Jenny's View
February 2022
Dear Friends,
La Fonda’s rich culinary tradition truly began when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway purchased the hotel and leased it to the Fred Harvey Company. Having first introduced hotels and dining halls along the rails in 1873, the Harvey Company quickly developed a reputation for impeccable service standards and introduced those standards to La Fonda during our formative years.
Fred Harvey, the company’s founder, created the “Harvey Girl” concept to improve the service and encourage good manners amongst the rowdy cowboys and rugged roustabouts notorious out West. Harvey Girls were competent, pleasant, cheerful and adhered to the high service standards demanded by Fred Harvey. Dressed in plain black long-sleeved, floor length woolen dresses with starched white aprons, and completed with a perfect bow-tie, their uniforms became synonymous with impeccable service and cleanliness. Harvey Girls at La Fonda modified the formal dress to include local customs like embroidered floral blouses and long Mexican peasant skirts. This ambitious female workforce brought distinct charm and professional service along the rails, and the Harvey Girls have been credited with playing a large role in taming the wild west.
Offering hardworking, curious and free-spirited young women the opportunity to earn a decent living and educate themselves in the highest standards of service, was unique for the era and is a cherished part of La Fonda’s history.
In the 1930s, with increased national and international travel, the hotel sought to hire the best European chefs it could find. One WWII hotel guest, the son of Kaiser Wilhelm II (the last German Emperor and King of Prussia), was thrilled to discover that the Chef of La Plazuela at that time was none other than the man who had cooked for his family in Germany, Konrad Allgaier. Chef Konrad enjoyed a 30-year career at La Plazuela—fusing classic European cuisine with local flavors. His red and green chile recipes and distinctly La Fonda favorites like Chile Rellenos, and our popular sopaipillas, remain guest favorites to this day. Learn more about Chef Konrad, in this Santa Fe Reporter article written by our good friend and author of Appetite for America, Stephen Fried.
Continuing that tradition is Chef Lane Warner. For over 25 years he has created a collaborative culinary tradition based on the distinct regional flavors of New Mexico and Latin America. Chef Lane has prepared meals at the renowned James Beard House in New York, has earned numerous medals from the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and is an ACF Certified Executive Chef. Working with his team – Sous Chef, Javier Trujillo, Banquet Chef, Peter Vigil and most recently Chef de Cuisine, Bobby Griffing, Chef Lane takes a team-oriented approach to menu creation and prioritizes sourcing local ingredients. His creative crew infuses the rich flavors, colors, textures and smells of a culturally distinct geography into La Plazuela’s offerings. Fresh ground blue corn, anise, Hatch green chile, Chimayo Heirloom peppers and posole are just a few of the regional specialties popular in our kitchen!
Immerse yourself in the warmth and beauty of Santa Fe’s most historic dining venue with your Valentine – explore La Plazuela’s prix-fixe Valentine’s menu starting Friday, February 11th through Monday, February 14th. This special menu offers the perfect opportunity to savor the flavors of our talented culinary team – steak tartare and oysters on the half shell infused with chile oil pearls and burnt lime, bacon stuffed tenderloin served with truffle aioli and mashed potatoes, and top it all off with cinnamon dusted churros and Mexican hot chocolate for dessert!
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To celebrate our Centennial year, Chef Bobby has revived the Fred Harvey era “Blue-Plate Special” – offering a weekly dinner entrée (available Monday – Thursday evenings) featuring artisan foods that come straight from our Land of Enchantment.
Buen Provecho!
Jenny
