Five Star dining in Herons
Herons, the Umstead’s 98-seat, Forbes Five-Star, AAA Five-Diamond restaurant, caters to glucose-intolerant, vegetarian and other sensitive palates, and its banquet team uses as much food as possible from area growers and its own one-acre farm.
A Low Country dinner buffet can include a seafood boil with grits and gravy, whiskey-braised kale and Carolina Gold rice pudding with fresh peaches and divinity cream.
“Our meetings service is a combination between banquet and fine dining,” said Jose Curci, banquet director. “Everything is prepared to order, plated and hand-carried out individually, which requires a few more staff members.”
Tableside soup service is a tradition that surprises attendees. Offerings include heirloom tomato soup, she-crab soup and lobster bisque.
“An army of white coats will bring out a bowl with only a garnish inside, place it in front of a diner, and then pour a pureed, seasonal soup into the bowl,” said Cassidy. “It’s an exciting added element.”
Jennifer Beam Johnson, owner of Johnson Meetings Group, bought out Herons for one of her clients, an Indian company. The company wanted to bring its culture to the dining experience.
“Executive chef Scott Crawford and his team added Indian flavors and dishes to their already wonderful banquet menus,” said Johnson. “This is one of many reasons we’ve had four meetings there since 2009. Even with the same client, the Umstead staff makes sure each meeting is a different experience by setting up a room differently or adding an outdoor function.”
Herons can serve supper in a private dining room for 12 guests or at an outdoor table for up to 24 on pretty evenings.
Team building for groups of 20 to 30 can include competitive wine-tasting and food-and-wine pairings.
“We also can arrange a tasting tour or cooking classes at A Southern Season, a 60,000-square-foot gourmet shop in Chapel Hill,” said Jessica Wittman, chief concierge.
Popular with locals and hotel guests, the 16,000-square-foot Umstead Spa reopened last summer after a three-month renovation that added 2,000 square feet of treatment rooms and coed facilities.
Should attendees or spouses wish to venture from the hotel, they can play golf at a nearby country club or ride complimentary bicycles a half-mile away at Umstead State Park — but only if they want to leave the Umstead.
“Once you arrive, you can meet here, eat here, enjoy the spa, have that cocktail by the fire on the terrace to unwind,” said Whyte. “People often don’t want to go anywhere else.”
