by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Anyone who has ever done it knows a lot of work goes into entertaining family and friends in their home. Planning the menu, shopping, decorating, setting the table, cooking and serving can turn into a huge task even if just a few people are invited. When the guest list numbers in the hundreds or thousands it takes scores of people to make a meal a success.
That’s a daily event for the Catering and Convention Services department at the Hyatt. With 966 rooms and 250,000 square feet of meeting space, large groups flock to the hotel and that can mean thousands of breakfasts, lunches and dinners served on any given day.
What guests see is merely a small part of what it takes to make a meal memorable for all the right reasons. Take, for example, the November Jacksonville Bar Association luncheon. Lunch and the meeting lasted about an hour, but it took a large staff several hours to prepare the ballroom, set 25 tables and serve the meal. They went to work long before the stuffed chicken breasts went into the oven in the kitchen.
At 9 a.m. the dozen staff members who would set the tables and serve the meal gathered in the ballroom for a short meeting with Banquet Supervisor Bob Miller. He went over all the details from the centerpieces to what was going to be served in about three hours and even when to carry the plates to the tables.
“We make sure everyone is on the same page,” said Miller.
Director of Catering and Convention Services Melissa Milione said for an event the size of the Bar Association’s luncheon it takes quite a few hotel staff members and executives. From the parking attendant to the person who brings a pot of coffee to each table to the person who washes the dishes, close to 100 people have their job to do.
“People sometimes ask why a steak doesn’t cost the same at a luncheon or banquet as it does in a neighborhood restaurant. You have to understand that when you are here, the entire staff of the hotel is dedicated to making your event a success,” said Milione, who added., “Our goal is to make sure nobody notices what we do.”
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