Spotlight: How Crown Melbourne brilliantly caters for diverse cultural tastes

September 13, 2023

When planning a convention or incentive program in Melbourne, you can be assured your international delegates will be well-catered for when far from home.

Melbourne is known as a multi-cultural city and top foodie destination. A melting pot of diverse ethnic backgrounds, that truly lends itself to excellence in catering for delegates from around the world.

One standout Melbourne venue and accommodation provider offering a five star culinary journey to match individual cultural tastes is Crown Melbourne.

The Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) recently sat down with Crown Melbourne’s Enda Cunningham, Executive General Manager – Food and Beverage and Retail, to find out more.

Image: Enda Cunningham, Crown Melbourne

How do you ensure the culinary offerings at Crown Resorts appeal to a diverse range of international tastes and preferences?

As the largest single-site employer in the state and one of the most visited tourist destinations in Australia, Crown Melbourne offers a diverse range of F&B options to cater for an expanse of international tastes, including guests from Asia, who make up a large percentage of our overseas visitor market, to USA and Europe.

Regular meetings are held each month to ensure our visitors and guests are receiving an exemplary experience tailored to their needs. Menus can also be customised by clients in collaboration with our Executive Chefs. 

Some requirements must be tricky to cater for. For example, how would you go about assisting someone who practices Jain vegetarianism? 

With a highly skilled culinary team from all over the world, Crown regularly caters for a diverse range of dietary requirements, including Jain vegetarianism, where alternatives to root and underground vegetables, including potato, garlic and onion, are used to still ensure each menu item tastes delicious.

How does Crown Resorts approach cultural sensitivity and inclusivity when it comes to dining experiences for international guests? 

Cultural sensitivity and inclusivity are priorities for Crown Melbourne. Staff are provided thorough briefings to ensure all guests’ cultural dining requirements are catered for. For example, arranging prayer rooms for events, separate dining areas, or halal and kosher menus. 

Can you discuss any unique dining concepts or themed restaurants that have been specifically designed to cater to the preferences of international guests?

With over 47 dining options to choose from at Crown Melbourne, a huge variety of international tastes have been catered for. However, Crown Melbourne is always looking for new opportunities in the market. For example, Crown Melbourne recently introduced Petisco, a Brazilian pop-up restaurant featuring dishes traditionally roasted over an open fire.

In addition, Crown uses the Evergreen dining space to showcase offerings from across the globe. Recently, our ‘Flavours of India’ pop-up featured dishes from our very own Chef Rohan Desai’s childhood. A cardamom panna cotta with rasmalai, rose gel, pistachio ice cream and candy floss, entitled ‘Childhood Memories in a Bowl’, was specifically designed to cater for international tastes.

Image: Crown Melbourne's renowned Chef Rohan Desai

Attention to detail is what sets Crown Melbourne apart as one of the most luxurious event locations and providers in Australia, with Crown Towers being awarded the Forbes 5 rating once again this year.

Small things such as personalised welcome cards and welcome amenities and being well-resourced to cater for a variety of special requests are what Crown Melbourne does best. There are dedicated check-in desks in all three Melbourne hotels for a custom key distribution setup within their event space.

We also have the ability to provide tailored room drops for gift bag items. Crown goes above and beyond to cater for its guests’ needs, including curating bespoke in-room dining options to 10-course banquets. 

About Crown Melbourne

Crown Melbourne is blessed with one of the world's best locations. Three hotels, a conference centre and Crown Casino are situated in the expansive Crown entertainment precinct that stretches across the equivalent of two city blocks.

Premium dining, bars and restaurants, the exciting atmosphere of Crown Casino, and shopping at its boutique and luxury designer stores are all literally on your doorstep.

Crown Conference Centre is a purpose-built facility, catering for residential conferences, meetings, seminars, product launches, exhibitions and events. The Centre allows for up to 840 delegates with two main plenary rooms, 16 breakout rooms, a dedicated exhibition space, exclusive group registration areas, and four barista-style cafes. The Conference Hall is a pillarless space with seating capacity for 840 delegates theatre-style or 400 delegates classroom-style.

Crown Aviary is Melbourne’s most exclusive venue, located in the Crown Towers hotel. This magnificent event space caters to 550 guests in a cocktail setting or up to 400 seated. The landscaped outdoor decking area is perfect for pre-drinks so guests can take in the mesmerising city backdrop and flame towers as they light up along the Yarra River.

The Promenade Room caters for up to 660 delegates theatre-style or 330 delegates classroom-style. While the Palladium at Crown is Australia's premier ballroom, designed to impress and inspire and is the venue of choice for some of Australia's most prestigious events.

Learn more about Crown Melbourne.

Interested in exploring options for your next business event?

Reach out to the team at MCB for free advice and support to plan and deliver a successful and memorable convention, meeting or incentive reward program.