San Francisco Marriott Marquis Announces Marriott International’s “Masters of the Craft” Regional Culinary and Mixology Competition Winners

The San Francisco Marriott Marquis, a landmark hotel in downtown San Francisco, hosted the Regional “Masters of the Craft” culinary and mixology competition on Monday, August 5. At the annual event, employees from within the western region of the U.S. Marriott International hotels competed to prove their prowess through quick-fire cooking and bartending challenges in a contest modeled after popular cooking competition shows. The competition was designed to discover and showcase Marriott’s best culinary and mixology talent. The day concluded by announcing Burmaa Munkhbat (Complex Purchaser) from The Westin Bellevue as the culinary winner, and Timothy Deenihand (Bartender) from The Westin Seattle as the beverage winner.

“It was an honor to have hosted so many talented individuals within the Marriott brand,” said San Francisco Marriott Marquis General Manager Mike Kass. “We extend our congratulations to Burmaa and Timothy for giving us a great show and letting us be part of their talented careers.”

Marriott employees across the country began competing at individual property competitions to showcase their culinary and mixology skills, with the subsequent winners moving on to sectionals and then the regional competition. Deenihand and Munkhbat will now go on to compete in the semi-final competition on Tuesday, October 22, 2019, at the Marriott Marquis in Washington DC, in hopes of making it to the finals, to be held at Marriott International’s headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland on Wednesday, October 23, 2019. In 2018, more than 2,200 employees from 280 Marriott properties competed in the competition.

An all-star lineup of local industry experts were on hand to judge the regional competition, including James Aptakin, culinary director of the world-renowned Crenn Dining Group helmed by Dominique Crenn; Gerald Hirigoyen, executive chef and owner of Piperade, San Francisco’s acclaimed Basque restaurant; Adam Jed, co-founder and owner of local favorite Bluestem Brasserie; Roland Passot, award-winning French chef and owner of La Folie; Pati Poblete, editor-in-chief of the iconic San Francisco magazine; and Brian Sheehy, cocktail pioneer and co-founder and owner of Bourbon and Branch. These guest judges were responsible for critiquing dishes and beverages for presentation, creativity, taste and showmanship.

For more information about Marriott International’s Masters of the Craft, please visit Marriott.com. For more information about the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, please visit sfmarriottmarquis.com.

About Marriott International

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 6,700 properties in 30 leading hotel brands spanning 130 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company also operates award-winning loyalty programs: Marriott Rewards®, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®. For the latest company news, visit marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

About San Francisco Marriott Marquis

The San Francisco Marriott Marquis showcases 1,500 guest rooms and suites, 117,000-square-feet of meeting and banquet space, a two-story fitness center and spa, and M Club Lounge.  Crowned by The View Lounge on its 39th story, the hotel also features new B55 Craft House & Kitchen and Mission Street Pantry as delicious dining options.  The property’s prime SoMa location is just steps away from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Moscone Convention Center; Yerba Buena Gardens; shopping on Union Square and at Westfield San Francisco Center including Bloomingdales and Nordstrom. For more information, please visit our website or call 1-888-236-2427. 

Media contact: Glodow Nead Communications at 415.394.6500 or [email protected].