InterContinental Hotels & Resorts dishes up culinary delights for children with new menu

DUBAI- InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is rolling out its new signature InterContinental Planet Trekkers Menu, created exclusively for children, across its InterContinental Hotels & Resorts  properties. Hotels in Asia, Middle East and Africa are dishing up exciting and nutritionally balanced meals that promise to take young explorers through an exciting journey of food discovery.

Designed exclusively for young InterContinental hotel guests by award winning chef Theo Randall and child food expert and best-selling international author Annabel Karmel MBE, the new menu was developed from start to finish with nutrition and food exploration at its core. It features delicious dishes with a myriad of flavours, textures, smells and tastes that will take children on an educational culinary voyage around the world while ensuring an enjoyable and nutritionally balanced meal.

Theo is renowned for creating simple, authentic dishes using the best and freshest ingredients, which has resulted in his Italian restaurant being lauded as one of the best in London. Annabel has written over 37 books on children’s nutrition and cooking for children, and is internationally recognised as a leading authority on helping children to eat properly.

As part of the menu’s development, Annabel and Theo conducted a test and learn tasting session with young guests to explore a variety of ingredients that appeal to all palates.

Theo Randall, Chef Patron of Theo Randall at the InterContinental said:  “Dining whilst on holiday is as much a part of the overall adventure as sightseeing. For this menu we’ve experimented with a variety of flavours, ingredients and combinations to develop a range of dishes that would be familiar to a child’s palate yet create excitement around their dining experience at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts around the world.  I think the dishes we’ve created for this menu will leave as much of an impression on the children as the destinations they are visiting.”

With 181 hotels in more than 60 countries, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is dedicated to providing diverse, enriching experiences with local insight that comes from 67 years’ experience. The new children’s menu is set to excite the junior palate through a variety of classic favourites and truly international delights that reflect the breadth of countries the brand is located in.

Simon Scoot, Vice President Global Brands, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and IHG Global Resorts said: “As part of IHG’s promise of delivering exceptional experiences for our guests, we are the first hotel company in the world to develop a signature children’s menu in collaboration with two culinary experts.

“With more than half a million children visiting our InterContinental Hotels & Resorts each year, we want to ensure that we are giving them the opportunity to enjoy ‘Food Exploration,’ which was our guiding principle when creating the new menu.”

As the largest casual dining operator in the world with more than 5,400 restaurants and bars, this menu launch is a key part of a renewed food and beverage focus for IHG, whose family of nine brands also includes Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts and Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts. IHG’s team of chefs and food experts are working on a number of new programmes to improve and enhance the food and beverage experiences guests can enjoy across the company’s portfolio of more than 4,700 hotels globally.

The InterContinental Planet Trekkers Menu is available in InterContinental Hotels & Resorts across Asia, Middle East and Africa and will be available globally by the end of July 2014.