By The Spoon

By the time Hollywood on the Potomac showed up for a tour of Trump International Hotel DC, less than a mile from the White House and set in the Old Post Office, Executive Pastry Chef Fabrice Benezit had already been there for six and a half hours. “We do everything the day before,” he explained. “We make the croissant dough, we shape the croissants and all the pastries because we have to proof them overnight and when I come back in the morning, I bake them.” Expect to see him there until 7 PM and later if he has a banquet or a VIP dinner.

Life starts at Trump Hotel with a power breakfast at 6:30 a.m., followed by a continental breakfast table-side with croissants, coffee, orange juice and fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. At eleven o’clock it turns into charcuterie and cheese table-side for when you come in for a working lunch. The champagne flows and it all comes together, not what you would expect in a hotel lobby. Bringing back table-side service brings a big element of fine dining when you arrive; it’s an innovative part of breakfast. They call it The Godfather of service: Think old European elegance – think Palace Hotel in Madrid.