Catch of the day: Hotel guests help create dining menu

Ho Chi Minh City – A luxury resort on Vietnam’s south-central coast now offers guests in its restaurant an interactive dining experience that may even see visitors picking out their own ingredients.

Princess d’Annam, a 57-villa resort and spa in Ke Ga Bay, some 150km west of Ho Chi Minh City, has introduced daily menus based on the fresh produce available. Each menu is created in consultation with guests, who are free to suggest items they may want to eat.

‘There is no default menu,’ says general manager Jean-Philippe Beghin. ‘In the same way that performance artists feed off their audience, we’ve charged our chef and food-and-beverage manager with acquiring new information about that day’s group of guests, and using that information to develop that evening’s menu.’

Beyond indicating a preferred dish, guests are invited to accompany the chef to the local fishing village, where they may pick out the seafood that catches their eye.

In offering customers not just a personalised experience but an immersive one as well, Princess d’Annam writes a menu for guest satisfaction.