From way back in the day, when the legendary Newport-based White Horse Tavern, America’s oldest tavern, was referred to as the “home of the businessman’s lunch,” to present day, Providence was named Travel + Leisure’s top U.S. destination for Food/Drink/Restaurants in a 2012 online poll, Rhode Island remains an Eastern destination where planners want to combine a meeting with a local culinary experience.
Following are several great ideas, including delicious tours, clambakes and interactive cooking events.
Johnson & Wales University, Providence
www.jwu.edu
At Johnson & Wales University (JWU), which is well-known for its culinary arts program and also has a Hospitality College that offers a concentration in meeting and event management, there are a couple of prospects for visiting groups.
“Adding a hands-on Johnson & Wales culinary class to a corporate meeting or conference offers a unique team-building experience that has the added bonus of tasting great,” says Miriam Weinstein, spokeswoman for JWU’s Providence campus.
She explains that JWU will work with meeting planners to arrange cooking classes in either basic preparation or in a particular area the group may have an interest in, such as wellness and sustainability or the locavore movement.
Costs and size of classes will vary depending on the subject and scope, and recipes and aprons are takeaway mementos. Weinstein adds that classes are held in the Cuisinart Center for Culinary Excellence, a LEED-certified facility.
Also on campus is the Culinary Arts Museum at JWU, which is available for group tours and meetings.
According to Kristin M. Zosa Puleo, event and program coordinator at the museum, this unique facility boasts exhibits ranging from “Country Fair to Culinary Olympics,” which focuses on cooking competitions, to “Culinary Beginnings,” an exhibit of antiquities from Ancient China, Greece, Rome and Egypt.
“There is something to pique everyone’s interest,” she says. “Guests who rent space at the museum are more than welcome to view the exhibits.”
The museum accommodates receptions for up to 350 people or seated meals for up to 160 people. For meeting purposes, Zosa Puleo says the theater is most often used, since it’s closed off from the rest of the museum, and the diner is a great spot for informal gatherings on the exhibit floor.
“One of the great things about hosting an event at the museum is that, for the most part, the decor is done for you,” she says. “The other great thing about hosting an event here is that we exclusively utilize catering services provided by Johnson & Wales University, and the catering department is happy to work with guests to create the perfect menu for any event.” PageBreak
Rockstar Limo, Providence
www.rockstarlimo.net
For a fun way to explore Providence’s dining scene, planners should check out Rockstar Limo, which facilitates a chauffeured progressive dine-around featuring the group’s choice of local eateries.
“The dine-around allows groups to enjoy the food and atmosphere of many different restaurants in one night while experiencing the personality and energy of different parts of Providence,” says John Olinger, president and CEO of Rockstar Limo. “There is no other way to experience so much of Providence’s culinary offerings over the course of one evening.”
A sample itinerary might include fresh seafood on the East Side, Italian food in Federal Hill and a stop at a great steakhouse. Most restaurants have signature beverages that attendees can enjoy.
While this is primarily a fun event, Olinger says the group could combine the dine-around with a scavenger hunt for a team-building element.
“For people who are visiting Providence just one time they not only learn about all of the different types of restaurants and foods that Providence has to offer, but they also get an understanding of the food culture in the city and why so many people are so passionate about it,” he says.
Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence
www.ppacri.org
Providence, much like neighboring heavy hitters including New York and Boston, is a great place for a memorable night out involving dinner and a show.
Through Providence Performing Arts Center, groups can take in a Broadway show like Memphis, Jekyll & Hyde or Million Dollar Quartet and pair it with dinner at a local restaurant.
“Whenever possible, we use trolleys that make the event even more fun, and we have a small raffle giveaway of fun things that we have collected from show memorabilia,” says Paul Hiatt, group sales representative at Providence Performing Arts Center.
The advantages of the show and dinner package, he adds, are a discounted ticket price, a great meal and transportation to the theater from the restaurant. Participating restaurants include Davenport’s, Fire and Ice at Providence Place Mall, Aspire Restaurant at the Hotel Providence, ROI Food and Music, and Eleven Forty Nine in East Greenwich, R.I.
“We recently did a fun event at the ROI Food and Music, with Jersey Boys as our show offering,” Hiatt says. “Because the restaurant was close by, we shuttled our folks back and forth by bike cabs supplied by Eco Pedicab.”
Savoring Rhode Island, Providence
www.savoringrhodeisland.com
Savoring Rhode Island’s Federal Hill tour is a great option for groups that would like to learn about and taste Italian cuisine.
“Rhode Island cuisine is, at its heart, Italian cuisine,” says Cindy Salvato, owner of Savoring Rhode Island. “Federal Hill has been a vibrant Italian neighborhood since the late-1800s, and there’s plenty to see and eat. People will be introduced to shop owners, chefs, bakers and ravioli makers.”
One favorite spot, Salvato says, is Venda Ravioli, where groups are invited into the kitchen to watch the making of handmade ravioli. Among the other stops are Scialo Bros. Bakery and Gasbarro’s Wines.
“We are lucky to have great Italian chefs, many of them direct from Italy,” she says. “Our fabulous Italian specialty markets rival the stores in other major cities. Most people who take my tour leave with bags of ingredients.”
Samples tasted on the tour include cookies, prosciutto, antipasto, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and throughout the tour Salvato offers cooking tips and everyone leaves with recipes.
“For example, I teach them about San Marzano tomatoes and how to distinguish those grown in San Marzano and those grown elsewhere from San Marzano seeds,” she says. “On another stop, I’ll teach about olive oil and how to taste and choose one.” PageBreak
sophia’s tuscan grille, warwick
www.sophiastuscangrille.com
The Italian tradition carries over to Sophia’s Tuscan Grille in Warwick, where Chef Christopher Palios offers a five-course Italian cooking class that includes wine pairing and a take-home recipe booklet featuring the dishes created and what was learned in the class.
“This class, like Rhode Island, is small and intimate,” says Susan Falco, tourism coordinator for the City of Warwick Department of Tourism, Culture and Development. “Your guests will feel as though they are in a home rather than a restaurant, and the food—well, you would just have to see and taste for yourself. There will be no doubt that the experience was well worth the trip.”
The interactive class features demonstrations of mostly Northern Italian cuisine. Menus rotate with each class and may include mussels and clam zuppa, or grilled polenta with homemade Tuscan sausage and white bean ragout, to name just a couple dishes.
“Chef Chris, like any good chef, knows that sharing a meal is by far one of the best ways for people to connect, as well as the best ice-breaker,” Falco says, explaining that groups are served what is prepared at the end of the class.
Hotel Viking, Newport
www.hotelviking.com
Another interactive yet more hands-on experience for groups is an Iron Chef-inspired competition at Newport’s Hotel Viking.
“It is a great interactive team-building event,” says Katie Lund, senior conference services manager at the Hotel Viking. “It is a great way for co-workers to better learn to work together, using each person’s skill set for the good of the team.”
During the competition, teams have to create a dish with “secret ingredients” and present it to the judges.
“Each team prepares one dish with the ingredients given to them,” Lund says. “Teams are then judged by our culinary teams and awarded points for taste, presentation, teamwork, flavor and creativity. The winning team receives a medal, and everyone keeps their custom hats and aprons as a memento.”
Lund adds that while some groups visiting Newport for a meeting stay at Hotel Viking as their host hotel, the Iron Chef event is available to groups residing elsewhere.
ClamBakes, Newport
www.discovernewport.org
For a truly authentic culinary experience, groups can enjoy a traditional New England clambake using the identical cooking technique practiced by early New England Colonists, according to Andrea McHugh, spokeswoman for Discover Newport.
“A bonfire is built at the event site, which can be a beach, bay side or at a site with built-in pits with alternating layers of wood and rock,” McHugh says, citing Castle Hill Inn and the Hyatt Regency Newport. “The fire heats the rocks that provide the heat needed to bake the lobsters, stuffed quahogs, soft shelled steamed clams, Prince Edward Island mussels, native sweet corn on the cob, potatoes and more.”
For off-site clambakes, including at the Eisenhower House or on a beach, planners can call on clambake caterers including McGrath Clambakes, Newport Hospitality and Sullivan Custom Planning. PageBreak
Newport Gourmet Tours, Newport
www.newportgourmettours.com
According to Chef Michael Martini, owner of Newport Gourmet Tours, Rhode Island’s petite size allows culinary artisans from across the state to interact and maintain the destination as a favored one among foodies.
“We have an incredible number of fishermen and farmers that supply talented chefs with the ingredients to make unforgettable food,” he says. “In one day, you can go from one end of the state to the other and try it all.”
Newport Gourmet Tours run about two hours and feature approximately six stops, including a rum tasting at Thomas Tew and chocolate tasting at La Maison De Coco.
The Broadway tour features the White Horse Tavern, which has been in operation since 1673.
“We begin with stories of Thomas Jefferson eating and drinking at the same bar we are at,” Martini says. “We then get led around by a manager and told all the tales the tavern holds, including several ghost stories, and then we are met by Chef Richard Silvia, who prepares a tasting for us, usually something that isn’t even on his menu.”
Martini adds that all of the tour stops follow the same basic format, including local and culinary history, and tastings along the way. Items sampled might include lobster macaroni and cheese, seared sea scallops with maple gastrique, sweet potato bread pudding with honey cup squash and black pepper ice cream, and tea-infused chocolate truffles.
“We also feature a Providence tour that includes a crepe-making class at Julia Child’s favorite bistro, Pot Au Feu,” Martina says.
DEWOLF TAVERN, BRISTOL
www.dewolftavern.com
Contemporary American cuisine is the specialty at DeWolf Tavern, where the menu focuses on fresh seafood, meat and poultry dishes, many with a flavorful Indian twist. Situated in a former maritime warehouse originally known as DeWolf Rum Distillery, built in 1818, the historic venue is located on the Thames Street Landing waterfront next to Bristol Harbor Inn.
DeWolf Tavern hosts a variety of private events. It accommodates roughly 120 people for seated functions and 150 guests for cocktails. A tented deck is another option, hosting up to 150 people for receptions.
Carolyn Blackburn is a frequent contributor to Meetings Focus East.
