In April, Hyatt Hotels Corporation purchased the 380-room Thompson Miami Beach hotel, and rebranded it as The Confidante under the Unbound Collection by Hyatt. To rejuvenate its culinary scene, they brought in popular local Chef Richard Hales of Sakaya Kitchen and Blackbrick. Travel Agent had the chance to speak with Hales to learn more.
The Thompson Miami Beach opened in 2014 but was constructed in in 1950s as the Lord Tarleton Hotel on Collins Avenue. At the time, it was the tallest modern building in Miami. After a stint as the Crown Hotel, it was briefly used as an apartment building before being purchased by Thompson Hotels, and then again by Hyatt.
The Unbound Collection’s concept is the “freedom to be extraordinary,” with a focus on local flair. “It will provide a playful and sophisticated backdrop,” says Maryam Banikarim, global chief marketing officer for Hyatt. Hyatt was looking for a chef who could reflect that image, and found their man in Hales.
“I think it’s very smart of Hyatt, the Unbound Collection, and The Confidante to have selected a local person, and then putting the same resources behind me that they would for someone who has a bigger reach [like the numerous celebrity chefs Miami hotels have brought in],” Hales says.
Bird & Bone, which started as a pop-up and will be replacing the restaurant Seagrape, will be taking a big step forward as one of The Confidante’s two main dining options – the other being TALDE Miami Beach, operated by celebrity chef Dale Talde. The 165-seat restaurant will offer chef Hales’ take on Southern comfort food, something he grew up eating (he was raised in Louisiana) but, ironically, never ventured into as a professional.
“I think people are excited to see what we’re doing next [due to] the fact that this is a big departure from our normal restaurants, which are Asian,” Hales says. “It’s is unusual for me, which is kind of funny because people are wondering, ‘oh you’re doing an American restaurant?’”
“Our style of food is inventive in a way where we’re trying to create new things but we don’t challenge the guests to guess what it is or to reconstruct it back together or learn how to eat it,” he continued. “It is what it is … when you get it, you get what you’re expecting but there are just so many surprises because of my fusion background and how I can mix flavors, unusual flavors, and have a result that’s like ‘wow, that was really good.’”
Signature dishes at Bird & Bone include Nashville hot chicken, ribs (he’s going to do a “Bone of the Day,” which can range from pork chops to a full lionfish), stone crabs, and a variety of oysters. You won’t find any signs in the restaurant or on the menu claiming to be farm-to-table – but everything is. Chef Hales believes that’s how food should be cooked, and therefore decided it doesn’t need advertising.
“We don’t say its farm-to-table because it automatically is,” he says. “We’re taking great ingredients, presenting them well, and also at not high price points … I think we’ll be approachable for South Beach – and that stands out for the community, especially for the locals.”
Although Miami is traditionally a city known for its Cuban and Latin flavors, chef Hales decided to bring classic American fare to the otherwise-Miami centric Confidante.
“It was love at first bite,” says JP Oliver, vice president/managing director, The Confidante. “I had no doubt that Chef Hales’ interpretation of Southern comfort food would be the perfect addition to our hotel.”
Also under chef Hales’ supervision will be the eclectic, poolside bungalow Nina’s House, where guests can grab fresh tacos, hand-caught grilled fish, and cocktails that put an emphasis on freshly squeezed juices. With his background as a chef, Hales intended to create a beverage menu that didn’t just make sense in terms of mixology but in a culinary sense, as well.
In Bird & Bone, guests can enjoy a selection of moonshines, continuing the Southern theme. They will be using a green apple moonshine to make an apple pie cocktail, which Hales said can be a little dangerous because of how easily he can drink them.
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| The Confidante Miami Beach |
He will also be running the food program for The Confidante’s grab-n-go market, where guests can pick up bottled sauces, spice blends, pickled vegetables, batters, jellies and preserves, as well as sandwiches and buckets of chicken (to either bring to their room or on a picnic to the beach). They will also curate an assortment of non-branded items, such as watches, clothing, and art.
The combination of quality and comfort in all of Hales’ kitchens exactly mimics the concept of Unbound: the food will be approachable but it will be elevated; playful but sophisticated.
Although opening a restaurant in the same hotel that already employs a veteran of Bravo’s Top Chef might seem daunting, Hales has little to worry about – for several reasons.
The first reason: Hales is already well known in the local culinary world. Sakaya Kitchen and Blackbrick, which was nominated as a “Top 50 Best New Restaurants in America 2014” by Bon Appétit, helped revitalize Miami’s Midtown area. And his Asian food truck, Dim Ssäm à gogo, which launched in 2010, was named one of the best food trucks in America.
The second reason: while he doesn’t put himself in the upper echelon of nationally regarded celebrity chefs, he does come with some television fame in his own right. Hales has appeared on numerous shows, including Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives; Tyler Florence’s The Great Food Truck Race; and Anthony Bourdain’s The Layover, among others, which have driven the popularity of his restaurants through the roof.
“[Guy Fieri] will bring the thunder,” Hales says. “When you’re on his show, you better be prepared to take a lot of people. We were on his show three years ago and we still get people coming in, who see reruns … it’s sort of an eight minute commercial, and he’s jawing over your food and your concept. It’s just an amazing tool to bring people in.”
“He’s a great guy,” Hales added. “I can text him at any time and ask him advice, anything. Just being on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives changed my business.”
The last, and most exciting, reason why Hales has nothing to fear in chef Talde: they’re great friends. They even plan on coordinating events in the hotel. One concept they’ve already started to work on is bringing guests out “yo yo” fishing, a technique native to Cuba that uses only a line and hook; no rod, which they bring back to the hotel and have it prepared fresh.
“We want to create stuff that gets us out of the restaurant,” Hales says. “We’re trying to develop an Insiders Excursions … we catch some fish, we talk about Miami … and then we bring the fish back to poolside and we grill it there poolside with the guests and whoever they want to invite.
“Because this is what Miami’s all about: we grill out all the time, we have no season changes here. That’s the thing that I want for a guest coming from the Northeast or Midwest: we want to enjoy those types of excursions with them so they can live the Miami lifestyle.”
He doesn’t want to call this collaboration an immediate success but chef Hales admitted he would definitely be interested in working with Hyatt’s Unbound Collection in the future. In the event that does come to fruition, he wouldn’t be bringing Bird & Bone with him: any future restaurant Hales brings to an Unbound hotel will be a new concept, created specifically for that hotel in that market.
“They want to do what’s happening in the neighborhood … but I have three other concepts, there has been some talk with them,” he says. “Hyatt has been a gracious partner … and we’re obviously working very hard to be successful; we’re not taking it for granted that we will be successful with this.”
But his vision is there, and it appears to be a good one.
The Unbound Collection by Hyatt also includes The Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas; the Hôtel du Louvre in Paris, France; the Carmelo Resort & Spa in Carmelo, Uruguay; and the Coco Palms Resort in Kauai, Hawaii.