MONTREAL, QUEBEC–(Marketwire - June 20, 2007) - Sofitel Montreal officially launched its patio for the season, with a cocktail event with a twist: the theme was based on experiencing an enhanced culinary appreciation by invoking all the senses. The event was inspired by a course taken by the sous-chefs and servers of the hotel’s Renoir restaurant with the objective of improving their understanding of how we relate to and experience food, thereby enhancing the pleasure we take in dining.
The course, which was given over five, two-hour sessions, was taught by Ms. Andy Brasseur, an instructor trained in teaching the stimulation of the senses. The training educated students on how to focus on and engage all the senses (touch, sight, hearing, taste and scent) when enjoying food, elevating the experience beyond the mundane (simple consumption) to the sublime (creating a more fulfilling and memorable culinary occasion). Ms. Brasseur was trained at the Institut du Gout in France (the “Taste Institute”). Her training follows a method created by Jacques Puisais which aims to educate individuals on how to better understand our reactions to food and to better appreciate what we are eating.
The staff of the Sofitel’s Renoir are the first and only restaurant personnel in North America to have obtained certification in taste training according to the Jacques Puissais method. This exceptional training offers the clientele of Renoir a unique benefit in that the staff is prepared to answer any and all questions regarding the food and/or preparation from a more in-depth perspective, and are not limited to the “obvious” observations such as ingredients.
The cocktail was held on the hotel’s elegant patio and featured Renoir’s new Ice Station, inspired by a new area of fine cuisine, “molecular gastronomy”, which involves the application of science to culinary practice.
Sofitel: 200 premium hotels around the world
Because no one country or city is the same, Sofitel has made each of its 200 hotels around the world a truly unique establishment. Combining the spirit of each place with the values of modernity, refinement and absolute comfort, they are all imbued in their inimitable way with the French “art de vivre”.
Whether their setting is a great business metropolis like Paris, New York or Bangkok, or nestling in the landscape in Indonesia, Polynesia or Brazil, each Sofitel hotel offers travelers a genuine haven of peace. So that each guest, for an overnight stay or longer, during a business trip or for a holiday, can enjoy the rich variety of these unique places in comfort and tranquility.
Accor, European leader in hotels and tourism, global leader in corporate services, operates in nearly 100 countries with 160,000 employees. It offers to its individual and corporate clients nearly 40 years of expertise in its two core businesses:
- Hotels, with the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, Red Roof Inn, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands: over 4,000 hotels and 475,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenotre, ambassador of the gastronomy ‘a la francaise’ worldwide;
- Services to corporate clients and public institutions: 21 million people in 35 countries benefit from Accor Services products - meal and food vouchers, people care, incentive and loyalty programs.
For Sofitel Montréal information visit www.sofitel.com or 514.285.9000