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August 25, 2005
New meaning to Room Service
I read an interesting article in the MJS that I found through EGullet on the popularity of hotel guests cooking in their rooms:
"We don't look for people to use the guest rooms as kitchens, unless they're set up that way," said Joe McInerney, president and CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Although hotels generally don't have a policy to specifically address the issue, "we wish (guests) wouldn't do it," he said.Although it's customary for hotels to turn a blind eye to the practice, McInerney said that housekeeping personnel do keep an eye out for anything suspicious; while it's OK to make a meal, they don't want rooms being used to cook up illegal drugs.
When it comes to food preparation, industry insiders such as McInerney are well aware of the strangest of tricks. When asked about the practice of preparing cheese sandwiches, wrapping them securely in aluminum foil and hauling out the iron and ironing board to press them until the cheese melts, he doesn't even flinch.
"Everybody's done that once in a lifetime," he said, laughing.
Uh, everyone? All I know is that if someone fires up a deep fryer on my floor, I'm going in like Rambo. Grill all the cheese sandwiches you want, but no deep frying.
I've gone as far as carrying my own coffee maker, back before they were fairly ubiquitous, but that's about it. Room service, and the service charges that go along with it, have gotten really pricy, so I can see why this is becoming more popular.
Have you ever cooked in a hotel room that didn't have kitchen facilities? C'mon, fess up. You know you want to.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at August 25, 2005 9:13 AM
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Comments
I had no idea this was actually common practice! How crazy. I never would have thought about making a grilled cheese with an iron. The most I ever did was to reheat/steam something in the basket of the drip coffee maker. It didn't work out so well...
Posted by: megwoo at August 25, 2005 1:30 PM
I used to travel quite a bit, so I had my own coffee maker with me, before I bought a grinder for the road. I inadvertently bought whole beans one day, so I used the iron in my room to crush them in a desperate attempt to get my morning coffee fix.
To say it didn't work very well is an understatement. I can just imagine how pathetic it looked to see me try.
Posted by: the pragmatic chef™ at August 25, 2005 1:37 PM