from Charlotte who has worked as cfsa’s food coordinator for the past four years. “When Kris came in, I had a little anxiety, because I was getting a good feel for exactly how much food we were talking about — how many meals,” Walsh said. “But Kris was great. She and [Sheraton Executive] Chef [Elhaj Tayouga] developed a rapport, and I let the foodies do what they wanted to do.” Reid and Tayouga spent two months negotiating the menus,
with Tayouga and his team creating around 80 percent of them. “The chef was really excited and engaged, and cared a lot about the event,” Reid said. “I would say, ‘This is what I have avail- able. Here are some menu ideas that I’ve drawn up. Use them as guide. I’d like you to email me your ideas.’ Then I would look at their suggestions and say, ‘This is a great idea,’ or ‘It doesn’t include enough local ingredients,’ or ‘I like the idea for this menu, but there aren’t enough vegan options.’” When the menus were finalized, 85 to 90 percent of the
food ended up coming from local sources. “The hotel pur- chased olive oil, seasonings, and things that we couldn’t pos- sibly get locally,” Reid said. “But the flour was local and milled locally. The sweet-potato chips were from a local bakery that made them with sweet potatoes from a local farm. It was as local as you could possibly get for an event this size.”
‘There is concern that they won’t meet their profit goals. But if the hotel wants our business bad enough, they will venture into this uncharted territory.’