Stirring Up Nostalgia – Unpacked

This holiday season, Omni Hotels & Resorts collaborated with an artist, an award-winning pastry chef and a renowned spice master to create a customized hot chocolate experience to help guests stir up nostalgia.

Honey + Hank Sweetens the Season

Texas-based designer Honey + Hank is known for creating commonly loved patterns out of uncommon shapes that turn everyday designs into a celebration. When Omni Hotels and Jenny Smiley of Honey + Hank joined forces to create an exclusive mug design for guests, ensuring the pattern was not only fun and unique but also brought on warm holiday memories was a must. This led Jenny to lean into the fair isle pattern. Since its rise in popularity in 1921, fair isle has made a consistent comeback every winter, making itself a symbol of the season.

Jenny used the warm elements of hot chocolate and nostalgic winter activities in her new take on the fair isle pattern. When you look closely, you can spot a mug, spoons, sweater and skis along with other elements of fond holiday memories that work together to seamlessly create a modern twist on an old classic. The pattern makes this the jolliest souvenir from guests’ stays and the perfect mug for their artisan hot chocolate experience.

Chef Leen and Her Teddy Bear Marshmallow

On the note of invoking holiday memories with family and friends, Chef Leen Nunn, Chopped: Sweets winner and Executive Pastry Chef at the Omni Hotels PGA Frisco Resort opening next year, contributed her interpretation of just that.

Chef Leen reflected on what made her personally feel connected to memories of winters past and quickly landed on a universal symbol of comfort and joy: the teddy bear. Both enjoyable and adorable for guests of all ages, Chef Leen designed the made-from-scratch teddy bear marshmallow to bring warmth and fuzziness to guests while also being the perfectly sized treat for the just-right marshmallow to hot chocolate ratio.

Based off a French recipe Chef Leen learned in the beginning of her career in Vegas, she also created a hot chocolate recipe designed to mirror the same sense of comfort given by the teddy bear and the same sense of holiday nostalgia found in the mug design while being rich, smooth, always fresh and the perfect base for guests’ custom hot chocolate experience.

Calling the Spice Master

Lior Lev Sercarz, who triples as a chef, spice blender and owner of La Boîte in New York City, teamed up with Omni Hotels and Chef Leen to design original spiced creations, profiling cinnamon, clove, cardamon and a bit of allspice, to complement the hot chocolate, adding a personal twist for guests on a sweet holiday tradition.

The custom mug by Honey + Hank, homemade teddy bear marshmallows, artisan hot chocolate and the curated, exclusive spiced creations allow for each Omni guest to experience a comforting moment of winter nostalgia and warmth. Each piece of the experience captures a modern twist on the elements of fond holiday memories, sparking the evolution of new traditions, whether it be with a growing family, new friends or in a new city, new traditions begin at Omni Hotels & Resorts.

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