Cocktail for a Cause
The feeling of giving back and contributing to our community is high on our list of things we enjoy most. It’s also a great way to get to know the challenges and opportunities our community faces and the people we get to directly impact in the process.
Despite all its challenges, 2020 was an incredible year of seeing firsthand how YOU, our customers, rallied alongside us in the journey of giving back to the city of Knoxville. We ended 2020 with a bang with our Second Harvest Food Bank initiative giving 1,500+ warm meals to East Tennesseans in need right before the holidays. We matched every $100 gift card purchase with 15 meals and we couldn’t have done it without you.
The support and feedback of this effort was so overwhelming that we’ve decided to build upon the spirit giving throughout 2021. Each quarter we will choose a local organization, nonprofit or charity to support by donating proceeds from the specified promotion chosen. Best of all, we get to do this together again.
Now through February 28th, 2021, we will be supporting YWCA Knoxville!
About YWCA Knoxville
YWCA Knoxville is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. They serve more than 11,300 women, children and families through a variety of high quality programs that are located at three sites in downtown Knoxville, East Knoxville and Oak Ridge. YWCA serves women and their families year-round, with programs ranging from victim advocacy services, to transitional housing, to after-school enrichment programs. They also provide support groups, counseling and prevention services for victims of domestic violence. To say that they are deserving would be the understatement of the century. The impact they’re making will be seen for generations to come.
How can you help support YWCA?
Oliver Royale and Peter Kern Library will be donating $1 from every Royale Roulette or Reading Recommendation cocktail that is purchased to YWCA. Our Royale Roulette/Reading Recommendation are rotating cocktails that are new and different every day, which means every time you visit us and purchase these cocktails, you will be supporting YWCA and their mission! We will even be donating a percentage of our sales from our wine dinners to YWCA. This initiative ends on February 28th, so stop by often for cocktails for a cause at either Oliver Royale or Peter Kern Library today!
Join us for indoor dining or enjoy our outdoor heated patio tables for a great night out. If you haven’t tried our winter 2020 menu, call and make a reservation today. There is still time to enjoy those menu items and they pair perfectly with our Royale Roulette cocktail. Who doesn’t love a great cocktail that supports a great cause?
Giving Back to Our City in 2020
Giving back to our community has been a part of our DNA from day one. This month, we share with you the organizations we partnered with in 2020 and take a look at our Holiday initiative with Second Harvest Food Bank.
Giving back to our community has been a part of our DNA from day one. This year, more than ever, partnering with different local organizations to provide meals and monetary donations to the city and people of Knoxville, became our focus. And in hindsight, even during a season where giving back seemed more complex than ever...we found a way.
Like everything, the burden is lighter when you find like-minded people and organizations to come alongside you. Amidst the unknown, here's a snapshot of the amazing organizations we partnered with in 2020…
How we impacted our city
For our July 8th Castle and Key Cocktail Class, we donated a portion of ticket sale proceeds to The Women LLC of Knoxville.
Throughout quarantine, we were able to help prepare and distribute over 500 meals for the essential workers.
For the past 3 years, we have been able to make a donation to Nourish Knoxville. And even though COVID put a huge halt in the way we have been involved previously, especially with our beloved farmers market, we are looking forward to 2021 when we can partner again!
How you can help us provide 1,500 meals in the month of December
We couldn’t end this year without another amazing Holiday initiative. For the past 3 years, we have offered our gift card promotion around the holidays and this year we are bringing it back with an exciting addition.
We are teaming up with Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee and for every $100 gift card purchased, we will be donating 15 hot meals to our community. Through this partnership, we are setting a goal of providing 1,500 meals to Knoxville residents by December 24th, 2020. We know we can do it! To show our gratitude, when you purchase a $100 gift card, you’ll also receive a $15 bonus gift card.
How to purchase a gift card...
· You can visit us at Oliver Royale and purchase a card in person.
· You can also call us at 865-622-6434, and order a gift card that can be mailed to you at no extra cost.
We are excited to see the impact this promotion will bring to our community. Help us make a difference this holiday season in the fight against hunger in Knoxville!
A Look Back at Some Special Recent Events
Here at Oliver Royale, our events are our lifeblood. Far beyond just being a restaurant, we love being able to provide a whole experience for our guests. And often, that means designing special events that allow guests to really dive deep into a particular spirit, experience a special holiday dinner, or have fun with others who share their same culinary interests.
Whether you’ve joined us recently for an event, or you’re still mulling over which is the best option for you, take a look at some of the fun we’ve had over the past few months:
Taste of Spain 2-Day Event
The wine event was so good we had to double it up. We’ve featured Grapes of Spain wine at dinner events before. But there’s always been so much interest (and we enjoy the brand so much), that we decided to make this our first-ever multi-day event. Aurelio Cabestrero, the Grapes of Spain ambassador, was a huge part of that decision. His knowledge, charm, and all-around great personality, makes it easy to understand why his events are always such a great success! We wanted to make sure our community had twice the opportunity to experience Aurelio and his product, and we knew that transforming this into a two-day event would make the whole experience more intimate and accessible.
And Knoxville showed up! We sold out BOTH dinners, with 50+ people at each one. If you missed the chance to taste a little Spain, make sure to join us for our Cass Winery Dinner on March 11. It will be a similar celebration of some amazing wines, plus the delicious food to match.
Sazerac Bourbon Dinner
If you were one of the lucky 55 who got tickets to our sold-out Sazerac Bourbon Dinner, you’ll know why this is always one of our favorite events each year. This was our fourth Sazerac dinner, and we think they just keep getting better.
Whether you consider yourself a bourbon connoisseur, or you joined us because you’re trying to acquire that taste for whiskey, the Sazerac dinner is always the perfect night for both ends of the spectrum.
If you missed our Sazerac Bourbon Dinner, check out our cocktail class, June 7th with Post Modern Spirits. This will give you the chance to not only enjoy your favorite spirits, but also learn how to incorporate them into your own homemade cocktails.
Holiday Season Events
Starting from Thanksgiving on, Oliver Royale hosted a marathon of events: our Bubbles Dinner in early December, followed by our Christmas Day and New Years Eve dinners (and then our Valentine’s Day dinner less than 2 months later!). Thank you to everyone who continues to support us through these special events - we were completely booked for all of our holiday events! Since we ask our staff to come in and work on those holidays, the support and love we get from the community on these days means the world.
Looking back on our favorite moments of 2019
As we head into the final quarter of 2019, we’re taking time to toast all that we’ve accomplished this year, because why wait until New Years?!
And don’t worry… we still have plenty more planned for the rest of 2019.
But for now, we’re celebrating eight of our favorite moments from the past eight months:
1. Sazerac Bourbon Dinner
We love this event so much that we decided to add another one to the calendar. Our first one was in January and kicked off 2019 in style. Our guests enjoyed it so much that we scheduled another one next month by popular demand! Set again for September 19th, our Sazerac Bourbon Dinner is where we raise our glasses to America’s native spirit. In our September event we’ll debut our trio of hand-selected Barrels Weller 107, Blanton’s, and Buffalo Trace. (Oh, and the five-course dinner is the proverbial cherry on top).
2. Orin Swift Valentine's Day Wine Dinner
Love was in the air at our signature Valentine's Day event, between the couples in attendance, of course! But there was also plenty of love for the four-course dinner and the delicious wine they were paired with.
3. Taste of Spain Wine Dinner
Guests didn’t even have to buy a plane ticket to enjoy the best grapes that Spain had to offer. We brought the Taste of Spain right to Knoxville, with this wine dinner back in March. In addition to the wines and the perfectly paired dinner, guests also got a history lesson on some of Spain’s most interesting wines, like Cava, Albariño, and Tempranillo.
4. Donkey and Goat Wine Dinner
Thanks to Wine Ambassador, Rich Dixon, guests at this event enjoyed a tasting (and the fascinating story) of some of Donkey & Goat’s most exciting wines, like Gadabout and The Bear and Gigi.
Can you tell how much we shared our love of wine in 2019?
5. Mother’s Day Champagne Dinner
For a little bubblier experience, we hosted our first-ever Mother’s Day Champagne Dinner in May. To celebrate all the amazing moms in our lives, we popped bottles of some of the most delicious champagnes in our collection.
6. Kicking off summer in style
We released our summer menu a couple months ago, and started enjoying favorites like the Sous Vide Swordfish and our classic Oliver Burger. With all the fresh produce ready to eat around this time of year, summer flavors are some of our favorites.
Speaking of produce, did you know we also use it in many of our cocktails? We taught 43 people about quality ingredients, mixology, and how to present the perfect cocktail to guests as part of our Launch to Summer Cocktail Class in June. One of our favorites? The Gin X.
7. Big change across our entire ownership group
You may have noticed some changes across our property if you’ve been to visit us recently. Right next door to Royale, we kicked off our biggest renovation yet of The Oliver Hotel. We’ve started remodeling many of the guest rooms, and we’ll continue the project through the rest of this year. We’re so excited for guests to see our new (yet still classic) look.
But our big year has extended even outside of Knoxville. Our ownership group just opened up the new Station House Inn in South Lake Tahoe. So when you need a getaway from the charm of downtown Knoxville, we’ve got just the western oasis for you, with access to a private beach, ski resorts, and the beautiful water of Lake Tahoe.
8. Buffalo Trace/Castle & Key Tour
Our events throughout the year are focused on our guests -- giving them the best experience, the most delicious dinner, and the most exciting spirits. But when it comes to our Buffalo Trace/Castle & Key Tour, this is where our staff gets the most amped up. As part of the barrel program, we visit Buffalo Trace every year as a group (combining forces from Royale, The Oliver Hotel and Peter Kern Library) to pick out our own barrels of Weller, Blanton’s and Buffalo Trace bourbons. This year, for the second year in a row, we were able to add on a tour of Castle and Key Distillery -- and most importantly, get our hands on a Weller Full-Proof Barrel!
As 2019 draws to a close, we’ll keep evolving in this last quarter. In addition to finishing up renovations at the hotel (focusing on the lobby next), our remodel is also set to include our speakeasy bar, the Peter Kern Library.
Even with the new looks, our guest experience will stay the same: delectable food, exciting events, and the best spirits in town. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for some of our favorite photos throughout the year, and sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on events.
How We Train the Employees Who Bring Our Menu To Life
You’ve visited us and enjoyed the Market Square view just outside our patio. You've eaten a delicious meal and loved it. And you've even sipped our selected whiskey barrels and cocktails and called our bar 'heaven.’
But did you know there's more than meets the eye? Behind-the-scenes, there's an intricate process that all of our back-of-the-house employees go through to create the best experience for you and your palette. There’s a lot that goes into making that experience consistent, upscale, and seamless. And it all starts with our employees. In such a constantly evolving industry - and in our buzzing Knoxville corner of the world - we understand the importance of consistent, thorough, and ongoing training for our kitchen staff. This way, you're in for an incredible experience every time you walk in.
It All Starts with the Hire
Creating the ultimate customer experience begins with our hiring process. We start with an initial interview where the applicant and our Executive Chef, Jon Gatlin, conduct a walk-through of the kitchen and discusses the basics of who we are, our history, and what we’re looking for in employees. If both parties are interested in moving onto the next step, we schedule a “work preview.” This is when the applicant agrees to come in for a few hours to complete related tasks from the job description as well as a competency questionnaire.
Things get serious during the work preview: applicants go through a battery of testing, including on knife cuts, recipe understanding and adherence, room/item placement recall, verbal communication, and restaurant jargon. The competency questionnaire tests the applicant on basic culinary education, like mother sauces and quantity measurements (how many cups in a quart, for example).
Through all of that testing, we’re evaluating a candidate on their organization, cleanliness, efficiency, attitude, and more. We love to bring on the best, and the process to find the cream of the crop can be extensive, especially during the hiring process.
Time to Train
After all of the evaluations are complete, we invite a possible candidate to schedule their initial training time in the kitchen. This is when they’ll receive the menu-specific information pack which includes information on ingredients, recipes, menu themes, and chef notes. They’ll also receive a build/prep sheet which lists every menu item they’ll be responsible for at their designated station. This document is important as it helps employees double-check their work and makes sure each dish is up to standard (and has all the appropriate ingredients).
Welcome to the Team
For one to three weeks, new employees train with a tenured team member. After the initial training, we test our candidates again using another extended competency test. Through this, we’ll point out where the new hire needs to improve and what they can focus on in the next few weeks.
From here on out, we expect our staff to constantly learn and evolve because that’s what our industry requires. We encourage their continued education by keeping track of their progress and providing ongoing educational opportunities - from daily conversations with senior staff to providing resources like documentaries and publications that can help our employees evolve their craft.
Through the whole process, one thing is consistent in all the bustle: we expect the best, and we train the best. Only through hiring the best staff do we provide the most enjoyable culinary experience for all of you!
To stay up to date on the unique Oliver Royale culinary experience, check out our Instagram and Facebook.
Catering, In-Home Chef experiences and more!
The feedback we received in 2017 was overwhelming clear - MORE of Oliver Royale beyond our doors. After lengthy brainstorming and adding a new team member to our team - we’re excited to share some of our new offerings in 2018!
Oliver Royale patrons will now get to experience our cuisine beyond our doors under the direction of Oliver Royales’ Executive Chef, Jon Gatlin!
Catering
Whether you’re planning an off-site wedding, corporate luncheon and dinner, or a special party; let Oliver Royale’s team bring next level catering that is sure to impress! With the guidance of Executive Chef, Jon Gatlin, guests will be able to build a beautiful menu to fit their budget, parameters, and food preferences. Our Chef driven experience is designed to accommodate varying event sizes and dates upon request.
“Your” Royale
Oliver Royale offers a chic-city backdrop that can accommodate up to 65 seated guest or 85 reception style. With a five-star cuisine tailored to your event and taste buds, the Royale team brings culinary and service excellence backed by accolades such as Snail Approval and REAL Certified rating. Impress your guests with locally sourced menus that highlight authentic, high-quality, and sustainable food in our community. We guarantee to facilitate all of your needs, as well as provide you and your guests with an unforgettable atmosphere and the gracious service you deserve!
In-Home Chef Experience
Want to impress some important people in your very own home and turn your kitchen into a fine dining restaurant? Alongside Execute Chef Jon Gatlin, you will work together to build the perfect menu from scratch. Allow our team to take it from there with set-up, service, and clean-up included! Hosting an at home five star dinner is effortless when using Chef Gatlin and his Royale team!
Casey Brooks
As you may have seen on our Facebook page and most recent newsletter, Casey Brooks joins the Oliver Royale team as our Marketing and Events Coordinator. Aside from being an avid music lover and die-hard Atlanta Falcons fan, Casey works 1-on-1 with our guests to ensure that no detail is overlooked.
Get started on your next event with one of our new offerings today! Please contact Casey Brooks at caseybrooks@theoliverhotel.com with your event details. Please allow ample time to build a menu that will leave your guests talking!