American Express Provides Forum for Unlocking Secrets to Restaurant Success.ASPEN, Colo. -- 15th Annual American Express American Express (NYSE: AXP), sometimes known as "AmEx" or "Amex", is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. The company is best known for its credit card, charge card and traveler's cheque businesses. Restaurant Trade Program is Key Feature of Annual Food & Wine Magazine Classic Top chefs, restaurant owners and hospitality industry executives will gather in Aspen June 18 to 20 for the 15th Annual American Express Restaurant Trade Program. The two-day program, an exclusive feature of the world-renowned annual Food & Wine Magazine Classic at Aspen, will bring together some of the most recognizable names in the restaurant business to share best practices and insights on surviving and succeeding in today's environment of intense competition and ever-changing consumer tastes. "American Express is pleased to continue in our longstanding role as an advocate and business partner of the restaurant industry," said Elizabeth Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , vice president, Restaurant and Entertainment Industries, American Express. "By bringing together industry leaders at Aspen, we are able to help restaurateurs to achieve maximum business success while they continue to delight the dining public." This year's exceptional roster of speakers and participants will focus on such topics as branding, staff training, restaurant innovation, exceeding customer expectations and achieving new cost-efficiencies, in addition to the latest developments in the areas of food and wine. For the first time, independent restaurant chef-owners and representatives of some of the most prominent dining chains will come together to share their own perspectives in a session titled Independents and Chains: A Meeting of the Minds. The panelists including, Niki Leondakis, Kimpton Group, Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants; Lee Maen, Owner, Sushi Roku; Chris Sullivan, Founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , Outback Steakhouse Outback Steakhouse is a casual dining American restaurant chain based in Tampa, Florida with over 900 locations in 23 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. ; and Nick Valenti, President and CEO, Restaurant Associates, will exchange best practices based on their own highly divergent and intensively competitive views of the restaurant business. Due to popular demand, American Express is also bringing back A Star is Born: The Power of the Restaurant Review. Food & Wine magazine editor-in-chief Dana Cowin Dana Cowin is the current Editor-in-Chief of Food & Wine Magazine. Ms. Cowin, was previously the executive editor of Mademoiselle and the managing editor of HG magazine. She graduated from Brown University. She is married to Barclay Livingstone Palmer, a field producer with CNN. will moderate a debate between restaurant critics Michael Bauer Michael Bauer is a character in the telenovela (Soap Opera) Fashion House. He is played by actor Robert Buckley. Photographer with a heart of gold. of the San Francisco Chronicle The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young.[2] The paper grew along with San Francisco to become the largest circulation newspaper on the West Coast of the and Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post as well as noted restaurateurs Jimmy Bradley and Drew Nieporent Drew Nieporent is a New York City restaurateur. His company Myriad Restaurant Group owns and operates numerous restaurants, many of which are known for their celebrity clientele, and in some cases celebrity co-owners. on the relevance of the restaurant critic in America today. Other prominent guest speakers at this year's trade event will include Daniel Boulud Daniel Boulud (born March 25, 1955 in Saint-Pierre de Chandieu, France) is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, and Las Vegas. He is best known for his eponymous restaurant, Daniel, in New York City. , chef and owner of New York's Daniel, Cafe Boulud, Feast & Fetes and DB Bistro Moderne mo·derne adj. Striving to be modern in appearance or style but lacking taste or refinement; pretentious. [French, modern, from Old French; see modern.] Adj. 1. ; chef and owner Bobby Flay Robert William Flay is a fourth generation Irish-American, celebrity chef and restaurateur. He is the owner and executive chef of six restaurants: Mesa Grill, Bolo Bar & Restaurant, and Bar Americain in New York City, Mesa Grill of Bolo and Mesa Grill; Tom Valenti, chef/owner of Ouest and 'Cesca; Danny Meyer Daniel "Danny" Meyer (b. 1958, St Louis) is a New York City restauranteur. He was born and raised in St Louis, and spent portions of his childhood traveling throughout Europe with his father's tour company, studying food and hospitality extensively in France and Italy (including , president of the Union Square Hospitality Group; and noted wine educator and author Andrea Immer Andrea Immer (born 1964) (also known as Andrea Robinson and Andrea Immer Robinson) is Dean of Wine Studies at the French Culinary Institute, a master sommelier, and a chef. . The American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel and financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. company founded in 1850. It is a leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning Financial planning Evaluating the investing and financing options available to a firm. Planning includes attempting to make optimal decisions, projecting the consequences of these decisions for the firm in the form of a financial plan, and then comparing future performance against , investment products, insurance and international banking. For more information, visit the American Express web site at www.americanexpress.com. Note to Editors: For more information on the American Express(R) Restaurant Trade Program 2004, please go to http://www.americanexpress.com/aspentradeprogram American Express Restaurant Trade Program Schedule of Events Friday, June 18 8:15 am - 9:45 am Meet the Masters Meet the Masters is a classical music television program aired in 1952 on NBC. The national broadcast premiere has yet to be confirmed, but the series is known to have debuted on then-NBC affiliate WGN Chicago on February 24, 1952 [1], so likely aired nationwide '04: Exceeding Great Expectations Join us for our annual high-powered kickoff seminar, in which our diverse panel of industry stars reveal the secrets of adhering to a "Master" level of service and hospitality. Our participants will share their unique perspectives on leveraging training programs to consistently execute a dining experience that exceeds customer expectations. Panelists: Larry Levy: Chairman and CEO, Levy Restaurants Levy Restaurants is a restaurant franchise company based in Chicago specializing in providing premium-quality vending and food services to major entertainment and sports venues. It is a unit of Compass Group, and was founded in 1978. ; Danny Meyer: President, Union Square Hospitality Group; Piero Selvaggio, Owner, Gruppo Ristoranti di Piero; Tom Valenti: Chef/Owner, Ouest and 'Cesca 10:45 am - 11:30 am Private Trade Grand Tasting 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm Independents and Chains: A Meeting of the Minds Listen in as leaders of diverse restaurant sectors - chain, multi-unit, and independent operators - detail best practices from their unique perspectives with the goal of learning how each can benefit from this unusual convergence of knowledge. Our esteemed panelists will demonstrate that the key to fostering innovation and improvement in the restaurant industry is to share information and learn from each other's successes. Panelists: Niki Leondakis: Kimpton Group, Chief Operating Officer, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants; Lee Maen: Owner, Sushi Roku; Chris Sullivan: Founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Outback Steakhouse; Nick Valenti: President and CEO, Restaurant Associates 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm A Star is Born: The Power of the Restaurant Review Due to its overwhelming reception last year, we are repeating this exciting session for a more focused look at the state of reviewing and the concrete impact of reviews on both the restaurant and the dining public. A review, positive or negative, results in great attention and energy for a restaurant. Our restaurateurs will discuss how reviews affect and impact their work or to what extent they do not. Let your opinions be heard as this energetic group convenes to debate the relevance of the restaurant critic in America today. Critics: Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle; Tom Sietsema, Washington Post Restaurateurs: Jimmy Bradley: Chef/Owner, The Red Cat/The Harrison/The Mermaid Inn; Drew Nieporent: Owner, Myriad Restaurant Group Saturday, June 19 9:00 am - 10:15 am Branding, The New Frontier New Frontier President John F. Kennedy’s legislative program, encompassing such areas as civil rights, the economy, and foreign relations. [Am. Hist.: WB, K:212] See : Aid, Governmental : Brainstorming Beyond the Kitchen All restaurants have the potential to extend their brand beyond the physical restaurant by developing cookbooks, proprietary food and kitchenware lines, or websites offering their house specialty. Two of the country's top chefs will share their branding strategies and how they have successfully increased interest in their restaurants, identified their signature food or products, and expanded their audience. Speakers: Daniel Boulud: Chef/Owner, Daniel/Cafe Boulud/Feast & Fetes/DB Bistro Moderne; Bobby Flay: Chef/Owner, Bolo/Mesa Grill 11:30 am - 12:45 pm Shake It Up for Bigger Bar Profits In this engaging interactive seminar, our bar experts will introduce several cost-cutting strategies to help add excitement to your beverage program with innovative ideas that will impact the bottom line. The presentation portion will be followed by a hands-on cocktail seminar, in which the participants can learn simple steps to increasing beverage value, while discovering how to mix drinks from the country's top beverage gurus. Speakers: Tony Abou-Gamin: Master Mixologist, The Bellagio Las Vegas; Steven Olson: aka winegeek; Dale DeGroff: "King of Cocktails," and author of The Craft of the Cocktail 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm Private Tasting Notes: The Grand Tasting Pavilion 2004 Each year, we convene a panel of the wine industry's top talent to share the knowledge they gathered from tasting through the Grand Tasting Pavilion, searching for the best of each category of wine: sparkling, sweet, and fortified fortified (fôrt  ´fīd),adj containing additives more potent than the principal ingredient. ; American red; imported red; American white; and imported white. Don't miss this unique opportunity to gain an insider's perspective on which wines are not-to-be-missed under the tents, whether it's the hottest new varietals, best values, or most compelling wine regions. Panelists: Brian Duncan: Wine Director, Bin 36; Andrea Immer, MS: Wine author and educator; Daniel Johnnes: Partner, Myriad Restaurant Group; Karen King: Wine Director, Gramercy Tavern; Steven Olson: aka winegeek; Joshua Wesson: Co-founder and CEO, Best Cellars, Inc. 3:45 pm - 4:30 pm Private Trade Grand Tasting - Presented by American Express Company In addition to the seminars, American Express Restaurant Trade Program attendees are invited to attend an expert's view of what to taste in the 2004 Grand Tasting Pavilion and an exclusive dinner prepared by Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs in America. Registrants for the Restaurant Trade Program can also attend all of the Grand Tastings and the more than eighty wine and cooking seminars that are offered as part of the Consumer Program. |
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