NEW ORLEANS – The Omni Royal Orleans, 621 St. Louis St., is featuring ¡Destinación Chile!, a special bar menu and rooms package complementing Omni Hotels & Resorts’ “Flavors of the World” culinary series.
Omni Hotels & Resorts has partnered with Wines of Chile to offer ¡Destinación Chile!, showcasing contemporary traditional Chilean food as well as wines from the diverse growing regions of Chile.
Like New Orleans, the Chilean people are steeped in a strong culture of food and wine. Omni explored the culinary traditions and techniques of Chile, bringing Omni chefs from across the country – including Rib Room Chef Tom Wolfe – to the Culinary Institute of America San Antonio campus in June to attend a three-day immersive training in Chilean cuisine, cooking techniques and wines with Chilean Chef Rocío Alvarado Díaz.
Wines of Chile complemented the curriculum with wine training and an exploration of varietal pairings.
Thirty Omni food and beverage directors, representing properties from across the U.S., then traveled to Chile for a week in September to taste wines in multiple regions and engage with winemakers for a comprehensive in situ wine education.
“While visiting Chile, our team discovered rustic flavors, warm and welcoming people, a compelling landscape and some of the best wines in the world,” said David Morgan, vice president of food & beverage of Omni Hotels & Resorts. “We have captured the unique climates and incredibly diverse terroir that our chefs and culinary team experienced through a cultural immersion in this beautiful country. By partnering with the stellar organizations of Wines of Chile, Chile Oliva, ProChile and Fundación Imagen, and experiencing the culture first-hand, we can truly serve our guests a taste of authentic Chilean flavors.”
“We are honored that Omni chose Chile for the 2015 Flavors of the World program,” said Marybeth Bentwood, executive director of Wines of Chile USA. “Consumers discover new wines, cocktails and cuisines through restaurants and bars. There is not a more exciting and emerging culinary destination than Chile, and there is not a better partner than Omni Hotels & Resorts to introduce it to food, wine and cocktail aficionados in the U.S. We are thrilled to be joined by Chile Oliva, a consortium of Chile’s finest olive oil producers, Pisco Capel, one of Chile’s best pisco producers, as well as Fundación Imagen and ProChile, two organization dedicated to promoting Chile.”
Available at the Rib Room Bar and Touché Bar, ¡Destinación Chile! offers guests a sampling of flavors with Empanada Con Pebre, featuring beef, prawn and traditional country empanadas, Choritos, steamed mussels with tomato, onion, bell pepper and cilantro, Costilla, pork ribs slow cooked in beer, palm honey and Chilean smoked pepper, a traditional Chacarerito, beef steak with green beans, banana pepper and tomato and Milcaos Con Pebre De Palta, fried potato cakes topped with avocado, banana pepper, tomato and Chilean sea salt.
Throughout the promotion, each participating hotel will feature eight to 11 hand-selected Chilean wines in its bars and restaurants. Wine selections consist of favorites such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Riesling; and new discoveries like Carmenere. Wines are available by the bottle and in 6- or 9-ounce pours. In addition to wine, guests can also enjoy cocktails made with Chile’s national spirit, Pisco, a grape distillate.
The ¡Destinación Chile! rooms package, available now through Dec. 31, features deluxe hotel accommodations, a bottle of Chilean wine, traditional Merquén spices and a recipe card for authentic Beef Empanada.