Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and the Hilton Garden Inn Laramie wants to help you celebrate your spouse, significant other, friend, or that crush you just haven’t had the nerve to let them know how you feel. Each year millions rush to buy the chocolate, the flowers, or the predictable card. Why not treat you and your Valentine to an experience?
Graphic provided by Hilton Garden Inn.
“We wanted to do something special for Valentine’s day for couples around town,” said Sarah Byrnes, Hilton’s Garden Inn’s sale’s manager. “So we discussed how we could elevate the menu to make it an experience and expose people to the idea that we’re not just a hotel, but we have an excellent restaurant here as well.”
Photo Courtesy of Nid Collins.
Matthew Douglas is the head chef at the Hilton Garden Inn Laramie and he is meticulous about every plate he sends out of the kitchen.
“The quality that we serve is excellent,” said Page Malmstrom, the Hilton’s Garden Inn’s general manager.
Photo Courtesy to Nid Collins.
Douglas is diligent in finding quality, local ingredients to craft a number of homemade dishes made from scratch that he keeps up his sleeve. He has an eye for quality after spending 31 years in the food industry. The chef cuts all steak in house, his ingredients are never frozen and he only works with top grade salmon and halibut.
“I’ve been working in the food industry since I was 16,” Douglas said, “People love to eat and I love to make people happy.”
Photo Courtesy by Nid Collins.
Douglas has spent weeks rifling through new and old recipes to try to put a cohesive menu together to make Valentine’s special. Gnocchi chicken pesto, Feta cheese pear tartlets and lamb lollipops with strawberry mint sauce are just a few options on the menu for Valentine’s day.
“Creating a menu can be an art form from pairing flavors to describing food so people will know they will want it when they read the menu,” Douglas said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into it until I’m truly happy and I feel like people will come and enjoy it.”
Photo Courtesy to Nid Collins.
The Hilton Garden Inn will be dressed in fresh linens and a rose to create a casual, relaxed atmosphere to take your special someone on Valentine’s day.
“I think holidays, especially in the food and hospitality industry, means treating others well and making sure they have a special experience,” Malmstrom said.
Watch out for more ways to celebrate at The Hilton Garden Inn coming soon!