BETHESDA, Md.—Renaissance Hotels today announces a new partnership with Food & Wine and Andrew Zimmern to create a series of unusual tastings around The Navigators Table and exclusive behind-the-scenes access to today’s most coveted chefs and foodie insiders.
Zimmern, the three-time James Beard award winner who is also beloved by millions as the host of the Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods, will be Renaissance’s guest Navigator—the hotels’ lifestyle concierge—and bring his unique perspective to The Navigator’s Table, a dinner conversation taking place at the newly transformed Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel on Aug. 28 and the Renaissance Nashville Hotel on Sept. 19. Special guests of Chicago’s The Navigator Table will include Christina Grdovic, senior vice president and publisher of Food & Wine; Billy Dec, restaurateur/TV personality, and Lee Wolen, executive chef/partner, Boka; among others. Guests will taste a range of unconventional flavor pairings curated by Zimmern and indulge in conversation about unexpected discoveries throughout the host city. Exclusive content will air on RenHotels.com and Renaissance Hotel’s YouTube channel.
“Renaissance embraces discovery, the extraordinary, and the rarified experience as much as I do. I couldn’t be more excited to partner with them. I am going to make business really unusual at Renaissance Hotels. As a guest Navigator at The Navigators Table, and with help from my chef friends, we’ll give travelers and guests access to food experiences they have never imagined before,” Zimmern explains.
“Every Renaissance hotel stay is designed to provide today’s business travelers with an unexpected experience and the opportunity to discover what’s truly local in food, drink, and culture and entertainment,” said Dan Vinh, vice president marketing, Renaissance Hotels. “Andrew’s taste for the unconventional during his global travels reflects our shared vision around providing next gen travelers with experiences that defy the conventions of traditional business travel. He’s our ideal guide to the bizarre and need-to-know in food and culture.”
Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel and Renaissance Nashville Hotel, along with Food & Wine and FWx, will host exclusive on-property events inviting guests to mix and mingle with Zimmern and his chef friends while discovering unusual culinary & cultural offerings from famed local establishments and partners.
On festival grounds, Renaissance Hotels will host a “Discover Chicago” pop-up tent, encouraging foodies and guests to discover Chicago and Nashville through local culinary and cultural delights, unusual hotel experiences, and prize giveaways, curated in partnership with Zimmern and Food & Wine.
