DALLAS—Omni Hotels & Resorts returns today with ¡Destinación Chile!, its annual installment of Omni’s “Flavors of the World” culinary series. This year, Omni partnered with Wines of Chile to create a culinary treat presenting a dedicated Chilean dinner and bar menu paired with hand-selected wines that reflect Omni’s utter enchantment with the region. The promotion will be available at properties across the U.S. until Dec. 31, 2015.
The menu features unique Chilean fare, from traditional favorites such as empanadas and choritos (spicy steamed mussels), to sweets such as tres leches cake and arroz con leche, all prepared by Omni’s expert chefs. Guests can also savor wines from the vast and varied growing regions of the country. Chile’s geographic barriers—the Atacama Desert to the north, the Andes Mountains to the east, the Patagonian ice fields to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west—protect its grape-growing valleys from adverse conditions, making it a paradise for sustainable winemaking.
“While visiting Chile, our team discovered rustic flavors, warm and welcoming people, a compelling landscape, and some of the best wines in the world,” said David Morgan, vice president of food & beverage of Omni Hotels & Resorts. “We have captured the unique climates and incredibly diverse terroir that our chefs and culinary team experienced through a cultural immersion in this beautiful country. By partnering with the stellar organizations of Wines of Chile, Chile Oliva, ProChile and Fundación Imagen, and experiencing the culture first-hand, we can truly serve our guests a taste of authentic Chilean flavors.”
In June, Omni chefs traveled to the San Antonio campus of the Culinary Institute of America for a three-day immersive training in Chilean cuisine and cooking techniques with Chilean Chef Rocío Alvarado Díaz, while Wines of Chile complemented the curriculum with wine training and an exploration of varietal pairings. Thirty Omni food and beverage directors, representing properties from across the U.S., then traveled to Chile for a week in September to taste wines in multiple regions and engage with winemakers for a comprehensive in situ wine education.
“We are honored that Omni chose Chile for the 2015 Flavors of the World program,” said Marybeth Bentwood, executive director of Wines of Chile USA. “Consumers discover new wines, cocktails and cuisines through restaurants and bars. There is not a more exciting and emerging culinary destination than Chile, and there is not a better partner than Omni Hotels & Resorts to introduce it to food, wine, and cocktail aficionados in the US. We are thrilled to be joined by Chile Oliva, a consortium of Chile’s finest olive oil producers, Pisco Capel, one of Chile’s best pisco producers, as well as Fundación Imagen and ProChile, two organization dedicated to promoting Chile.”
Omni guests will discover Chilean dishes such as Milcaos con Pebre de Palta (fried potato cakes with avocado, banana peppers, tomato, Chilean sea salt); Costillar con Pure Picante (pork ribs slowly cooked in beer and palm honey with potato puree, smoked Chilean chili pepper); and Bacalao con Tomaticán (seared sea bass with braised tomato, yellow corn, cilantro salad). An assortment of traditional Empanadas will also be offered—Pino (chopped meat, onions, hard-boiled egg, green olive); Camarón Queso (prawns, cheese, spring onion); and a traditional country Pequen (caramelized onion). For dessert, sweets include Tres Leche Cake and Arroz con Leche Y Salsa de Manjar (short grain rice cooked with milk, cinnamon, orange, dulce de leche). To complement the menu, premium Chilean olive oil will be available at every table.
Throughout the promotion, each participating hotel will feature eight to 11 hand-selected Chilean wines in its bars and restaurants. Wine selections consist of favorites such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Riesling; and new discoveries like Carmenere. Wines are available by the bottle and in 6- or 9-ounce pours. In addition to wine, guests can also enjoy cocktails made with Chile’s national spirit, Pisco, a grape distillate.
Guests looking to bring a taste of Chile home with them can book the ¡Destinación Chile! package that includes deluxe room accommodations, a bottle of Chilean wine, the traditional Chilean spice, Merquen, and an empanada recipe card. The package will be offered starting October 14, 2015 and available through December 31, 2015.
This promotion marks the ninth annual installment of Omni’s unique Flavors of the World program, a cultural journey and culinary immersion, designed to expose and teach its chefs about various world cuisines as well as bring fantastic flavors to each guest. The 2015 ¡Destinación Chile! campaign joins a list of past annual programs, including 2014’s Taste Washington and 2013’s Simply Street Food. Omni’s Flavors of the World programs have also featured the wines and foods of Italy, Argentina, Spain and France. ¡Destinación Chile! was arranged in partnership with the Wines of Chile, an organization comprised of over of 80 member wineries, spread across every wine region of the country and representing 88 percent of the total of exports of Chilean wine.
