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Seven Stars And Stripes Award
Gazette |
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The Portal for Those who Deserve the Ultimate Award, Daring to
Demand... |
October 2006 |
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Ritz Carlton Philadelphia -
USA |
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The Grill Restaurant, Philadelphia -
USA |
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The Rittenhouse, Philadelphia -
USA |
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Lacroix Restaurant, Philadelphia -
USA |
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City Tavern Restaurant, Philadelphia -
USA |
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!NEW! Seven Stars and Stripes - The
Book |
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In Next Gazette: Emirates Palace,
U.A.E. |
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USA |
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6 Stars and 6 Stripes |
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When
we met with General Manager Elizabeth Mullins, it became imminently evident
that she has adopted the corporate philosophy in her own lifestyle. She
introduced us to hotel manager Grant C. Dipman and my wife was delighted to
have finally met another charming gentleman who wears a Double
Windsor... The 'solid handshake' executive moved cross-country with his wife
Silvia and their two girls (10 and 13). When he arrived at the RCP, the entire
available staff had lined up and welcomed the 'American Dream Man' from Nevada
personally as the new member of the family. A genuine gesture by a well-trained
team! Our hats are off to the
Ritz-Carlton
family of hotels and resorts for their true measure of consistency in personal
service and sincere hospitality. |
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Congratulations from Your Guests And from Seven Stars and
Stripes, Inc: |
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- For your visible commitment to excellence.
- For your willingness to be recognized for your latest
innovations.
- For your devotion to your staff and company.
- For your ability to receive.
- For your decision to raise the bar.
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at
the Ritz Carlton Philadelphia, USA Chef de Cuisine: Kevin
Sbraga |
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5 Stars and 5
Stripes |
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Executive
Chef
de Cuisine Sbraga cut his teeth at Johnson & Wales University, the
premier venue for the future great chefs of America. After an externship at the
Hotel Metropole in Brussels with a French master chef, Chef Sbraga completed
his BA at Johnson & Wales and went on to gain valuable experience and
influences at various locations in the Ritz-Carlton chain. |
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We
were impressed with Chef Sbraga's worldliness and in his own words how he
"Re-defines American cuisine with new twists on tried and true combinations".
Much of his menu Sbraga told us is prepared through the art of Sous Vide or
"cooking under vacuum" as learned through his experiences with mentor Arnaud
Berthelier, one of the great chefs of the Ritz-Carlton family. |
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Our
long-awaited book Seven Stars and Stripes - 2003 to 2006 world-edition,
is
now available. Over 300 pages - featuring only the finest
establishments and fascinating cuisine art images from around the world. All
beautifully compiled in this full-color collector's edition.
ISBN# 1-4259-4267-9 |
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City Tavern Philadelphia, USA Chef de Cuisine: Walter
Staib |
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5 Stars and 4
Stripes |
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People
were milling around in period costumes elaborately festooned with
frilled ascots and ornate coattails as well as tri-angular hats. An eighteenth
century harp player provided the soothing background music while costumed
servers busied themselves with fabulous pass-a-round treats. This was an event
like no other but at the same time it carried the distinctive imaginative
signature of proprietor
Sir Walter Staib and his Director of Marketing & Projects
Mr. Paul Bauer working hard to carry on the remarkable tradition of such a
celebrated place. |
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Simone
and I were thrilled to be in the company of such an electrifying personality
but more importantly we were seriously prepared to sample
Chef Staibs legendary cuisine. We were informed that
Chef Staib had recorded all his favorite recipes in a series of Old World
cookbooks referring to his familys concoctions that have been held in place for
years as closely guarded secretes. |
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Dear Friends,
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A
Cheery October!
First of all many thanks to those of you for suggesting
your favorite resorts, hotels and restaurants from around the world. We
understand that you feel that they deserve the Seven Stars and Stripes award
and we hope that our teams will be able to review many of them in 2007. Please
understand that our strict policy of reviewing onsite only requires sometimes a
longer waiting period. - It was indeed a very exiting fall so far as our Seven
Stars and Stripes teams recognized some of the finest hotels and restaurants
and their team members in Baltimore and Philadelphia on the US East Coast
recently and we are happy to share some of the reviews with you here today. In
the November Gazette we are taking you to the fairytale Kempinski Emirates
Palace in Abu Dhabi with Etihad Airways Pearl Zone and the Restaurant Le
Siècle at the Radisson SAS Palais in the ever so charming city of
Vienna, Austria. See you October 18th at the Hamptons International Film
Festival on Long Island, NY, USA or watch the 5-day event live on
www.WADTV.com Hamptons
TV.
Very truly yours |
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Thorsten Buehrmann |
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Watch the Seven Stars and Stripes |
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Award TV Show on |
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Hamptons Televisions WVVH World-Wide |
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Featured here on the set of the Seven Stars and Stripes Award TV
Show are co-hosts Ingrid Lemme and John Lomitola, VP of Seven Stars and
Stripes, Inc. WVVH Hamptons TV is a commercial cable and broadcast TV station
airing NOW also in New Jersey, New York City, Westchester, Long
Island (in the midst are the affluent Hamptons) and TIME WARNER
on Demand. The station may be watched world-wide in real-time via
Live-Web-Stream on our website:
http://www.WADTV.com |
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The
Rittenhouse Philadelphia, USA |
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6 Stars and 5 Stripes |
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The
Rittenhouse's accommodations measure between 450 to 600 square feet, which,
with all do respect, are super large units in comparison to other hotels in the
area. The service level at The Rittenhouse is not only extremely high but it is
also presented with sincerity, which is hard to find. When I met with VP David
Benton, who has also been the General Manager of The Rittenhouse since 1990, it
became pretty clear that his success is the empowerment of his
staff. |
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...it became pretty clear that Benton's success is the
empowerment of his staff... ~ TB |
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We spend some time at the European-style
Spa
& Salon and their 10,000 square foot Health Club facilities. It is
complete with state-of-the-art equipment and aerobic machines that allow each
person to watch or listen to their favorite station on an individual flat
screen TV, fully equipped with DVD and CD player. |
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Seven
Stars and Stripes Awards for: |
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Lacroix The
Rittenhouse in Philadelphia, USA Chef de Cuisine: Matthew Levin |
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6 Stars and 6
Stripes |
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It was
'Restaurant Week' in Philadelphia and
Lacroix
at the Rittenhouse was a participating partner, which meant that things
were getting heated up with lots of patrons entering with high expectations of
an exceptional dining experience. GM Benton is extremely proud of his flagship
establishment and was there to make sure that all his patrons were comfortable
during this critical time. |
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As we
sat there chatting with GM Benton about the various aspects of guest
satisfaction, he suggested that we try the 5-course tasting menu as a challenge
to sample some of the best items on the bill of fare. To start with our server
Troy followed instructions by bringing out a very special Cuvee
Lacroix
Champagne NV, Paul Goerg for an aperatif and it appeared golden honey
yellow with fine mousse and a semi-dry light bodied structure with hints of
white fruit on the palate... |
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Luxury Product: |
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"Rimowa - Luggage for the World
Traveler." |
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In Next Gazette: All New |
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* InterContinental Harbor Court Baltimore, USA |
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* Restaurant: Le Siècle, Vienna, Austria |
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* Etihad Airways: Pearl Zone |
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* Kempinski Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates: |
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