Lautrec Boasts both Mobil Five Star and AAA Five Diamond Status
(Farmington, PA, January 22, 2009) – Nemacolin Woodlands Resort has been recognized by the prestigious Mobil Travel Guide with Five Star rankings for Lautrec Restaurant. Mobil has defined excellence and quality in the travel industry for more than 50 years. Since 1958, the Mobil Travel Guide’s ratings process has been based on more than 750 standardized criteria for hotels, more than 250 for restaurants, and more recently, 450 different criteria for spas, making it the most rigorous and comprehensive in the industry.
“This is truly a remarkable achievement and is a testament to the Lautrec staff and our entire food and beverage team,” said Nemacolin Woodlands General Manager, Trey Matheu. “To think that Lautrec is one of only fourteen restaurants in the country to earn top ratings from both AAA and Mobil is amazing to say the least. “
Lautrec received a AAA Five Diamond rating for 2008 and again for 2009 making it the only such rated restaurant between east coast metropolis’ such as Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and New York and Chicago. Lautrec is the lone Mobil Five Star restaurant in the state of Pennsylvania.
Lautrec is named after French artist Henri de Toulouse Lautrec and the innovative cuisine is the culinary artwork of Chef Dave Racicot, Pittsburgh’s Rising Star Chef in 2006 (Pittsburgh Magazine) and one of five Rising Star Chefs in the United States (gaot.com, 2006). Racicot’s education and training are from the school of self-taught, with experience gained working under the chefs at Nemacolin as well as LeCirque and Picasso in Las Vegas.
“Excited doesn’t even begin to explain it,” the young chef says when asked what achieving Five Star status means to him. “At Lautrec, we put so much focus on the complete dining experience. We think about every aspect of each dish, the flavors and textures of each ingredient, how they mix with each other and – for the Chef’s Tasting and Grand Tasting menus – how each course flows with the course before it and after it. To be recognized and rewarded in this way for what we do is just incredible.”
Nemacolin’s Executive Chef Jeremy Critchfield, who assembled Lautrec’s award winning team explains that “Our vision has been to create a unique and unparalleled dining experience and these ratings qualify our vision and recognize the remarkable efforts of our staff. The fact that the Lautrec team, which is small compared to most restaurants at this level, offers service at Five Diamond and Five Star standards night after night is simply astounding.”
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, The Woodlands Spa and the Five Diamond Falling Rock boutique hotel were awarded Mobil Four Star ratings for 2009. “In the world of travel destinations, the word unique is dramatically overused, but it certainly applies to Nemacolin Woodlands,” said resort General Manager Trey Matheu. “It describes not only the lodging, dining and activity options but is most applicable to our associates, who in our opinion deliver the finest guest experience in the world.”