The Boheme

Headnote

Orlando, Fla.

One of only two fine-dining venues in downtown Orlando, Fla., The Boheme is a fixture in the five-year-old Westin Grand Bohemian, the city's only luxury in-town lodging property and part of the eight-unit Kessler Collection of theme boutique hotels operating in Colorado, Florida and Georgia.

The Boheme is owned and run by Kessler Enterprises Inc., which is based in Orlando and was founded in 1993 by art collector and Days Inn hotel veteran Richard Kessler. The restaurant competes in Greater Central Florida's exploding celebrity- and luxury-dining market that includes such destinations as Victoria & Albert's at Walt Disney World's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa; Todd English's bluezoo at Disney's Dolphin Resort; Norman's at The Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes; and Emeril's Orlando and Emeril's Tchoup Chop at Universal Studios City Walk and Universal Orlando's Royal Pacific Resort.

The Boheme's chic culinary and service style fit intimately enough with the 250-room hotel's lavish amenities, such as its Bosendorfer Lounge, where musicians perform at the namesake Imperial Grand Bosendorfer piano, and its at-large art gallery featuring Kessler's extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, glass and art furnishings to impress visiting guests.

"What separates us from other upscale business destinations is the emphasis we place on the overall customer experience," says Stuart Newmark, operations senior vice president for Kessler. He opened The Grand Bohemian as general manager in 2001. After struggling to earn a reputation for the restaurant with contracted foodservice, he brought in a Boston food and beverage director and a California chef to try for a "culinary home run" at The Boheme.

The food and beverage director, Greg Fontecchio, a former chef who worked at The Ritz-Carlton and at properties in Europe and the Caribbean, says he moved to Orlando "to return to the lap of foodservice luxury and win acclaim in an emerging city."

The chef, Robert Mason, came from Vie Stewart's Steak House in Walnut Creek, Calif, and was charged with integrating lighter, more healthful menu presentations while attempting to fuse contemporary American food into the central Florida market.

Some of Mason's signatures include Chilean sea bass crusted with whole-milk pecorino; jumbo crab cake with chile rémoulade; and savory bread pudding topped with bohemianstyle foie gras.

Within a year of opening, the Kessler property...