I Used to Design Meals for Marriott Luxury Hotels
Now I make meals for those who need them most
For the past eight years in my role as vice president of culinary for Marriott’s luxury brand portfolio, it’s been my job to supervise the designing of restaurants, bars, and event spaces for all newbuild hotels in the Americas. I have traveled roughly 250,000 miles a year.
Those 250,000 miles came with more than 200 nights a year away from home — sleeping, breathing, eating, drinking, and talking about food and beverages. Then came COVID-19. First, like most of us, I thought, well, it’s just another one of those things. I’ll be fine traveling — in my 40-year career, I lived and worked through SARS, swine flu, hurricanes, and the financial crisis.
Then reality hit: During an internal company travel ban for nonessential business, I managed to squeeze in two trips to assist hotels that were in the process of opening. Then we were told to work from home — no travel. I quickly realized that things will get a lot worse before they get better. Sure enough: As of April 4, 85 percent of all Marriott HQ employees were furloughed for 60 to 90 days, including yours truly.
Another thing my job taught me: The hardest-hit segment of the population in any crisis will be the food…
