nearly five years, and on the Waldorf Astoria for three.

Hilton is making a concerted effort to listen to customer feedback and demand, partnering where necessary with external chefs or brands to deliver the desired experience.

Lazarus explains: “In Ras Al Khaimah, we have opened a fantastic Lebanese to cater to the local clientele. It’s a Middle Eastern restaurant called Marjan and we went into an agreement with a famous Lebanese chef named Joe Barza, who is our consultant chef.” Barza frequently visits the restaurant and works on its menu.

He adds: “In our talks with customers we realised that there are a few touch points and memory points [for them]. When we built our all-day dining buffet in the Waldorf Astora, the smell of fresh bread is something that you just can’t get away from. So we moved the bakery ovens to the front so people can watch the croissants and muffins coming out.”

According to Lazarus, this is an example of how Hilton Worldwide is “opening up” its F&B offering, compared to what it typically would have been 10 years ago. The Waldorf Astoria hotel also offers its traditional steakhouse, the Lexington Grill, which according to Lazarus, pays homage to the roots of the Waldorf in New York City.

At Conrad Dubai, he highlights the Las Vegas concept PuroBeach and the Marco Pierre White Grill, international brands yet managed by Conrad, and Cave wine bar, created and run by Conrad.

“We listen to what people say. We ask surveys, we look at the comments our guests give us. Cave, for example, came out of that need of having a great place to drink wine and French comfort food. Where else in Dubai will you find great onion soup?” asks Lazarus.

“Conrad Dubai also has Izel, a Latin American supper club, which is going to have a 10-piece band, and dancing. The concept of supper clubs is another lost thing in F&B; supper clubs and cabarets are just coming back so we are providing that.

“Conrad doesn’t have an all-day dining traditional restaurant. We have Ballaro, which is a Sicilian market restaurant and that’s in partnership with Massimo Mantarro, who is a two-star Michelin chef. You will see the produce and the cooks cooking in front; it’s purely a Sicilian theme.”

He says Hilton turned the idea of an “all day dining” option on its head with the outlet, where “it’s not a breakfast restaurant, it’s a restaurant that happens to serve breakfast”.
At existing hotels, Hilton Worldwide has also tried to offer something a little different, with Pure Sky Lounge opening at the Hilton Jumeirah Residences, and the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah’s Wavebreaker undergoing “a massive refurbishment”.

“Not only are we building new properties but our existing properties are really getting a rethink,” he says.

“There are so many new things to talk about — we are launching a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Lounge in Ras Al Khaimah. Ras Al Khaimah is now really what Dubai was 20 years ago. If you look at who’s coming to Waldorf, it is people that work in Dubai that happen to live in Al Hamra.
I imagine you will see a lot more branded and high-energy restaurants and bars coming there.”

Hemingway’s in Hilton Abu Dhabi is also scheduled for a refurbishment, and while Lazarus is tight-lipped about Hilton Dubai Creek Table9’s future, with Nick Alvis and Scott Price leaving the fold in January 2014, it is hinted that an announcement of a new culinary team will be made soon.

Lazarus observes the significance of the company’s focus on home-grown and local concepts. Speaking about outlets in the Conrad Dubai, he says: “This is all Dubai; this grew for the Dubai market. It’s not like somebody in Washington went, ‘this is what we are going to do’. Everything that you see here was born in Dubai. So I think we need to really be proud of doing things differently here”.

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