Page 26 - The Peorian, Vol 3 Issue 2

26 thePeorian.com
TABLE 19:
A CULTURAL TRANSITION
By Paul Gordon
Farm-To-Table: Table 19
T here aren’t many
restaurants connected to
hotels that worry about
being part of the farm-to-table
movement, Matt Ianetta figures.
But for the Marriott
Corporation, it is becoming more
important and the executive chef
at Table 19, the restaurant of the
Marriott Hotel Pere Marquette, is
proud to be part of the hospitality
giant’s “culture transition.”
“It is still, of course, very
important that we have the same
quality of service and food our
hotel restaurants always have
for our customers, but now
we also want to make sure it is
indigenous to the area where it is
located,” Ianetta said.
“So we try to support as much
of the local agriculture as we can,
in the meats and cheeses and
vegetables we buy and serve,” he
said.
Ianetta came to Peoria from a
Marriott hotel in Atlanta to take
his executive chef’s position.
But for the 31-year-old Boston
native, who went to culinary
school in New York before going
to Atlanta, finding himself in a
much smaller city hasn’t been the
culture shock some might expect.
Perhaps, he said, that’s because
he hasn’t had time to think
about it.
“When I came here, it wasn’t
like I was walking into an
established restaurant where I
would have to be careful while
putting my own imprint on
things. I got here when this space
was a shell, with no walls or even
flooring yet,” Ianetta said while
sitting in the Pere Marquette’s
Great Room (large open space
where the bar is located between
the reception desk and the
restaurant).
“The renovation was far from
complete, but for me that was
great. It allowed me to be part
of the build-in of the restaurant
and kitchens. I got to pick which
of the equipment from the
previous restaurant and kitchens
was salvageable. I got to plan
the menu, hire all the staff, help
design the space…”
Matt Ianetta, executive chef at Table 19, the main restaurant in the Marriott Hotel Pere Marquette, said the Marriott
chain is making a “cultural transition” to adopt the farm-to-table concept.