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ENTREE
Celebrity Chefs
Work With Partners
To Adapt Their Brands
For Airpor ts
By Ramon Lo
For many years, chefs have been
turning cooking into a form of
entertainment by stepping out from
behind the kitchen to in front of television
cameras. This has led to the growing
popularity of shows on Food Network,
Cooking Channel and Bravo. The shift from
culinary artisan to television personality is
the genesis of the term “celebrity chef.”
“Chefs are the new rock stars,” declares
Michael Coury, concept chef for OTG
Management.
Overlooked is the fact that these chefs,
with culinary skills matched or exceeded
only by their culinary knowledge, are
among the most respected in their
profession. But they aren’t content to
simply lend their name and collect a royalty.
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A R N J U LY 2 0 1 3
Instead, they look to become heavily
involved in many, if not all, facets of the
process. Celebrity alone is no guarantee of
success, however. All cite trust as the key
ingredient to a successful partnership.
Andrew Zimmern
New York-born and longtime Minnesota
resident Andrew Zimmern is known for
his series “Bizarre Foods” on the Travel
Channel, which sees him traveling to
exotic locations and delighting in the
consumption of some very odd, local
delicacies. What might not be known is
that he is also an accomplished chef and
food writer. Having traveled the world,
Zimmern says he always had airport food
in the back of his mind.
“As somebody who people looked to for
their opinions on these things, I was
growing increasingly more disappointed,”
Zimmern explains. “I would be complaining
to anybody who listened, ‘Why can’t I just
get a decent sandwich?’”
Then
came
OTG’s
plans
for
Minneapolis-St. Paul International’s
(MSP) Concourse G.
Coury admits that when he reached out
to Zimmern to ask whether the chef and
television personality would participate,
he braced himself for the possibility of
having to deal with a difficult celebrity
chef. He was happily disappointed when
he discovered how easy the relationship
began and continues to be.
Zimmern says he was equally surprised.
“When Michael explained to me the
nuts and bolts of how they worked, I hung
up the phone and I did say yes right
away,” Zimmern adds. “I thought to
myself, ‘Well, this is a little bit too good to
be true.’”
Coury, who is himself a chef, simply
asked what Zimmern had in mind.
“When we started talking conceptual
what he wanted to do, Andrew brought up
sandwich,” Coury tells. “The conversation
didn’t go any further because it made so
much sense to me.”
The two sides proceeded to develop
MinniBar in hopes of tackling Zimmern’s
assertion of never being able to get a
passable sandwich in an airport. The menu
Andrew Zimmern, center,
at right, shares pictures of
the food at MinniBar on
his phone to chefs Russel
Klein, left, and Lenny
Russo, right during an
event announcing OTG
Management’s program for
Minneapolis-St. Paul
International. The
restaurant, above, features
sandwiches with a diverse
set of ingredients from
around the world. The
menu is reflective of
Zimmern’s belief that food
should be tied to a story.
J U LY 2 0 1 3 A R N
35
Lorena Garcia, standing, at left,
takes a moment to greet diners
during the opening of her Lorena
Garcia Cocina in Miami
International. Another of her
restaurants, Lorena Garcia Tapas
at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International, above, features
made-to-order dishes and cocktails.
is comprised of international-style
sandwiches featuring diverse ingredients
such as kimchi, a Korean side dish;
Moroccan-spiced vegetables; pimiento
cheese; and mornay sauce. The variety
holds true to Zimmern’s philosophy of tying
food with a story and thus developing a
menu with “cultural resonance.”
John Greer, assistant director of
concessions and business development
at MSP, says he is “thrilled at how this
concept has turned out.”
“The facilities are beautiful, the food
fantastic and the seats are always full,” he
comments.
The partnership has gone so well that
the two sides developed Interwich at
LaGuardia’s (LGA) Terminal C, in addition
to a second MinniBar at MSP.
With three locations under their
collective belts, the work continues.
Zimmern says he never hesitates to take a
moment to have a meal or, at the very
least, stop by one of the two MinniBars and
mention to on-site OTG managers whether
something needs to be corrected. In these
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situations, Zimmern is seen as an OTG
team member whose voice carries as
much weight as Coury’s. Hence, matters
are addressed immediately and often
without having to place a call to OTG’s
offices. Zimmern is working on the menu
because “you have to constantly be
evolving and innovating and giving the
consumer what they want.”
Lorena Garcia
Venezuela-born Lorena Garcia is known
for being a judge on “America’s Next Great
Restaurant,” a competitor on Bravo’s “Top
Chef Masters,” host of “Sazon Con Lorena
Garcia” on Fox International’s Utilisima
channel and developer of Taco Bell’s
Cantina Bell menu.
Having worked her way through
restaurants in France, Japan, Korea,
Thailand and China, Garcia says she likes
to bring these influences and pair them
with her Latin American heritage. And so
Garcia prefers to design menus that
would allow the customer “to feel lighter
but feel like you had a meal.”
An avid traveler, Garcia confesses that
often the only meal she is able to get is
the one at an airport. So when she was
approached by HMSHost Corp. five years
ago, the airport arena was already of great
interest to her. Unfortunately, according to
Frank Sickelsmith, vice president of adult
beverage and restaurant development for
HMSHost, the opportunity disappeared as
certain flights in the particular concourse
changed. But the company continued to
pursue other opportunities to work with
Garcia until one finally presented itself.
Lorena Garcia Cocina opened at Miami
International’s (MIA) Terminal D in April
2011; a Lorena Garcia Tapas opened in
Hartsfield-Jackson
Atlanta
International (ATL) in October, with a second
to come at Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) in spring 2015.
“Lorena Garcia Tapas Bar’s popularity
has been so successful that we have
recently expanded the location to offer
more seating,” says Paul Brown,
concessions director of ATL. “Customers
rave about the innovative menu
selections, like the mango-glazed chicken
wings. The restaurant’s strong top line
sales easily exceed $700 per square foot
in annual revenues.”
The development process with Garcia is
a little different than it is with other
scenarios. Sickelsmith presents her the
space and the type of equipment first.
Then, based on those factors, she
develops the menu. The method may be
different and constraining, but Garcia
relishes it.
“I see every challenge as an
opportunity,” Garcia says, noting that it is
natural for all chefs to be able to think on
their feet and adjust quickly and capably.
“All those challenges make us better.”
She also explains that in street-side
restaurants, the placement of the
equipment in the space and establishing a
flow to the cooking process normally
comes before the creation of the menu.
Garcia continues to develop new
dishes, citing it as imperative to stay
current with trends and use items about
which her restaurant chefs say travelers
ask. She often invites Sickelsmith or, most
recently, HMSHost President and CEO Tom
Fricke to her Downtown Miami kitchen
studio to sample items she is developing.
The relationship continues to grow,
moving beyond development of her
restaurant brands to consult and advise
Michael Symon addresses the Bar Symon
restaurant staff prior to opening in the
Center Core of Pittsburgh International.
He and his team were as involved in the
design of the restaurant and training of
the staff as it was with the menu.
the company on other matters, notes
Sickelsmith.
Michael Symon
Iron Chef and restaurateur Michael
Symon and United Concessions Group
Vice President Ben Rababy met in a twist of
irony: the closing, not opening, of a
restaurant. In 2010, the Cleveland native and
James Beard Award-winning chef tweeted
about the closing of the one place at
Cleveland Hopkins International (CLE) he
felt he could always get a good cup of coffee
and a breakfast burrito; it was a restaurant
operated by Rababy and his family.
“I kind of think that it’s [wrong] that the
little guy gets cut out and that we need to
keep our local flavor,” Symon recalls,
speaking of what he posted on his Twitter
account.
Hearing about the support, Rababy
called to thank him. During the
conversation, Rababy, whose company
operates 14 stores at CLE, added that if
Symon ever wanted to expand into
airports to give him a call. It turns out that
the Iron Chef had been approached in the
past but always declined. This time,
Symon felt differently.
“When we met, we just got that kind of
feeling,” Symon recounts. “This is the right
guy, this is the right thing and this is the
right time to do it.”
Symon insisted that he did not want a
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restaurant where people would describe
the meal as “being good for an airport.”
His goal was to eliminate the “for.” To
accomplish this, Symon required the
restaurant make the food “a la minute,” or
prepared to order and not in advance;
therefore, the menu offers a selection of
American comfort foods such as burgers,
sandwiches, salads, and macaroni and
cheese to go along with a selection of
beers and specialty drinks.
Bar Symon, which is operated in
partnership with Paradies, opened at
Pittsburgh International’s (PIT) Center
Core in June 2012.
“Chef Symon’s dedication to fresh,
innovative cuisine is evident in all he does,
and he has brought that energy to his first
airport restaurant at the AIRMALL at
Pittsburgh International,” says Jay
Kruisselbrink, vice president of development
for AIRMALL USA. “Passengers are
responding to Bar Symon by making it a
preferred destination for a quick bite on the
go or a great meal while at the airport.”
Symon and his team’s involvement
were not limited only to the development
of the menu. His wife, Liz, serves as the
restaurant’s interior designer, and partner
Doug Petkovic handles the operations
side, which means training and support.
The two also have these roles for Symon’s
restaurants on the street.
“It has been a true pleasure to work
with this exceptionally talented team who
have an infectious passion for delivering
extraordinary cuisine with quick yet
gracious service,” says Gregg Paradies,
president and CEO of Paradies. “Our
partnership
has
been
extremely
enjoyable, and we look forward to offering
more Bar Symon restaurants in airports
throughout North America.”
We’d like to hear your opinion
about this article. Please direct all
correspondence to Ramon Lo at
ramon@airportrevenuenews.com.