January ... is always the first month of the year. It's always a time of resolutions. A time to start over and begin again. This year... I planned one of my programs for the very first week after the New Year. What on earth was I thinking? Well.. in retrospect, whatever I was thinking.. it turned out to be quite successful.
Yes, the holidays made things a little more hectic since everyone was in holiday mode.. but the end result is really all that matters. The Exchange has been a labor of love since the very first one. The sole focus of the program is relationships and of course, our passions... beverages. HEE West 2015 proved to be the best one to date. With more than 90 key suppliers and operators joining, it truly set the bar for future dates.
Things kicked off with Tony Abou-Ganim, the Modern Mixologist wowing the crowd with some reminders on how important attention to detail is when you are behind the bar. Ice is a key ingredient in every cocktail and when he broke out the chain-saw to Ice, Ice Baby... the audience loved it. Tony has become known as one of the top mixologists in the world and was recently named to the top 10 most influential in the beverage industry over the past 25 years.... by Cheers magazine. He was joined on the list by Dale DeGroff and Kathy Casey, who were both in attendance for HEE West.
Following Tony's presentation, the supplier marketplace kicked the event off with a night of innovations. Each supplier showcased one innovation that they wanted to engage operators in for 2015. The night was filled with laughter, toasts and conversations. It set the tone for the next two days.
Day 1 of the Exchange is always the busiest as it is jam packed with sessions, one-on-one meetings, a little fun and of course a great evening filled with fantastic food and wine. Tim Kirkland of Renegade Hospitality and Michael "Bumby" Bombard of Straight Up Solutions teamed up to create a one-of-a-kind custom presentation. For anyone who has ever heard either of them speak... you know without a blink of the eye... it was amazing. Their insights really started the first full day off with a bang! The core of the Exchange are the one-on-one meetings. This is what makes the program so unique and honestly, so successful. The room was buzzing with energy, the meetings were endless. Lunch provided to be very engaging with Dean Serneels of American Beverage Marketers entertaining us with his take on shared cocktails and unique vessels. Think... watering can, beer tower, coffee pot... trifle bowl... flower pot? Are you kidding? No... Dean really wowed us with about 10 different shared cocktails in some crazy vessels... but for some reason... they worked. When he brought out the bloody mary with the huge chicken appetizer.... the audience immediately came to full attention. The interactive chat was full of passion, energy, information and ideas. It resonated with the participants that as we all go about our daily jobs... inspiration can come from just about anyplace.
The afternoon got a kick-start setting the stage for the King of Cocktail, Dale DeGroff. Dale is a pioneer for binging the craft cocktail movement to where it sits today. He is a mentor to many of our top mixologists today... gaining huge recognition for his stint at the legendary Rainbow Room.
Dale has his own line of bitters... and his session was called I'll Take Manhattan creating a very unique tasting experience using various bitters. Did you ever imagine that bitters could change the entire personality of a drink?
Later in the day... the next session of one-on-ones were full of energy and the meetings were productive. The core of the Exchange focuses on conversations. Yes... we ask our participants to tweet, facebook, instagram... but we truly focus on face to face interaction in every aspect of the program.
To close out the afternoon, we put together a really fun "Iron Chef Tag Team" Competition featuring old school vs. new school. First up.... we had the 3 legends.. who were named to the top 10 list... led by their captain... Tony Abou-Ganim. The competition featured the talents of Charlotte Voisey, Philip Raimondo and Brian Loukmas. Now... for many of you... who may not follow Food Network.... both Tony and Charlotte have been on Iron Chef several times... with Tony being the reigning champion... so to say we played on that a little... well... OF Course, we did.
We asked Mike Tolley and Michael "Bumby" Bombard to pick a team... and they would be their MC as well as cheerleader. Needless to say.... Bumby definitely got into the spirit of things. We had each team pre-bach one cocktail with 4 ingredients or less to get our audience in the mood. We labeled the drinks red drink and yellow drink... so the audience would not know which team created each and they could vote for the drink and not the personalities. They enjoyed sipping on these cocktails during our lively battle.
Now... our teams...kept wanting to know the rules... wanting information... but as most of you know... I love spontaneous excitement. I love spur of the moment and "in" the moment. Behind the scenes, I had asked Chef Clarissa to create a 3 course menu. Appetizer/Entree and Dessert. I then asked her to pick one ingredient that she felt would bring out the best of each dish and the teams had to use that particular item in their cocktail. Prior to knowing what the dishes were.... each team had to pick who would create each course.
Each team would be judged with 4 categories. The audience would get the presentation vote. Then we had a panel of judges... Chef Rick Moonen, Jeannie Villarreal from Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and Dean Serneels with American Beverage Marketers. The judges would get to taste each course and try the cocktails for their categories of Taste/Technique/Balance.
So... how did the teams pair up... well.... Brian Loukmas and Kathy Casey were pitted against each other for the appetizer round. As luck would have it... Tony Abou-Ganim and Charlotte Voisey were in a re-match for the entree round... and then the King of Cocktail, Dale DeGroff would take on Philip Raimondo in the dessert round.
The great thing about this afternoon event was... the audience really got into it. They were cheering, sipping their red and yellow drinks... and engaging. Bumby and Tolley did a great job bringing the audience into the play by play with a few shenanigans of their own.
In our best IRON Chef style... Chef Clarissa came out and unveiled the dishes... one by one along with the secret ingredients. Appetizers had to use pears.... Entrees had to use Fennel and the Dessert Round had to use pistachios.
Let the battle begin.... it was crazy, chaotic, clever and most of all ... truly enjoyable. All 3 had to make their cocktails at the same time... and to say they were having fun is putting it mildly. Kathy kept taking ice... which was not provided... it was on one of the tables with the pre-batched drinks... so they had to scope it out. There was a pantry filled with many different spirits, wines, mixers, fruits, etc.
And away they went. It was clear that Charlotte was the audience favorite from the get go... as she got a cheering section that really got into it. The teams had 15 minutes to come up with their cocktails... and create them. Madness & Mayhem! It was AWESOME!!!!
When the timer sounded the drinks were presented by category... and of course, Loukmas named his cocktail after yours truly... so he definitely GOT my vote for appetizer round. All of the drinks were gorgeous... but the end result... was TEAM CHARLOTTE had taken the title. There was a lot of good natured ribbing and fun all around. it was a fantastic way to end day 1 and get ready for our baja bbq under the beautiful San Diego sky.
One of the great things about the Exchange is it is very relaxed and laid back. No ties. No pressure. No stress of feeling pulled here and there. The first full day comes to an end with an outdoor dining experience complete with grilled skirt steak and all the fixin's for a bbq to remember. The wine is fantastic... and the conversations are endless. Following dinner... is a tradition that has become near and dear to anyone who has been to any of the previous Exchanges.... our very own "Philly Joel" as he was dubbed. Phil Raimondo is simply amazing on the piano and the crowd always joins in to sing along as we have a great night of laughter, bonding, toasting and of course singing!
Sometimes... I take a deep breath... and just give a huge silent thanks... because I know that I am really blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people.
The Exchnage has 2 full days... with the second day... kicking off with a Bar Redeux session from Kathy Casey and Phil Raimondo. Yes... we played hard... and we work hard... the room is full... even after a night of shenanigans. The one on one meetings continue followed by a wonderful lunch on the outdoor terrace patio overlooking the golf course. The afternoon is kicked off by the ambassadors for William Grant giving a terrific Whiskey Bootcamp. the accents are all there and their passion is shining through for the love of whiskey.
The final one on ones come to a close... which sets up the excitement for the final dinner. There are no words to describe the feeling at this point... its adrenaline flowing... relief that it came off so successfully but most of all ... I feel very grateful. Grateful to be able to do what I love to do and be surrounded by some of the most amazing people ever. The final dinner features Celebrity Chef Rick Moonen, his famous ice cream game and his predicitions for 2015 in trends. He has been on Top Chef, the Hallmark channel and numerous other television shows... but tonight... he is my very good friend... sharing his own passion. If you want to experience his cuisine and cocktails first hand... next time you are in Vegas... stop by RM Seafood or Rx Boiler Room... both are located in Mandalay Bay Shoppes. You will not be disappointed!!!! As the night winds down... the cheers and toasts continue... I look around the room... and smile... for I know... I am in the right place at the right time... the momentum has hit.. and this is my family.
