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İstanbul, 19 March July, 2014 : The Grand Dame of Istanbul, Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, has been chosen as the “Kempinski Best Food and Beverage Hotel 2013”. The award was presented to General Manager Ralph Radtke at the Kempinski General Managers’ Meeting 2013 on 25 July, 2013recently , in Berlin. “We are obsessed with quality and the guest experience. I am convinced that what make a hotel unique, outside of all the usual unique selling points such as location, are its food and beverage offerings together with faultless guest service. Good taste is simply unforgettable; it creates memories. The Kempinski Best Food and Beverage Hotel 2013 award is, for me, recognition of our on-going efforts to provide perfection. We will strive for excellence in every aspect of our service, with a special emphasis on food and beverage as it is also our company motto”, says Ralph Radtke. One of the landmark properties of the Kempinski Group, Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul is also a flagship property when it comes to sharing Kempinski’s goal of becoming better known as a food and beverage driven company, a goal that brings the company back to its roots as restaurateurs, just like when it was founded in 1897. “This award was introduced this year and we gave the first one to Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul for many reasons, including the successful re-organisation of its food and beverage structure, the re-positioning of its outlets, the hotel’s success in attracting and grooming the best external and internal talents, providing consistent high-quality service as certified by measurable tools, and being the best at utilising focus groups and surveys to anticipate the future needs of the guests”, says Kempinski Corporate Food and Beverage Vice President Stéphane Bellon. Radtke, when he took the post in October 2011, started “moving and shaking” the hotel from the Food and Beverage department by hiring a team of true professionals; a new Food and Beverage Director, a new Executive Pastry Chef and a Master Chocolatier – the first Master Chocolatier in the city – in addition to making an internal promotion to give the hotel its first ever Turkish Executive Chef. Every single one of the restaurant concepts was revised and a unique identity was given to all. A brand new venue amidst the gardens, Le Fumoir Pavilion, the summer extension of the chic bar Le Fumoir, was created and soon proved to be very popular among guests and local jet-setters. Due to high demand, the venue was extended in May 2013. A local top “baklava” chef from Gaziantep, the holy land of the most delicious baklava on Earth, was hired. Other changes were made as well, such as the revamping of the al fresco summer restaurant, the Bosphorus Grill, and setting up a nostalgic ice cream cart to go around the hotel and serve frozen treats. The hotel is proud that everything is now made in house, from bread to ice cream to sushi, and everything is made with fresh, local, seasonal and top quality products which are, whenever possible, organic. It was Ralph Radtke’s vision to have the best food and beverage offerings in the country by 2015 when he started his post in 2011; it seems like the hotel is on the right track. “Ralph is fully committed to his vision. Besides, they have a fantastic team spirit!” adds Bellon. The hotel was also the winner of the “Kempinski Dessert of the Year 2013” with its delicious Bosphorale cake, which was chosen from 51 recipes by 51 executive pastry chefs then judged by 80 food and beverage executives in a blind tasting.
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