• by Tanya Gazdik , October 23, 2016

Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham is introducing a chef-driven, in-room cooking program designed to help make guests feel more at home.

Two-thirds of Americans feel more at home when whipping up their own meals in a hotel room, according to the brand. With “Homemade @ Hawthorn,” the hotel is offering chef-inspired recipes for extended-stay guests.

For many of the hotel’s guests, who are on the road for business travel for weeks or months at a time, a hotel stay isn’t a vacation, says Larry Hambro, brand vice president, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham.

“With a lot of unsatisfying and unexciting food options out there, it can be tough to stick to your routine on the road,” Hambro says in a release.

The hospitality company tapped chefs Hari Nayak — a New York-based chef, restaurateur, author and culinary consultant — and James Rigato — former Top Chef competitor and owner of the award-winning The Root Restaurant & Bar and Mabel Gray in Michigan — to create exclusive, flavor-driven recipes designed for hotel living that anyone can make. 

Each chef crafted seasonal recipes featured in the program’s e-cookbook available at www.hawthorn.com/homemade. Currently, the e-cookbook contains fall and winter dishes, and as the seasons change it will update with spring and summer plates. All meals — such as sloppy joe tostadas, rigatoni with kale and pecorino, and salad with chickpeas, broccoli slaw and coconut — were designed to be easily prepared in Hawthorn Suites’ fully equipped in-suite kitchens. Allison+Partners developed and designed the e-cookbook. 

A recent survey from Hawthorn Suites revealed that 66% of Americans, including 84% of Millennials, said being able to cook in a hotel room would make them feel more at home when traveling. What do travelers hunger for most? The same survey found comforting and familiar foods topped the list with 38% of respondents longing for baked goods, followed by pasta (31%) and salad (27%) — all of which can be found in the Homemade @ Hawthorn e-cookbook alongside health-conscious dishes for the 54% of Americans who believe a healthy meal is harder to find when traveling than a room with a view. 

The survey also found that across all generations, baked goods such as pies and cookies ranked first among all cravings for Millennials (43%), Gen Xers (44%) and Boomers (31%). The cookbook includes a recipe for a spiced apple caramel mug cake that can be made from start to finish in 12 minutes.