Catering to the Stars
You've catered for the likes of REM, Heidi Klum and the Brazilian soccer team. What's been you most memorable experience? It had to be directing the food and beverage service of the 2001 MTV Europe Awards in Frankfurt. I had the chance to work with an unbelievably creative catering director who helped me create ice sculptures for all the rock stars. Not bad for a guy who started out as a hotel management apprentice cleaning the lobby chandelier! After all that, why come to Beijing? During my last post as Assistant Food and Beverage Director of the Crowne Plaza Dubai, I had the chance to work with so many Asian staff members. Getting to know them really piqued my interest in the entire region. So now that you’re here, what do you hope to accomplish as Director of F&B at the Westin Beijing Chaoyang? After 11 years of catering to people, I feel pretty confident that I know how to give them the innovative sort of experience that they'll remember for years to come. And so far, what have been the biggest challenges working in Beijing for a new hotel? Well, the language barrier has obviously been an issue, but I'm interested enough in it that I intend to keep on studying it. Developing a team with the rest of the staff here has been such a pleasure that it's outweighed any of the challenges.

Rachel Simhon