I would like to forward the name of one of our associates for your consideration. His name is Tuyen Vo and he is a third Cook at the Westin Bayshore. So often, it is the “front of the house” or high guest contact associates who are recognized because they have more opportunities to meet and interact with guests. But in this case, it was one of our “back of the house” associates who really created a very memorable experience for a group of guests staying with the hotel.

During a pre-shift meeting in June, the Executive Chef Kevin Doucette of the hotel informed the Currents kitchen team to be ready for an upcoming Korean tour group of sixty guests that would be staying at the hotel for two days. The guests would be having breakfast at Currents each morning. Upon hearing this information, one of the third Cooks, Tuyen Vo, spoke up and asked if he could make them a traditional Korean breakfast Congee (rice porridge) to personalize the group’s experience while staying with us.

Two days later when the tour arrived, Tuyen had a special breakfast of Congee prepared for them on the breakfast buffet. The tour group was pleasantly surprised in finding a traditional Korean breakfast included in our buffet, but in talking to some of the tour guests, Tuyen sensed that another traditional Korean item would have been even more appreciated. After his shift, Tuyen drove to Chinatown on his way home, stopped at an Asian food market, and purchased the ingredients needed to make Kim Chi. The next day, Tuyen had it prepared and out on the breakfast buffet for the Korean tour group who were absolutely surprised and delighted.

The cost of the ingredients to make Kim Chi was minimal, but the fact that he went out on his own time, made the purchase with his own money, and then prepared both specialty dishes for them was really what made this a memorable experience for this tour group.