Key Notes: What's Cookin'? (Dec. 2015)

December 3, 2015

Tyler Davidson

One of those meetings stats you often see bouncing around industry functions and in the pages of publications such as the one you’re reading now is that food and beverage is typically the second-largest expense associated with a meeting or convention, followed by guest rooms.

And it’s common knowledge that no matter how thought-provoking your meeting content is, if the food stinks, you’re sunk.

Taking this factor into consideration, we launched a new feature, Top Chefs, last issue, profiling some of the top chefs catering to the group market. Turn to page 10 to see this month’s installment, featuring Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Executive Chef Robert Ciborowski, whose work I first sampled during an amazing “back-of-house” progressive dinner as part of a press program in 2013 during PCMA’s Convening Leaders.

It’s an event I still remember well—and we all know how many top-notch F&B presentations are in the offing in this industry, as my waistline can attest!

Look for our Top Chefs feature every issue, along with a Web page, coming soon, that will offer a compendium of recipes and other F&B info.

Also, turn to page 14 to see highlights from our Meetings Today Live! Cancun program held in November. A rockin’ time was had by all at the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun!
If this event looks like it would’ve been a worthwhile undertaking for you, make sure to check out our upcoming programs at www.MeetingsToday.com/MTLive.

Happy holidays, and see you in 2016!

About the author

Tyler Davidson is the vice president and chief content director for Meetings Today, which publishes the meetings industry trade magazine Meetings Today as well as MeetingsToday.com, various newsletters, webinars, the in-person Meetings Today LIVE! Hosted-buyer events and other meetings and events industry B2B channels.

Tyler has covered the travel trade for nearly 35 years. In his role with Meetings Today, which recently won the prestigious FOLIO: Eddies Award for best magazine issue, Tyler leads the editorial team on its mission to provide the most in-depth meetings content in the industry. Previously, he worked as the Asia, Canada, Pacific Northwest and Western U.S. editor at Travel Weekly magazine and TravelAge West. Before joining the dual editorial staff producing destination sections for Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, Tyler was the Africa, Israel, Middle East, Switzerland and Pacific Northwest editor at TravelAge West. He also undertook general news and feature assignments while working at the magazines.

Besides reporting on the travel trade, Tyler has covered the real estate industry, held various editorial positions at the San Francisco-based national satire magazine The Nose, wrote freelance technology industry pieces and covered the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders for a bilingual newspaper in San Francisco. He has a B.A. in Journalism from San Francisco State University, where he worked in various editorial capacities on its award-winning student magazine, Prism.

Contact: tyler.davidson@meetingstoday.com