Miscellaneous

🍴 Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor at Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999, is known for his trend-spotting expertise. He hosts "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" and won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award. Thorn, a Tufts University graduate, studied at Le Cordon Bleu and in China. He contributed to the Oxford Encyclopedia in 2012 and was inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Born in Denver, he resides in Brooklyn and has worked globally since 1989.

☕ Chef Dominique Crenn unveiled an afternoon tea menu at Café Dior in Dallas, launched in early May, located in the Christian Dior boutique. The café opened on February 22. For $75 per person, offerings include chicken salad sandwiches and piña colada baba au rhum. Teas are priced separately, and Veuve Clicquot champagne is available for $25 extra. Crenn, set to be inducted into the MenuMasters Hall of Fame, crafted a menu blending tradition and innovation.

🎭 Since 2019, Accor's ALL program has focused on music, with 45% of travelers planning trips around events like Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. In 2025, ALL expanded partnerships globally: Accor Arena in France, OVO Arena Wembley in the UK, Qudos Bank Arena in Australia, and venues in São Paulo, Brazil. These partnerships offer members exclusive benefits and experiences, enhancing ALL's entertainment sector presence with over 7,000 events worldwide.

📚 Antonina Santalova grew up in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan during the 1990s, a period marked by economic decline. Fluent in English due to her education, she won the Republican Olympiad, securing free university education. She earned degrees in Linguistics, Economics, and later worked for the Ministry of Education. Her roles included Education Development Officer, contributing to fundamental educational reforms backed by the Asian Development Bank. Her journey led her to become Glion’s Academic Dean.

🍴 Paola launched "Savor Paris with Paola" in early 2025, offering three-hour culinary tours in Paris, focusing on hidden gems in le Marais, Montmartre, and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Despite being new, it has received positive reviews on Google, Facebook, and Tripadvisor. Paola's experience at Glion helped her develop hospitality skills. She plans to expand to Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, and Brussels, but currently focuses on Paris, recommending Pamela Popo in le Marais and the dish blanquette de veau.

🏨 Waleed, a Saudi hospitality professional, completed his Master's in Hospitality Business Leadership at Glion in 2023 and interned at AlpenGold and Hard Rock Hotel, Davos. He joined Marriott's Voyage Program and aims to become a front office manager in two years. Waleed was recognized in The Hotelier 30 Under 30 list. Saudi Arabia will host Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup in 2034, showcasing the country's rapid development in the hospitality sector.

🧀 Stéphane Décotterd's recipe from Maison Décotterd features the Vacherin Mont d’Or, a cheese with PDO status, produced in the Jura mountains. This dish combines 100g herbal black tea, potatoes, and pickled mushrooms, enhanced with a tea and mustard seed vinaigrette. For four servings, use 5g dried verbena, 2.5g dried sweet woodruff, and 2g black tea. Substitute with Reblochon or Camembert if needed. Cook Vacherin at 160ºC for 25 minutes.

✈️ Etraveli Group's platforms now feature the complete content from British Airways and Iberia. Customers accessing Gotogate, Mytrip, Flightnetwork, and Booking.com can choose from over 200 British Airways destinations and approximately 120 Iberia destinations. This partnership strengthens Etraveli Group's industry position. Spyros Tsiaprazlis, David Oppenheim, and Ignacio Valeros Blas express enthusiasm about the collaboration, aiming to enhance travel choices and experiences.

✈️ Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia's new airline, partners with TPConnects Technologies to integrate its NDC content on the Iris platform. This collaboration enhances Riyadh Air's distribution and offers travel agencies access to its content alongside other systems in a single interface. The partnership aims to provide dynamic, personalized travel experiences. Key benefits include access to all fare families and real-time pricing. Riyadh Air's approach is described as groundbreaking in advancing airline distribution.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, provides F&B trend insights and oversees coverage. Host of "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast, he wrote for The New York Sun from 2005-2008. His contributions include articles for Manager magazine and Asia Times during 1992-1997 in Thailand. A magna cum laude graduate from Tufts University, he also studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and in China during the Tiananmen Square events in 1989. Thorn won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. A Denver native, he resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. and has extensive expertise in global cuisines and restaurant operations.