Richard Mitrovich is the director of catering and convention services for The Manchester Grand Hyatt San
Diego. In 2012, Mitrovich and his staff planned and executed an opening reception for 5,000 members of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). The food themes were varied and made use of many different function rooms at San Diego’s largest convention hotel. Mitrovich and his chefs focused upon
California casual cuisine to make the dining experience for the highly critical convention planners easy, simple, fun, and memorable. Even the drinks areas served as an example of both form and function in the culinary area. Bartenders doubled as jugglers, and electronic harpists performed within the drinks areas as they plucked
Giant strings that were stretched across the cavernous ballroom. The Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego also serves as a major off-premise caterer in the San Diego area.
How would you design the food and beverage service for a group of 5,000 convention planners and food and beverage experts to ensure that they will have an efficient, as well as memorable, experience at your hotel?
What theme or themes would you select for this type of event, if it were held in San Diego or New York or
Chicago?
How would you monitor the food and beverage service for this event and mitigate any problems with long
lines (queues) or other service interruptions so that the guests’ final Experience is not negatively affected?