Skift Take
There’s always been a unique relationship between hotels and restaurants — and the chefs who run them. With her role at the Standard, Dimayuga wants to take the relationship and elevate it even further, making it clear that hotels really can be the true community centers they were always meant to be.
— Deanna Ting
The first Skift Restaurants Forum will be held on Monday, September 24 in New York City. Join us, our stellar lineup of speakers, and 250+ industry professionals to discuss the future of the industry.
As the creative director of food and culture for Standard International, the company behind Standard Hotels and Bunkhouse Hotels, accomplished chef Angela Dimayuga is charting new territory.
In her new role, the James Beard-nominated chef who made her name as the executive chef of Mission Chinese Food isn’t just overseeing what’s coming out of the kitchens at the various Standard hotels around the world — she’s also been tasked with transforming the hotels’ cultural programming. And to do so, Dimayuga is drawing heavily on food, music, art, and activism.
On Monday, September 24, Dimayuga will discuss her plans for using the Standard’s hotels as a platform for engaging local communities, as well as the unique and ever-evolving relationship that chefs and hotels have, at the inaugural Skift Restaurants Forum.
Prior to her speaking at the Skift Restaurants Forum, Skift Table caught up with Dimayuga for a preview of what to expect from our conversation. Here’s what she had to say.
Skift Table: Do you see the role of hotels as community centers changing? If so, in what way? How can hotels serve as a platform for food and for ideas?
Angela Dimayuga: A lot of my job at The Standard is to look at hotels with a really critical eye. Being able to use our continuing programming as a platform to host and engage with culture as a way to concretize our philosophy is a special part of working with hotels. Since it’s a 24 hour experience, there’s a higher level of hospitality delivered compared to a restaurant and more opportunities to both cater to the social calendar and think outside the box, creating our own initiatives. In addition to having public spaces, restaurants and bars, hotels have the unique ability to interact with guests in their rooms and digitally. From the amenities to design choices, tactile details or the minibar, there are a lot of fun and new ways for us to think of hospitality.
Skift Table: How is the role of chefs changing as that role relates to hotels?
Dimayuga: Chefs are a necessary part of the 24-hour guest experience. Yes, you can rest, sleep and party in a hotel space but you need to eat too. A hotel needs to not be only known as a great hotel but also space with great food and drink experiences available in their outlets. The frequency with which people are consuming these experiences means that chefs who are able to stay up-to-date are absolutely necessary to maintaining the relevancy of these spaces that are so integral to the guest experience.
Skift Table: What do you think the hospitality industry in general should be paying more attention to than it is now?
Dimayuga: Hotels should be paying attention to the changes the industry as a whole is going through. Their commitment to supporting this evolution should be apparent in every detail. Guests are looking critically at the injustice occurring in every industry, including ours. Hotels need to take a thoughtful stance, remain committed and be thorough. Moving the needle throughout our spaces involves rigorous training, service style and programming. Consistency in our product and the atmosphere we foster is key.
