The San Francisco Marriott Marquis, a landmark hotel in downtown San Francisco, has been selected to host the Northern California regional Masters of the Craft competition. At the event, employees within the Marriott International hotels across all levels of experience and expertise compete to prove their prowess through quick-fire cooking and bartending challenges, in the contest modeled after popular cooking competition shows. The regional culinary and beverage competition, designed to discover and showcase some of Marriott’s best talent behind its restaurants and bars across the western region, will take place at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on August 5, 2019.
“Masters of the Craft is an innovating contest for the Marriott brand and we’re excited to host this year’s regional competition in our magical city at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis,” said San Francisco Marriott Marquis General Manager, Mike Kass. “We pride ourselves in delivering the best experiences for our guests, and the opportunity to learn from other Marriott chefs and mixologists at this competition will help us further improve the food and beverage offerings at our hotel.”
Marriott employees across the country begin at the individual property competitions to showcase their culinary and mixology skills, with the subsequent winners moving on to sectional and then regional competitions. 18 culinary and 13 mixology finalists are selected at the regional competition to compete against each other in the semifinals to determine the two finalists for each category. The final four contestants then compete for the international championship titles at Marriott International’s headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2018, more than 2,200 employees from 280 Marriott properties competed in the competition.
An all-star lineup of local industry experts will be on hand to judge the regional competition, including James Aptakin, culinary director of the world-renowned Crenn Dining Group helmed by Dominique Crenn; Gerald Hirigoyen, executive chef and owner of Piperade, San Francisco’s acclaimed Basque restaurant; Adam Jed, co-founder and owner of local favorite Bluestem Brasserie; Roland Passot, award-winning French chef and owner of La Folie; Pati Poblete, editor-in-chief of the iconic San Francisco magazine; and Brian Sheehy, cocktail pioneer and co-founder and owner of Bourbon and Branch. These guest judges are responsible for critiquing dishes and beverages for presentation, creativity, taste and showmanship, and will choose one culinary finalist and one mixology finalist to move on to the semifinals.
Chefs and mixologists from Marriott properties across the country will be participating in this exciting competition to win an all-expenses paid culinary or beverage educational experience to further foster their talent and passion for the industry, a three-night stay at a Marriott property of choice, and a custom-made chef’s jacket or bar apron.
For more information about Marriott International’s Masters of the Craft, please click here. For more information about the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, please click here.
