RockResorts Embraces "Appetite for Life"

Contact
Kathryn Wohlschlaeger, 303-404-6466, kwohlschlaeger@vailresorts.com

ROCKRESORTS EMBRACES "APPETITE FOR LIFE"

Sustainable Cuisine Now Being Served at all Properties in the RockResorts Collection

Broomfield, CO (August 21, 2008) – RockResorts, a luxury hotel company with a long-standing tradition of embracing the natural settings of its resort locations, and parent company Vail Resorts, has recently launched Appetite For Life, a brand-wide program showcasing cuisine created with local/regional organic and sustainable ingredients across all resort properties. 

The RockResorts collection of eight luxury hotels has implemented the Appetite for Life program in all food and beverage operations. The program involves a variety of sustainable food elements including:

• Offering Horizon Organic dairy products
• Implementing the use of sustainable seafood and fish
• Eliminating all artificial Trans Fats
• Using Coleman natural meats and poultry in all restaurants, supplemented by other specialty cuts of free-range, natural and organic meats
• Serving 100 percent Certified Serena Organic Starbucks coffee and Fair-Trade Café Estima espresso blend

The expanded Appetite For Life program will be featured in all the RockResorts restaurants.  Guests will also notice the program elements on the room service menu and during special events hosted at the resorts, such as weddings, reunions, business meetings and conferences. 

“Dining is one of the key experiences we provide to RockResorts guests, and our Appetite for Life program is about enhancing their experience by serving food with fresh, healthy, high quality ingredients that are grown sustainably and focus on protecting our valuable natural resources,” said Stan Brown, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for RockResorts.  “The Appetite for Life will be an important factor for anyone seeking more natural, organic meal options when choosing a vacation, business event or wedding destination.”

To introduce the Appetite for Life program at each RockResort, the culinary teams are fine-tuning their menus, creating signature items that highlight organic and sustainably grown ingredients from farms in their geographic regions while also presenting a variety of game meats that offer guests a unique and authentic connection to resort location. .

An example of the Appetite for Life program in action can already be experienced at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen.  Culinary Director Christopher Keating’s staff cooks with local vegetables and herbs, many of which grow in the garden right outside the restaurant, and the menus are based on what is in season and at the peak of flavor.  Keating takes sustainability a step further when it comes to cooking oil.  The oil used in the Hotel Jerome’s kitchens is collected and given it to a local potter.  The potter then uses the oil to fire kilns in which he makes custom serving dishes for the hotel’s restaurants. 

The chefs at the Keystone Lodge & Spa in Colorado and at La Posada de Santa Fe in New Mexico have created inspired dishes using sustainable seafood, which focuses on fish and seafood selections that are sourced from populations that are managed responsibly referencing guidance from such sources as the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program and Seafood Choices Alliance.  La Posada Chef Mary Nearn believes where you get ingredients is as important as the ingredients themselves.

“It’s important that the fishermen, the ranchers and the farmers we work with have the same commitment to protecting the future of our food supply as we do," Nearn said.  “At La Posada, we have herbs and strawberries growing on the grounds that we use in our food.  We also source produce from the local farmers market and support other small farms throughout the country.”

The tropical island of St. Lucia in the West Indies is home to The Landings, a RockResort.  With fresh produce in plentiful supply nearly year round, the chefs take full advantage of the local St. Lucia Organic Farmers Co-operative as a source of fresh-from-the-farm ingredients to create inventive, and sustainable cuisine.

RockResorts plans to implement even more components to its Appetite for Life program in the coming months.  Looking ahead, the brand will offer organic and biodynamic wines, local and regional microbrewed and organic beers, biodegradable/compostable containers, paper goods and flatware made from materials such as corn and potato starch, and will implement a food donation program to support community shelters and food banks.

For more information, visit www.vailresorts.com/appetiteforlife.

About RockResorts
RockResorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vail Resorts, owns and operates luxury resort hotels that offer casually elegant accommodations, lavish RockResorts Spas™, renowned golf courses, award-winning dining and a variety of exciting outdoor adventures. The RockResorts collection includes The Arrabelle at Vail Square in Vail, Colo., Hotel Jerome in Aspen, Colo.; The Pines Lodge in Beaver Creek, Colo.; Keystone Lodge & Spa in Keystone, Colo.; The Lodge at Vail in Vail, Colo.; La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa in Santa Fe, N.M.; Snake River Lodge & Spa in Jackson Hole, Wyo.; and The Landings St. Lucia, Rodney Bay, St. Lucia.  Future RockResorts include; The Osprey at Beaver Creek (renovation to be complete in fall 2008); Tempo Miami in Miami, Fla. (scheduled to open in 2009); One Ski Hill Place in Breckenridge, Colo. (scheduled to open in winter 2009/2010); Rum Cay Resort Marina, The Bahamas (scheduled to open in 2010); and the Third Turtle Club & Spa, Turks and Caicos (scheduled to open in 2011).