Park Hyatt's Blade Runner: Knife Concierge Offers Cutting-Edge Service

For the past five years, The Argyle Steakhouse in San Diego's Park Hyatt Aviara has added “steak knife concierge” into the waitstaff job description. It all started, according to Nathan Brown, director of food and beverage for Park Hyatt Aviara, when his former boss, Brian Loughnane, reflected on his Irish roots. Loughnane, now corporate director of food and beverage for Hyatt, comes from a long line of Irish butchers. Because of that, according to Brown, “Meat for Brian is more than a meal. It’s an art form.” He continued, “So we started talking about the dining experience and how it could tie into the Park Hyatt philosophy that luxury is personal.” Since steak, from the type of cut to the doneness of the meat, is tailored to each customer, why not the choice of the steak knife as well? Brown, who at the time was the general manager of The Argyle Steakhouse, took a stab at bringing the program in