Joshua Murray, executive chef at The Conrad Washington DC, did not let the pandemic steal his creativity. In fact, one of HOTELS inaugural Top 10 winners in the food and beverage category pivoted with F&B innovations throughout the crisis to continually capture guest’s attention.
Murray was able to take a traditional lobby lounge and restaurant operation and built experiences in outdoor spaces, which adhered to government regulations.
Further activations included his Hidden Terrace concept, where his menu presentations included a tree stump cloche and a bucatini dish resembling a bird’s nest. An Aprés Ski concept brought the Alps to the center of DC through traditional flavors of the slopes in dishes such as a Tartiflette for Two and Pipee d’oignon Francais and caviar.
In addition, with the reimagining of the Sakura Club and the re-concepting of Summit the Rooftop, Murray introduced a progressive sensibility, driven by an eco-friendly and socially conscious approach to food and drink, including menu items cooked in a solar oven and incorporating herbs from the rooftop garden, to achieve the hotel’s mission of creating modern luxury.
HOTELS reached out to Top 10 award winner Murray to get his take on delivering exceptional F&B during a pandemic, service changes required to make it work and what he thinks is coming next in the hotel F&B space.
HOTELS: What are your guests asking for differently today?
Joshua Murray: Aside from enhanced cleaning and safety associated with COVID, diners want honesty on a plate or in a glass. With extra money to spend they are looking to upgrade their experience and pay for it, but they don’t want it complicated or clouded. Social responsibility is critical, as well. So, we have been truly embracing progressive food and beverage by doing things like featuring only woman-made wines, not just sourcing local but looking to support small and minority owned businesses that embody the same values of sustainability and diversity as we do, and exploring the use of solar cooking and using imperfect fruits and vegetables.
H: What is the biggest service change you’ve made as a result of COVID?
JM: A massive push for compassionate and intentional service. COVID has impacted so many people in so many ways, and it is critical to connect with your customer in order to deliver at the highest level. We are still encountering people that are going out for the first time. Everyone’s comfort level is different and if we are going to build this industry back we must build confidence with intentional service.
H: What will become a permanent change brought about by COVID?
JM: Actually, I have two, if I may. I believe the QR Code for menus will live on. I know it’s a simple one but there are a lot of benefits that go beyond the service elements. To name a few: the ability to change the menu in a moment’s notice, the sustainability factor of not using paper, the ability to include links to vendors who you want to celebrate and allow the curious diner to read more about where their food is coming from, and finally the ability to reduce clutter on the table.
The second one is more complex and involves staffing. I’ve always believed the treatment and respect of staff is most vital, but COVID has caused many in the hospitality industry to reflect and look elsewhere for jobs. I believe we will get back to normal staffing levels, namely because those of us who work in hospitality truly love it and each other to the core, but we as an industry must make it a priority to take care of our employees, compensate for the jobs they do and evaluate how we can achieve giving a little more balance that other industries are achieving.
H: What is the next big trend in hotel F&B?
JM: I believe that hotel restaurants will more and more be positioned to be relevant to the surrounding community and not just out-of-town travelers. Clear concepts will be established based on local competitive sets and positioned as differentiators within the surrounding market. Likewise, both culinary and operational decisions will begin to be made based on making a great restaurant for the neighborhood and not based solely on the hotel.
The base clientele for hotel F&B will start to shift from only hotel guests to local diners. For example, you’ll start to see more and more unique programming and local partnerships, as well as take-out and delivery services and outdoor dining, all to help drive that clientele.
COVID was hard on the whole industry, but hotel restaurants that have been able to position themselves in this manner have had an easier time re-opening and running even when the hotel occupancy is low. I believe the industry as a whole will learn lessons from this and start to incorporate this in their strategy.
H: What has been the most successful promotion or service strategy to drive revenue during current market conditions? 
JM: There have been a few, but the one thing that we’ve found to be successful among them is the ability to be agile and provide the guest with a unique solution to the whirlwind of change that they’re also facing. Two ways we’ve done this particularly well:
- Micro-wedding packages. This has been hugely successful for couples who have had to reschedule their weddings two and three times and are looking for an intimate celebration with friends and family. Our hotel, in particular, offers a few very cool spaces for couples to personalize the look and feel of their celebration and our F&B offerings are able to reflect that, as well. We’ve done everything from a simple luncheon for 10 people, to a completely tailored dining experience for 25.
- Outdoor dining experiences. When the District of Columbia shut down indoor dining, we were able to pivot away from providing only hotel restaurant offerings to creating truly innovative outdoor dining activations, such as our Hidden Terrace – a three-course meal inspired by our South Terrace, where it was also served. Our ability to pivot to create unique outdoor dining experiences is one of the motivations for the creation of our programming at Summit.
H: Who was your biggest mentor and what was the most important lesson learned?
JM: My biggest mentors are my mother and father. I’ve had plenty of people along my career that have taught me a lot but my mother and father are why I am the way I am. They instilled in me the importance of family, togetherness, determination, love, humility, hard work and that if you want it, then you build it piece by piece. They’re both pretty great cooks themselves, as well, but they really were an example of hospitality, community and what breaking bread around a table meant. By their own nature we used to joke that they were parents to half of my home town because everyone was always coming by and they would do anything for anyone.
H: What are the hottest new food and beverage menu items?
JM: Honestly, for me the hottest thing right now is seeing some early results of the pent-up creativity both on the food and beverage side from the past year and a half. When you bottle up a creative, people-facing industry like food and beverage, as we were for this pandemic, it causes all of these creators to internalize, explore and perfect their craft.
In my opinion, the coming months and years will be really special. The industry is shifting constantly right now based on restrictions and other COVID-related issues, but I think there is a long list of epic ideas that the industry is going to unleash on the consumers. I’m not willing to pick anything specific right now – I simply want to go out to eat and enjoy the ride.
H: What are you reading today?
JM: I’ve been on a really big history kick lately. Whether it’s in regards to the story of food or the history of this country, I can’t seem to get enough. When it comes to food history, the ability to understand origins, how they connect to culture and then paying respect to that through my current cooking style is a big motivator in my career. There is so much inspiration to be had.
When it comes to U.S. history, it’s about reflection and understanding the how’s and the why’s. We are at an interesting time in our country right now and I am motivated to help make it the best version I can. For me that means being honest about what we have done great and even more importantly what we have not done so great. I believe that honesty really helps making positive shifts to a brighter future for all.