Cambria Suites, the upscale all-suites hotel brand from Choice Hotels International, Inc. launched a new food and beverage program that will be rolled out across the brand’s 18 franchised properties in the next few months.

The program focuses on meals featuring American comfort cuisine, delivering fun, fresh and familiar foods to travelers that will enhance the customer dining experience. The new menu, kitchen setup and offerings all focus on embracing food trends across the country while encouraging cross-utilization of ingredients and making the restaurant a profit center for the properties.

The new food and beverage program is a result of a year of research into restaurant and consumer trends and aims to provide made-to-order foods travelers demand in this marketplace. The new Cambria Suites menu has a strong focus on American favorites, such as gourmet burgers, shareable appetizers and entrees inspired by the location of the property. Cambria Suites properties also will embrace the craft beer trend and include local beer pairings on their menus for travelers hoping to experience local brewery favorites. The Noblesville and Columbus properties have already converted to the new program, and the rest of the properties will complete their transition by fall 2012.

Cambria Suites realized that it is important that travelers have the opportunity to sample local cuisine while they are traveling – even when eating the hotel restaurant. The brand has incorporated local favorites into the menu, such as the Carolina BBQ Glazed Pork Ribs for the Raleigh, N.C. property and the Lake Erie Yellow Perch Fish and Chips in Traverse City, Mich. Shareable desserts, called Cambria Sweets, make dessert exciting again with New York Cheesecake Lollipops with Strawberry Sauce and Chocolate Brownie Lollipops with Caramel Sauce, all served on sticks. A strong focus of the new menu is cross-utilization, so that properties will have less waste and better use ingredients across the menu. One example is the signature menu item, the Blueberry Muffin French Toast, which is made from the same blueberry muffins available in the Grab ‘N Go section.

In addition to the new menu, Cambria Suites is launching a new china, silverware and uniform program. The Cambria Suites team is visiting each property to train them on the new menu, reorganize their kitchens to be more efficient and help them prepare for the launch of the program at their property. This is the first time Cambria Suites has updated its food and beverage program since the brand launched seven years ago.

The program officially launched today at the Choice Hotels Convention to 100 Cambria Suites owners and general managers. Michael DeMaria, chef and co-owner of M Culinary Concepts, helped develop the program and showcased the new menu during a buffet luncheon at the Convention. DeMaria has more than 30 years of culinary experience in restaurants and hotels across the country.

“This menu speaks to what travelers want to eat today: fresh foods, American favorites and local cuisine. Too many hotels are simply microwaving their foods and putting them on plates,” said DeMaria. “I’m proud that new Cambria Suites program provides real food, cooked fresh in our kitchens, that tastes great and meets our customers’ cravings.”

Michael Murphy, senior vice president of Cambria Suites, agreed. “We’ve changed our F&B program to reflect the consumer trends we’re seeing and what people desire to eat while they are on the road. And, we’ll be able to provide this amenity to consumers while also generating profits for the hotel owners,” Murphy said.