Andrew Cardillo started his career in small independent restaurants and catering, where he learned the dynamics of different operations and cooking techniques. After attending the French Culinary Institute in New York, he worked for Marriott hotels in San Diego, Chicago, and Des Moines, Iowa, before joining Sheraton Dallas as executive chef in spring 2023.
As executive chef for Sheraton Dallas—the largest hotel in Texas and the second-largest Sheraton in the world—Cardillo oversees all the hotel’s food operations, including in-room dining, catering for the hotel’s 230,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces, and the four dining outlets. Among the hotel’s largest events are the Margarita Ball fundraiser for charities assisting at-risk children in Dallas, an event involving beverage service for 7,500 guests; and the Crimes Against Children Conference, coordinated by the Dallas Child Advocacy Center and averaging 5,000 attendees. In addition, Sheraton Dallas regularly hosts and provides meal service for groups with 1,000 or more guests over multiple days.
Here, Cardillo shares how he and his team serve up dishes, drinks, and desserts at Sheraton Dallas to delight guests and leave attendees with a taste to remember.
How did your experience prepare you to lead the culinary efforts for Sheraton Dallas?
During my work in small independent restaurants and as owner of my own small business, I was able to focus on key outlets of the restaurant and food service. My experience in large corporate hotels, with large groups requiring food service and changing demographics, helped me to adapt to large volumes and catering demands.
What unique challenges, or rewards, do you find with the hotel’s many different F&B service areas?
The sheer size of the hotel and number of meeting rooms pose a difficult task to feed attendees in a timely manner, especially for groups that do not pre-order catering. We plan across food service departments, alter restaurant offerings, and stage multiple “pop-up” restaurants throughout the hotel to feed attendees and guests efficiently and with the highest-quality service and product possible.
F&B has become such a signature piece of the event experience. How does Sheraton Dallas deliver an enhanced experience?
F&B elevates events through surprising and delighting. The hotel’s event management team works closely with meeting planners to develop new ideas and experiences for groups, and our award-winning, innovative chefs deliver a premier culinary experience for every group. F&B enhances every event at Sheraton Dallas. I believe any good chef starts with great products and a strong team—and I am proud to say that we do both at Sheraton Dallas. Here in Texas, we have great local growers for fresh produce, high-quality meat selections from local ranches, and a large variety of local artisans for cheeses, beverages, and unique sweets. Our goal is to make the best version of everything on our extensive banquet menus. Each step in the process, from placing orders to preparing, plating, and presenting, is part of the surprise and delight for attendees and guests.
How do you work with event planners to maximize their F&B budgets and still offer enticing, tasty, creative options attendees will remember?
Communicating early and often with event planners and our chefs is essential for cost-effective F&B. It is important to give our chefs ample time to create individual menus featuring seasonal produce and to follow procurement trends of proteins. We also can reduce portion sizes or substitute menu items. Instead of roasted chicken breast, for example, we can create unique side dishes to offer something different yet tasty and visually appealing. This is especially important for groups that have plated functions. Local fundraiser events can pose a challenge to meet F&B budgets for the number of attendees. Recently, we hosted a group with a lower breakfast budget, so we worked with the planner on alternative options. By reducing the number of menu items but still offering a wide selection and substituting more costly items with more cost-effective items of substance, we were able to stay on budget and still deliver quality F&B for guests. We work with planners to manage F&B budgets without impacting the experience for attendees.
What are some of the ways to customize F&B for a one-of-a-kind tasting experience?
Group demographics help us to plan menu options that would fit specific agendas. Our eclectic and modern catering menu makes it easy to accommodate food restrictions or allergies in large groups. Having multiple restaurants also offers a variety of options for planners. We have been working on delicious barbecue options at Sheraton Dallas. Texas offers many places to get great brisket, including Dallas, so we utilize our offset smoker to bring things like whole redfish or snapper, rack of lamb, porchetta, and halibut to add a unique approach to Texas barbecue. Instead of traditional side dishes, we offer seasonal selections, like a fava and cranberry bean salad or boursin cheesy polenta to add an elevated flair. Our great relationships with many local vendors allow us to showcase quality Texas products in our restaurants and within meetings and events, so guests can enjoy a unique, local food and beverage experience.
