HONG KONG (November 2009) – Hyatt Hotels & Resorts announced today that Andreas Stalder, senior vice president of product and brand development for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts - Asia Pacific, has been honoured by The International Food & Beverage Forum as Restaurateur of the Year 2009 and inducted into its prestigious Hall of Fame.
Founded in 1993, The International Food & Beverage Forum is a non-profit association of industry executives dedicated to enhancing global dialogue, knowledge and creativity and fostering the education of young hospitality professionals. Every year, The International Food & Beverage Forum Hall of Fame Society honours one individual who, through their personal commitment and outstanding efforts, creations and contributions, has influenced and enhanced the F&B industry worldwide. To honour the inductees, the International Food & Beverage Forum awards scholarships with a value of US$10,000 in the name of the inductee.
Swiss-born Stalder has worked with Hyatt for almost 30 years, and during that time, has assisted in the opening of more than 40 Hyatt hotels and resorts in the Asia Pacific region. In his three decades with the international hotel group, Stalder has worked his way from Executive Sous Chef to Executive Chef to Area Executive Chef to Director of F&B to Vice President F&B to his present role. He has personally overseen the conceptualisation, creation, development and operation of more than 120 Hyatt restaurants and bars, most notably 100 Century Avenue at Park Hyatt Shanghai; Vue at Hyatt on the Bund in ; Made in at Grand Hyatt Beijing; Mezza9 and Straits Kitchen at Grand Hyatt ; and Keyakizaka and The Oak Door at Grand Hyatt Tokyo.
Today, as senior vice president of product and brand development for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts’ Asia Pacific region, Stalder overseas the creation of Hyatt Pure™ spas, event spaces and guestrooms, as well as its food and beverage offerings, and is currently busy coming up with the concepts and ideas for all new development in the Asia Pacific region.
“Those who have worked with Andreas over the last three decades were not surprised by this well-deserved recognition of his immense talent,” says Rakesh Sarna, chief operating officer, international operations, Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “Not accepting the status quo has been his modus operandi for decades and the industry has come to recognise and respect the trends that Andreas continues to spearhead. This recognition fills us with both pride and humility and we heartily congratulate Andreas.”
“I am most honoured and grateful to receive this award,” says Stalder. “But I strongly believe it is an acknowledgement of Hyatt’s commitment to pursuing food and beverage at its best, and recognition for the tireless effort of scores of my colleagues and associates, without whom I could not have achieved much. This award is dedicated to them all.”
About Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in , is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family in 45 countries strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day, by providing authentic hospitality. The company’s subsidiaries manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz™, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place® and Hyatt Summerfield Suites™ brand names and have locations under development on five continents. Hyatt Vacation Ownership Inc, a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops and operates vacation ownership properties under the Hyatt Vacation Club® brand. As of September 30, 2009, the company’s worldwide portfolio consisted of 415 properties. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.
# # #
Daniella Wu
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
+852 2768 1271
daniella.wu@hyatt.com