Hilton brings brunch home

THE professionally-catered and delicious food will be provided, but you provide the drinks and the location. That's the premise of Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre's Hilton at-home service –a measure created to bring the treat of fine dining to the safety of one's home.

When covid19 measures were most restrictive, earlier this year, the hotel looked at ways to keep the Hilton, St Ann's taste, familiar to its clients. With meal offerings which are not typically at-home creations, the hotel's chefs do the work, which diners can take away.

Food and beverage manager Shiyas Babu told Newsday the hotel’s Sunday Brunch usually catered to 80-100 people and was one of its more popular weekly events. These days, between 50 and 60 people drive to the hotel to pick up their prepared meals.

While many restaurants were doing curbside pick up and delivery, Babu decided that if diners could not go the hotel’s popular brunch, the hotel would bring brunch to diners.

“We didn’t want to just to regular curbside orders and we didn’t want to prepare meals that people could get anywhere else. You are not coming for chicken wings at the Hilton,” Babu said.

“Our idea is that it wasn’t only to drive in money but also to keep people’s memories alive and give them access to the Hilton taste.”

The brunch itself comes with appetisers, main courses, sides and desserts. It also comes with heating instructions and takes less than five minutes to prepare.

The Sunday brunch menu changes so every week there is something new. On a Sunday in November, the hotel offered meals which included three main courses, three sides and three dessert. There is a minimum two-person order rule.

The meal included a main course of grilled lamb shoulder served with garlic and rosemary jus, poached snapper in a Caribbean broth served with ginger and coconut sauce, three sides, including a lobster mac and cheese and an assortment of desserts.

While the hotel has not returned to full service at its restaurants because of the pandemic, it has implemented new safety measures for diners, as its weekend breakfast has restarted.

“We are an international brand and we have a social responsibility to maintain a safe environment, so with re-opening people will see some changes.”

Changes include a hands-free buffet, where instead of gathering together with other diners, physical distancing is maintained by chefs doing the serving. The hotel's restaurant has an air glove dispenser and items such as cereal are pre-sorted into individual cups. There is no food left open and the staff is constantly monitoring to make sure there is minimal contact between guests.

"We want people to enjoy the meal and to do that they need to feel safe."

Babu said while many things had changed, the Hilton was still focused on serving its patrons at a high quality.