The Catered Affair & Meet Boston

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to Food for Thought with Billy and Jenny,
brought to you by the Box Center. For more than
fifteen years, this dining duo has been eating their way
through New England, mixing it up with top chefs, jumping
behind the line of the hottest restaurants, and giving you
the inside scoop on where to wine, dine and spend
your time. So get ready, it's Food for Thought giving
you something to chew on.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hey, everybody, welcome into Food for Thought, brought to you
by the Box Center.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
I am Jenny.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
I'm excited for the show this week, because I guess
I am every single week. But this is a vice
president of catering for a company that is just so
well regarded in our city and beyond. Many of you
who live in the Boston area may have heard of
the Catered Affair, a catering company that has been around

(00:46):
actually longer than I have, and I think longer than
it's vice president, Ken Barrett Sweet. It is such a
pleasure to me you. Thanks so much for coming on
the program.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
Thanks for having me. I'm excited to chat today a
little bit about where we are in Boston.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well awesome, Well, a Catered affair and something very special
to both Billy and I me in particular because I
got married at the Boston Public Library and you are,
of course the official caterer of the BPL. And so
when I think of one of the most special days
of my life, I think about all of the deliciousness
that came from that special day from all of you.

(01:24):
But you know what we like to do, kenn Is,
We'd like to sort of start by giving a little
backgrounds on who you are, to sort of bring you
to the forefront. Talk a little bit about your history
and what got you to sort of running certainly the
most powerful catering company in our awesome city. So give
us a little background. Where'd you come from? Where did
your inspirations for being in the culinary space come from?

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Well, interestingly enough, I grew up in Alabama and was
raised there, born on a farm, and grew up with
grandparents who loved to cook. Incidentally, I went on to
university and was awarded a scholarship to university that had
a opera program, and received the full degree in opera

(02:13):
and graduated from there. Decided to do my MBA and
was tooling around Atlanta and Birmingham, and just fell in
love with my passion, which is hospitality and making people
feel warm and welcome and really around the food space.
So I went to work for a company on Mostlyple

(02:33):
Mainaire Restaurant Associates and was working in the catering space,
putting on events and creating events, and got the bug
and the idea to go to culinary school. So it
was very fortunate to be able to attend to culinary
school and get a master's degree from in Culinary Arts
and Hospitality from Cortamblue in Paris. The amazing time. I

(02:57):
was able to spend several years on an off in Paris,
so much fun to learn from masters and then just
really ignite my passion in creating really amazing food that
just in turn give people experiences that they'll never forget.
So I work, that's great, thank you.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
I mean, it's that's such a fascinating twist and turn.
And I think one of the things that I'm imagining
is kind of the amalgamation of all of those trainings,
of all those different degrees gave you such a sort
of rich plethora of understanding of how to manage in
the space. Okay, so you finished at Lacorde on Blue
with this master's degree. And then and then you're working

(03:46):
for a bit here and then what brought you and
when brought you to the cater To Fair.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
So two thousand and eight I moved to Boston, and
in two thousand and seventeen I moved to the catered
To Fair. I came to send for another catering company,
and then all the long, all the while, I had
been on stage teaching culinary, teaching advanced culinary to different
caters around the United States, and we had known each other.

(04:14):
I'd known Holly for years. She's one of the icons.
Holly Safford, the founder of the Catered Affairs, one of
the icons in our industry, one of the first people
to be a part of the group that codified what
catering is and what to expect from special events, especially
in food and service. And so I came to work
with a Catered Affair to really focus on the ability

(04:38):
to bridge the gap between what most restaurant people know
is front of house and back of house, meaning those
people who are servers on the floor. There's people who
are clients facing and those people in the back who
are creating the magic the food and the operations for
the experience. So my wealth of knowledge from the culinary side,

(05:01):
my understanding business and profitability and the business sector, and
some of my other trainings have allowed me to come
to this position where I'm so fortunate to just sit
and be in this space to support our managers, our directors,
and our leaders in all of our different venues and

(05:23):
our OPIMIS team and did them the encouragement and the
foundation to really grow and be a superstar. Wow.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
And you mentioned Holly an icon in the industry, I
would say an icon in our region. Really, I you know,
she is so poised, so passionate, so you know, dedicated
and devoted to the craft. Her story in and of
itself is a beautiful one. But I imagine and knowing her,
how much she appreciated your history, the history of the

(05:53):
story you told about your grandparents and and sort of
the process that took you to a bunch of different
places to bring you back right here. Because I know
the storytelling is also so important when it comes to
the things that you're putting on the plate. I know
that's an important thing for the catered of fair collection.
Is that right?

Speaker 3 (06:12):
That's correct? I mean, we really look at being a
leader in our industry in Boston and the New England
for creating experiences. We really try to bring to the
table that community, that love and passion for hospitality and
just the refinement of bringing the best ingredients on the plate,

(06:33):
no matter if you're in the middle of the field
at the Boston Public Library. Incidentally, my connection with Holly
grew much deeper when we found out we share the
same birth Dake. She and I are birth we were
in in October seventeenth, twenty five years apart. But we
are kindred.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Spirits undeniably meant to be together creating incredible opportunities for
everybody in our awesome city. Okay, well, kind it's so
great to have you and get to know you a
little bit. When we come back, we're really going to
break down the cater to Fair collection. This is an
opportunity to sort of tell you a little bit more
about some of the most iconic locations that this beautiful

(07:13):
historic city has and the way that the catered affair
really pays homage to all of them and creates such
a long lasting, memorable experience for everyone who died inside
of your locations. So we're going to take a break.
We'll be back more from Ken. More of Food for
Thought in just a minute.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel and Sweet Welcome.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
Back to Food for Thought brought to you by the
Box Center. We're chatting with Ken from the cater to
Fair Collection and Ken Barrett Sweets, the vice president of
catering for this incredible company, talked a little bit about
Holly Stafford, who is again just such an icon in
our area and who really has set the tone for
what excellence can be from a culinary experience and so

(07:58):
many of the different venues. But Ken, for somebody who's
not familiar with the catered affair, you know, how do
you describe it? And then we'll get into the different
locations where people can can meet you.

Speaker 3 (08:11):
The cater Interfair is a company that focuses on being
a leading experience maker. We first started with what is
known as all premise catering, where we go anywhere in
New England to throw a party, whether in your home
or at a venue or on the field on the cape.

(08:32):
We just go anywhere and we bring restaurant quality food
and five star service to that location, no matter how
big or how small the event is. We do parties
from two people all the way to parties for ten
thousand people, and we provide the same sort of service,
the same immersive experiences at all those places. Most recently

(08:57):
in our history, in the last fifteen years, partnered with
several of Boston's historic quintessential landmark locations to provide food
service in them. So we work in tandem with these
locations to bring restaurants and cafes to the public and

(09:17):
also provide special events.

Speaker 2 (09:21):
Oh well, I mean, just thinking of the idea of
doing an event with the food of your caliber for
ten thousand people is just mind blowing. However, I've been
at many of those events, so I can attest to
the fact that it happens regularly, which is pretty impressive. Okay,
so let's break it down. So you know, you know,
back in the day, we can think of Holly as
doing this, I think out of her home, and then

(09:42):
it expanded, and then you know, was the first place
the Boston Public Library, Correct.

Speaker 3 (09:50):
Jenny, The first place was the Boston Public Library. Fifteen
years ago, we entered a partnership with the Boston Public
Library to create three distinct spaces cafe activations and restaurants
inside the west of Public Library and do events. We
do about one hundred and eighty five private events where
people hire out the Boston Public Library to host their

(10:13):
event and the tatter the Fair provides the food. We
also have three locations for three different types of food
scenario or food experiences, and the also Public library most
notable and iconic is our tea room. We serve a
three course tea that is very similar to what you
might experience in London or the UK, but we focus

(10:37):
ourselves on contemporary American, contemporary New England influences, so you
have all the way from a first chef's starter all
the way through to scones and five savory bytes and
five sweet bites. It's a wonderful time to enjoy thirty

(10:58):
six different loose leaf tea and fresh cocktails made with
tea infuse cocktails. And it's a really beautiful space space.
That space was actually the port of Cichet, or the
entry into the Boston Public Library into its inner courtyard.
That was the original entrance that people would bring their
horse and carriage into the courtyard, leave their horse and

(11:20):
the courtyard and then go into the library and check
out their books or read. So it's a beautiful, beautiful space,
but lots of history.

Speaker 2 (11:29):
Oh so much history. You feel completely transported back to
the time, and yet you get to have sort of
the modern appreciation for the food that you're creating. I
mean that the tea tower. We actually just had it
last week when we were shooting for Meet Boston, one
of our television programs, and you know, just to look
around the room, it's so special, it's so sacred, and
to think of how much took place within those walls

(11:50):
is really awesome. And then you know, we actually hopped
over to New Speed Cafe the other spot to have something, uh,
you know, while we were watching gbas in that programming there.
So it's it's such an activated space in the city.
And if you live here and haven't been there in
a while, I definitely suggest going any time of year,
certainly when the weather's warm, you can enjoy that beautiful courtyard.
But yeah, the loosely teas the way that the presentation

(12:12):
takes place, you know, you feel the elevation of service,
the elevation of the quality of food and the actual
experience and you know, it's memorable for people of all ages,
all likes, and so I definitely always suggest that as
one of the first things to do if you're coming
to Boston and haven't been for a while. Okay, so
outside the VPL, let's talk about some of the other locations.

Speaker 3 (12:35):
We also work with Harvard Art Museums, which is located
just adjacent the Harvard Yard on the intersection of Quaint's
Street and Broadway. The Harvard Art Museum is the new iteration.
The new building is ten years old. It is a
collection of several of the museums coming together your private

(12:56):
events there in the courtyard, it's called the Wood Courtyard,
ised by Glass, one of those buildings that is famously
known by Renzo Piano. By Venzo Piano, we have Jenny's
Cafe there, incidentally named Jenny's Cafe. Is a great place
to grab scratch made muffins and for sandwiches and suits.

(13:17):
We are very fortunate to see a lot of students
and a lot of travelers from around the world at
Jenny's Cafe. We finture Gyms are good at coffee throughout
all the catered affair collection and our Beerisa's at Jenny's
Cafe are some of the best in the city and
often when competitions and awards when they go to compete.
So it's a great place to see the masters. You

(13:41):
have now free access into the Harvard Art Museums to
all people, and so you can go see the Masters
and then have a great cup of coffee as well.

Speaker 2 (13:52):
Oh I love that so much and it is so beautiful, again,
very historic, but it's a totally different field than the
BPL and obviously a different part outside of Boston and
to Cambridge. I have been there too, and it is
also worth checking out. They also have a number of
different offerings throughout the year, so it's a perfect way
to enjoy the cafe but also enjoy some of the
things that you're able to see there at the museum. Okay,

(14:14):
so what came after the Harvard Art Museum.

Speaker 3 (14:19):
Well, we move on to the modern and innovative space
of the Institute of Contemporary Art on the waterfront. So
we're the partner there that provides obviously events well known
for weddings outside on the seaport. Why wouldn't you want
to do that? It's so fabulous and beautiful in the summertime,
and then in that place we have a really cool

(14:41):
iteration of our services called the Wine and Coffee Bar.
It is in the common Room, the ground force space
of the Institute of Contemporary Art, and it's a great
place that features two really cool ideas for the cater
to fear. One being an organic wine program. We partnered
with Law and File from Rebel Rebel in Somerville and

(15:03):
created this fabulous list of organic wines and along with that,
this was where we started introducing a new program in
the catered affair called Community Table. So many of our
cafes and restaurants see people from around the world and
we wanted to appeal to them in many different ways. Also,

(15:24):
we wanted to bring to light our community and great
artisans in the community to be providers for us. So
the catered Affair at Ica at the Wine Bar, we
started implementing Community Table, where we're bringing different vendors in
and buying their products, sharing their products, sharing their story,
bringing their work from around the world right to our table.

(15:48):
Community Table allows us to bring products from Venezuela, things
from Colombia, things from Korea, things from France, all around
for people that are local, minority and new innovation based
entrepreneurs here in Boston. Bring them to our table, Jenny,
we see over a half a million guests and all

(16:11):
of our restaurants and cafes throughout the year. So for
cater to Fair, it's our way of giving back to
the community and allowing these fine partners in our Community
Table program to share the spotlight and share the abundance
of hospitality in Boston.

Speaker 2 (16:29):
This is so it's so incredible, and I can only imagine,
I mean, I know the experience that you're giving to
everyone coming through the door, but also what it must
mean for all of you to be able to do this,
to create these memorable experiences and these inclusive experiences which
are so obviously important. And again, I mean it sounds
like I'm a broken record, but if you haven't been
to the ICA, or if it's been a while, I mean,

(16:51):
there's never a shortage of truly exciting, extraordinary things that
are coming through their extraordinary people coming through there. It's just,
you know, again, it goes back to how much you
can appreciate the city that certainly Billy and I love
so much. Okay, so I'm assuming that this brings us
to the Atheneum, which is another historic space with a
venue that we'll talk about when we come back from break.

(17:13):
But quickly tell us what the atheneum is for those
who aren't familiar.

Speaker 3 (17:16):
Ethanaeum the Boston and Am is America's first library on
an historic address ten and a half weecond with beautiful
sweeping views of all of Boston. So we're very excited
to talk about that one.

Speaker 2 (17:30):
Ah we and it's something that people could easily pass by,
so we're going to make sure we'd take the picture
of where it is and how you can enjoy it.
We'll be back with more Food for Thought in just
a minute.

Speaker 1 (17:39):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
It's the Box Center and Sale and Waterfront Hotel in
Sweet so Ken.

Speaker 2 (17:45):
We were just talking about the historic atheneum here in Boston,
a spot that people probably haven't been to. So tell
us a little bit about where it is, specifically in
Beacon Hill and walk us inside.

Speaker 3 (18:02):
So the buffon atinaem is it some in a half
Beacon Street. It sits across the street from the State House,
from the Massachusetts State House, which is really a beautiful space.
It is a ten story library and recently went under
a massive renovation added in more space to it, some

(18:26):
event space, but incidentally we also added our brand new restaurant. Folio.
Folio is a place that is like no other I
think in Boston. It's our iteration of a European cafe
that's very bistro leaning, Tapa style, small plate, shareable bite.
It's a place for you to come and find really

(18:50):
amazing and brilliantly done food, but it's also a place
to whet your curiosity. We serve food in many different aspects.
There's a little bit of show in some of our things.
It's a place also where we have amazingly crafted cocktails
that are made by of our tenders that are just

(19:14):
barn They have great literary names to them. Some of
them have tricks to them, and so you can learn
a little bit about history, learn it a little bit
about literature while they're and enjoying. Those people who dine
with us at the Boston Acineum at the Folio at
Boston ACNAM also get a little heat into the bust

(19:36):
and ACNEM membership. They are able to get it to
receive a discounted membership. So by just doning with this,
you're offered a discountant membership into the Boston Athenaeum. So
it's a great location. It's a place to come. It's
a wonderful, fabulous time before theater. We are located right

(19:59):
down in the Financial district on Beacon Hell. You can
walk to any theater. We can get you in and out,
So we think that it's a great place for you
to come off some bites and cocktails before you after work,
before you go to the theater, enjoy the theater, and
have enjoyed an amazing night.

Speaker 2 (20:18):
That sounds like the perfect day. Well, Ken, thank you
so much. It is such a pleasure to have you
on the show. We love everything about the Catered Affair
and all the Catered Affair collection. For anyone who's interested
in all things that we've talked about here, just go
to the Cateredaffair dot com and we'll talk to you soon.
We'll be back up our Food for Thought in just
a minute.

Speaker 1 (20:38):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
It's the Box Center and Sale and Waterfront Hotel and Sweet.

Speaker 2 (20:44):
Welcome back to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center. One of the things I love most
about my job is I get to showcase unbelievable places
throughout New England, predominantly in Boston. But I also get
to work with so many of my friends, which you
hear week after week on this radio show, which you
see week after week on our television shows. And this
week I happen to be introducing you to a very

(21:06):
dear friend of mine who is also a very influential
person in our beautiful and beloved city of Boston. Martha
Sheridan is the CEO and president of Meet Boston, the
organization really responsible for bringing so many of the exciting
things that we experience to our beautiful city from a

(21:26):
tourism perspective, but she's also responsible for being the voice
of Boston on the international stage, so she travels all
over the world sort of telling the story of Boston
and making it known. Why, you know, we hope that
everybody comes to visit here as often as possible. So Martha,
it's a pleasure to welcome you to the show. How
are you, my friend?

Speaker 4 (21:46):
Hi, Jenny, great to hear your voice, and I'm so
happy to be here.

Speaker 2 (21:51):
And we just had On Ken, the vice president of
the Catered Affair, on the show, and I know you're
also friendly with Holly, and you support know so many
of the great parts about the catered affair, and really
support and love the culinary scene in Boston a lot.
You and I are hear to touch upon that a
fair amount on this program. But first I'd love for
you to sort of give a better overview of mee

(22:13):
Boston and I just gave it. Really tell people about
your organization and about your role on the international stage.

Speaker 4 (22:22):
Sure, we'd love to so. Our organization is the official
destination marketing organization for the Greater Boston region, including forty
five cities and towns surrounding the city of Boston and Cambridge.
We are responsible for promoting this area as a premier
location for meetings, events, sporting events, leisure, visitation, etc. And

(22:48):
spreading the good word about our beautiful area across the globe.
So we employ a variety of techniques like our great
website meet Boston dot com. We do advertising across the
country digitally and on television in some cases, and also
in a variety of other vehicles. We travel across the world. Literally,

(23:13):
my team spreads out across the globe telling stories about
Boston and spreading the boards that we are a great
place to visit.

Speaker 2 (23:23):
Well, I got to personally experience what it's like to
be on the road with you. This past summer, we
were in Florida at Destination's international conference, where there were
again people from all the world and certainly people from
throughout the country, and I think I got to experience
firsthand just how much people love Boston and how strong

(23:44):
of a city this is on the national and international
and certainly regional scope. But tell me a little bit
more about what kind of response you have when you're
traveling internationally. I know you just got back from India,
So like, give me an idea of where Boston lands.

Speaker 4 (24:00):
Well, I'll say, you know, for the visitor market, we
compete with a variety of US cities. Technically we're the
smallest of the large cities in the US, as you know,
population wise, but I like to think we punch above
our weight in so many ways, including recognition. So what
I learned, particularly on my recent trip to India, but
we also were in Paris and Dublin over the last

(24:23):
several months, is that people know of Boston. So the
good news is they know the name of the city,
they're familiar with chambers, they're familiar with Harvard, they're familiar
with MIT. They know that we're a great city for sports.
But you know, what we want to do is try
and educate them on more dimensions of the city. So
the good news is we don't have to educate them

(24:44):
on who we are necessarily or where we are, because
that's pretty well known even in India. But we just
have to give them more reasons to consider Boston as
a place to hold an event, plan a meeting, or
plan their vacation. So I'm always very very heartened by
the great response that we get. And I think, you know,

(25:05):
one of the things that we like to promote right
now is what a welcoming destination Boston and Massachusetts are.
And I think given you know, maybe the current climate.
I don't want to get into any political discussions, but
you know, I think people are looking for places in
the US where everyone can feel welcome. And we're so
proud of the fact that we are a destination that

(25:25):
welcomes all. So that's been really part of our sales pitch,
if you will, over the past year or two, as
we go across the globe. And Jenny, you know me
well enough to know that I love my job, I
love the people I work with, I love our hospitality community,
and I am committed to what I like to call
global domination for the city of Boston because I think

(25:47):
our time has come and we deserve it.

Speaker 2 (25:51):
I love hearing that, and you speak about it so eloquently,
and I think one of the great things is that
you're able to showcase so many different things without having
us be known in one singular area. So you mentioned education,
you mentioned hospitality, you mentioned, you know, the beautiful place
that we actually sit within our country, and I think

(26:14):
that those are all things that people certainly appreciate and
and and can can say, Okay, well, this is where
I want to be when I bring thousands of people
into a city, or this is where I want to
be when I want a vacation. And that's one of
the things that I think is really unique about Meet
Boston and about the way that you are telling the
story of Boston is you're not only saying it for
the people that are coming to these big you know,

(26:35):
these these big attendees you know, for for big conferences,
but you're also saying it for the families. You're also
saying it for the people that may be looking for
one or two vacations a year, and your organization does
an amazing job of making it so that you can
experience Boston exactly the way you want to experience it,
which is different, as you know everybody that's listening right now.

(26:56):
So Martha Sherid and such an unbelievable cheerleader and such
such a steward of our city, We're going to take
a break. We'll be back with more of Martha, more
of me Boston, more food for Thought.

Speaker 1 (27:06):
In just a minute, you're listening to Food for Thought
brought to you by the Box Center and Salem Waterfront
Hotel and Sweet.

Speaker 2 (27:14):
Welcome back to Food for Thoughts brought to you by
the Box Center. Martha Sheridan, President and CEO of MEE Boston,
is our guests. So Martha, you know our partner in
this program is a Box Center. You know, we talked
a little bit about some of the pillars that are
so amazing about Boston and reasons to come visit here.
But talk about the arts because I think sometimes people
think that maybe it's not as vibrant as we know

(27:37):
it truly is.

Speaker 4 (27:39):
Oh absolutely well. Live entertainment is a huge, huge piller
for us as we talk about this great city and
you know, large live entercentertainment comes in a variety of forms,
whether you mentioned the Box Center, whether it's you know,
their upcoming movie series for instance at the Box Center,
or their live performances, or their you know, their broad

(27:59):
Voice shows, or of course the other theaters in the
theater district that host incredible Broadway shows, you know, throughout
the throughout the season. So that's important.

Speaker 3 (28:09):
But also think.

Speaker 4 (28:10):
About all the live music venues that we have, whether
it's you know, the Boston Pops, you know, performing outdoors
or indoors at their you know, home location, bring in
special guests throughout the year, whether it's the MGM facility
that brings an incredible, incredible live entertainment. Just so many

(28:31):
different things to choose from, whether it's dance, the Boston Ballet.

Speaker 2 (28:36):
You know.

Speaker 4 (28:36):
The thing with Boston and the area surrounding area is that,
like you said, we have so much variety. So no
matter what your flavor is and what you're looking for,
you're going to be able to find it here. No,
we're not in New York City when it comes to
the arts, but boy, we're easily it's easily accessible here,
and there's just as much variety here as as some

(28:56):
of the larger cities. So we're so proud of our
arts and called thro all offerings. I mean, let's talk
about all the wonderful museums that we have in Boston
and the great exhibits that they host throughout the year
that are always interesting and you know, sometimes thought provoking.
So so much to do here. The arts is a
huge pillar for us.

Speaker 2 (29:18):
The thought provoking comment is something that I think is
so special, and this idea that no, we're not in
New York, but in so many ways we don't want
to be New York, and oftentimes people don't necessarily want
to be in New York. And I think that's one
of the things that I know that I personally love
about Boston. Of Course, I love traveling to other cities.
Of course I love trying different, you know, flavors out

(29:39):
both in our country and beyond. But there is something
so unbelievably approachable about Boston, as you suggested earlier on
that I think, you know, I try not to take
for granted, but maybe if we live here all the time,
you know, it could be easy too. But as we
transition from arts. I want to get into culinary because
you know, that's certainly a pride and pleasure of mind

(30:01):
that we've had the opportunity to showcase at Billy and
I together for twenty years. Uh, such a vibrant culinary
scene that has evolved so deeply and and and so
amazingly over these two decades. And I know that this
is an area that is close to your heart as well.
So you know, when when you're when you're in India,
or when you're in Paris, or when you're in these
you know, certainly culinary mecads of our of our planet.

(30:24):
You know, how are you talking about Boston and one
of some of the things that you're sharing.

Speaker 4 (30:28):
Well, I mean, I think you hit the nail on
the head. We we love to talk about, you know,
the traditional culinary offerings here because we are well known
for lobster rolls and chowder. We don't want to deny, uh,
you know, just just deserves for those particular dishes, but
we do try and talk about how our cuisine goes
so far beyond that. Now you know, you can come

(30:49):
to Boston, you know, walk into any neighborhood and find
diverse culinary offerings I mean, obviously we have the incredible
you know, dining options downtown with great steakhouses and high
end restaurants and you know, smaller grab and go places,
but if you go into the smaller neighborhoods, you're going
to find really world class, diverse cuisine, you know, from

(31:10):
the Caribbean, you know, from the African diaspor just different
different areas of the world that are reflected in the
cuisine in our neighborhoods. And these again are places that
are very accessible, very approachable, and really a great way
to just sample out, you know, the different cultures that
are represented in Boston's population. Right, We've got incredible Indian restaurants.

(31:34):
Let's not you know, forget about Chinatown, which I live
on the cusp of Chinatown, and I think we have
one of the best China towns in the country when
it comes to the dining options and the culture, et cetera.
So we love to promote the diversity here in Boston
and surrounding areas and really welcome people to get out
and really sample something different, get out of your comfort zone,

(31:57):
try a different type of cuisine, and you definitely won't
be disappointed.

Speaker 2 (32:01):
Yeah, I think that is certainly the goal of you
and me and our partnership together with our program, and
it's pushed the envelope for me too, because you know,
we're all creatures of habits, so we get into sort
of the cycle of the things that we know and
the things that we enjoy. But I think us trying
to showcase the different perspectives and obviously not only the
different cuisine types, but the different neighborhoods that all had

(32:23):
such a different flavor and flare, and you know, some
more steeped in history than others, but equally as all
equally as beautiful, and your rights so diverse. So this
is a nice opportunity and a good soare into Dine
Out Boston, which is something that's been taking place with
your organization for decades and is a great opportunity for

(32:44):
people to go to some of these places that they
haven't been to, have heard of, are interested in trying
for a better price point. So tell people a little
bit about dine Out Boston.

Speaker 4 (32:54):
Absolutely well, we're about to launch Dine Out Boston on
February twenty third, it's three weeks this year, and you
have the opportunity to go to over one hundred and
fifty different restaurant options serving three course meals at a
special price point for both lunch and dinner. So so

(33:15):
many options. It'll take you a while to get through
the number of options on dine out Boston dot com,
where you can, you know, peruse the menus, decide what
you're in the mood for. But as we just said,
you know, the nice thing about dine out Boston is
it gives you the opportunity to get into a restaurant
that you may not have thought about going to at

(33:36):
a great price point and for a three course meals,
so you really get a good sampling of what their
cuisine is all about. And when I say, there are
restaurants from not only you know, Boston and Cambridge, but
really the entire greater Boston area. So even if you
don't live in Boston by the way, and you don't
want to travel into the city, of course you want
to encourage you to do that, but you don't have to.

(33:57):
You can find something close to home. Most likely if
you're in the Greater Boston area that appeals to you.
That's participating. We love dying out Boston. Our chefs take
it very seriously. They really want to make sure that
guests coming to their restaurants have the best possible experience,
because it's their opportunity to lure new customers in and

(34:17):
keep them coming back once they've had a great experience
because of this promotion.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
I was actually going to add that to our chefs.
Take it very seriously here. I'm sure like a preconceived
notion would be that they just put together a prefix menu,
and I would say, actually, it's the exact opposite exactly,
because of what you said. It's an opportunity to see
new faces and bring new people in with more regularity.
You know, this is if anyone's listening from New England.
Obviously this signal goes everywhere and is highly listening to

(34:46):
all of the down the East coasts. But if you're
in New Englander, you know that February is a time
where you're you've hibernated for too long, like you're ready
to be done with like you know, cooking your own meals,
staying in your own you know, box of to work
and back, and this really brings about an opportunity to
connect with the city and the people that you haven't
seen in a couple months, and so Also, I think

(35:08):
one of the things to keep in mind is it's
a great opportunity to make an overnight of it. I mean,
when there's beautiful and there's so much happening, both outside
and inside, and certainly culinarily so I know that the
hotels do a lot this time of year to help
bring you know, sort of extra stays when it's on
a weekend that's not necessarily a holiday or the most
desirable weather.

Speaker 3 (35:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (35:30):
Absolutely, Actually, we're running a great promotion right now called
Pick your Perk. If you stay too nice at a
participating hotel, and it's probably about fifty or sixty participating hotels,
you also receive two tickets to a great attraction in Boston.
There are three attraction offerings available. So if you combine

(35:51):
Pick your Perk with Dine Out Boston, your weekend is planned, right.
You pick your restaurants for lunch and dinner, lunch and dinner,
you pick your perk. You know whether you want to
go to the Museum of Fine Arts, which is one
of the options, or you know one of the other
couple of options available. You have already had most of

(36:12):
your itinerary ready and set for you. With a click
of a button. So we really want to encourage people
spend the night here. It's a great time to come
to Boston before the busy, busy tourist season starts, which
typically happens around the marathon. So come in and there's
so much to do in the winter in Boston. By
the way, don't be afraid of coming to Boston in
the winter. I'm in the South End. I'm looking out

(36:33):
my window right now at the beautiful snowfalling. Boston was
just named one of the most beautiful cities in winter.
I think it might have been number one. Now is
the time to experience that right in your own backyard.
And there's no better way to do it than to
go to a warm and cozy restaurant and then spend
the night in a very lovely hotel and go to
a great attraction here.

Speaker 2 (36:55):
And I know, you guys just such a great job
of showcasing what we have for hotels. Because the nice
part about Boston and is you may be thinking of
a you know, small boutique space, you may be thinking
of a grand hotel that you stay at, you know,
all throughout the world. All of that you have that
opportunity to do in Boston and beyond, and I will
say like hospitality in this area I think is second

(37:16):
to none. I mean, the way that we connect with
people that come from all over feels effortless, and I
think it's what makes Boston one of the greatest cities
to visit of all time. Okay, we're going to take
a break, Martha, we'll be back with you in just
a minute.

Speaker 1 (37:27):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center and Sale and Waterfront Hotel and Sweet.

Speaker 2 (37:33):
So we were just talking about the fact that we
are keeping this right now with snow falling from Boston,
and Martha, You're right, it's so truly beautiful and I'm
so glad that people are recognizing how beautiful it is
to be here this time of year. So we talked
about dine out Boston talks about great opportunities to see
of your perks, opportunities that everyone can find information on
meet Boston dot com. But you have more things going

(37:54):
on this winter, So what else is happening.

Speaker 4 (37:57):
Well, we're about to welcome the Poor Nations Face Off,
which is a great event planned by the NHL and
the NHL Players Association. They start in Montreal on Wednesday,
February twelfth with four games. Then they're heading over to
Boston on Saturday, February fifteenth. We opened the Fan Village
and watch party at City Hall Plaza, so you'll be

(38:19):
able to watch a game there on the fifteenth that's
being played in Montreal. On the seventeenth, we have two
matches at the TV Garden, and this is four different
national teams, so you get to see the best of
the best hockey play professional hockey players in the world.
We have Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the US all battling
it out. These are all NHL players, so you can

(38:41):
see all your favorite players from different teams. And then
on Thursday, February twentieth, we host the championship game at
the TV Garden. So that's going to be a really
fun event and we hope that you visit the fan Village.
It's open for several days starting on Saturday the fifteenth,
and it's free. The village is free, not the game,
but buy your tickets now.

Speaker 3 (39:01):
I'm growing fast.

Speaker 2 (39:02):
They are definitely going fast. Everybody is talking about it, Okay.
Then there's also ice skating.

Speaker 4 (39:07):
Yes, well we all know that, you know, being on
ice is a passion in this part of the country,
so Boston is forcing it to have secured the World
Figure Skating Championships. They will be at the TD Garden
March twenty fifth through the thirtieth. The very best figure
skaters from around the globe will be at the TD Garden.

(39:27):
It's going to be incredible. We are so excited to
welcome the world to Boston for this event. And when
I tell you, you're not going to see better skating
than you would at this event because it truly is
world class skaters and we have a couple of really,
really top notch American skaters this year, so we know
that the competition is going to be very fierce, and

(39:48):
we know we'll have people there to support this incredible
skating community and show the love from Boston that we
always do for people on the ice. So we're excited
about that.

Speaker 2 (39:59):
So nice to be able to have Boston be represented
in this you know, international space, and I know this
one's going to be very popular too. And of course,
while we're talking about high skating, don't forget about the
Frog Pond. Don't forget about Lars Anderson. There's a sweet
little skating park over here. There's a lot of different
opportunities if you're in the area to bring your kids
and do some great family things. When people are looking

(40:20):
for various they have questions, they want suggestions, where do
you send them to In addition to your website obviously
Meet Boston dot com, but you have a number of
opportunities for people who want like face to face interaction.

Speaker 3 (40:32):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 4 (40:33):
As far as our visitor center go, we have a
visitor center on a common open year round almost every day,
and believe it or not, visitor centers aren't dead. People
love going in and speaking to one of our visitors
counselors about planning their day in Boston. So it's located
right on the Boston Come it's very very easy to find.
You can also look for our mobile visitor center, which

(40:54):
travels around the city more in the warmer weather, so
you'll see that coming out soon. But it's called the
Boss and you can go around and learn more about
Boston from our great folks there, purchase merchandise, et cetera.
Our website Meet Boston dot com of course, and then
you just follow us on social media. So we have

(41:14):
great social media channels, very timely information well, somehow in half.

Speaker 2 (41:19):
Of this program, we weren't even able to talk about
Meet Boston with Billy and Jenny, our partnership from a
television perspective, and we also weren't able to talk about
the amazing cookbook we launched this year. But that's okay,
and that just means that when you're coming back in
about amounts, we'll have plenty more to talk about. Martha,
we adore you, We love everything that we do. We
thank you so much for representing Boston in such a
strong way.

Speaker 4 (41:40):
I'm so happy to be here. Thank you, Jenny.

Speaker 2 (41:43):
Okay, and that's it for Food for Thought this week.
We'll see you next week.