LOCALadk Magazine

Winter 2017 LOCALadk Magazine 21 LOCALadk COOKING AT THE C AMPFIRE At the intersection of David Pittman's personal life and professional career is Hotel Saranac. He grew up in nearby Lake Clear, went to Saranac Lake High School, and remembers the days when a night out at Hotel Saranac was a regular thing, whether it was at the Boathouse for fish and chips or the Thursday night buffet put on by stu- dents from Paul Smith's College. As he trained for a profession in the culinar y arts at PSC, Pittman returned to Hotel Saranac as a student, beginning a career that has now brought him to back to Hotel Saranac as Executive Chef. "Hotel Saranac is where an important chap- ter of my career began," Pittman said. It is Pittman's vision of the future that will help guide the new culinar y experience at Hotel Saranac. " We want ever y experience to be different and unique, from the restaurant to catering to room ser vice to the Great Hall Bar," Pittman said. Pittman is designing a menu for the hotel's signature restaurant, Campfire Adirondack Grill + Bar, an upscale Ad- irondack-to-table theme inspired by camp cooking. Pittman has been working with local farms to find the right meats, dair y, and fresh fruits and vegetables to fit into a menu that plays off the theme of campfire cooking. He calls it hyper-lo- cal comfort food. And what is an Adirondack experience without a little ad- venture? Campfire will have a rotating Explorer's Menu of daily items that will push the taste palette with more exotic dishes featuring local game and produce. BEING PART OF THE COMMUNIT Y Salyers and Director of Sales Carolyn Bordonaro have been on board for more than a year, allowing them to fully grasp what Hotel Saranac means to the village, and reinforcing why this process has been so deliberate and meticulous. They know they are, in many ways, curators of a village treasure. " We have had the luxur y of time to immerse ourselves in the community," Bordonaro said. " Whether it was handing out water at the Can-Am rugby tournament, being part of the Winter Carnival, or hosting an ice cream social during the Village on the Green music series, we have been greeted so warmly. People want to talk about Hotel Saranac. This expe- rience has been a real privilege." Salyers said being part of the project at such an early stage has allowed him to "see the whole life of it, from working with the design team to the construction team to the oper- ations team." At the heart of the project is the Roedel family's deep his- tor y in Saranac Lake. The Roedel family has ties to the village that date back to Paul Smith's Electric Company and the turn of the centur y cure cottages. Fred Roedel III had his wedding reception at Hotel Saranac and the family still has a home in the area. There is a deep understanding in Roedel Companies that Hotel Saranac will do more than ser ve as a sophisticated ba- secamp for guests exploring the Adirondacks. The hotel will once again be a place where businesspeople gather to end their day, friends meet up to start their night, and loved ones celebrate special occasions. Salyers said Hotel Saranac's place in the community and what it means to guests and residents helped guide the brand pillars and accompanying training material. "That brand culture is important," Salyers said. " We want the ex- perience that we are creating for guests to move seamlessly with them as they explore the different sections of the ho- tel."

• Cover