The Circular

Posted on Sep 29, 2013

Hotel Hershey offers a unique Culinary Experience By Maggie Wolff Peterson Not since he built it in 1933 has Milton Hershey’s elegant fine-dining space received such attention. A redesign of The Circular, the main dining room at the Hotel Hershey that was completed in April, offers American-made furnishings, a new vision of American cookery, Prohibition era-inspired cocktails and an open pastry kitchen. Hershey, the chocolate tycoon, was more than a candy maker. A man of utopian vision, he intended his chocolate town to be a worker’s paradise. To that end, he installed the green space that is today Hersheypark, established a school for indigent boys that today offers scholarship education to both boys and girls, and designed the Hotel Hershey, a grand establishment that features much of the decorative stained glass that Hershey acquired throughout his life. Its Circular Dining Room was a showcase for transom and panel windows figured in flowers, fruit and birds. Hershey designed the room in honor of solo diners, whom he felt were often diminished by being stuck in a corner. In the center, a dance floor focused attention. Beyond the room’s wall of windows were manicured formal gardens with deep reservoirs that appeared merely decorative but were in fact the hotel’s water source. Hershey’s innovations enhanced a room that epitomized dining in a grand hotel. Jackets were required for men, and ladies’ attire did not include trousers. Things are different in The Circular now. John Daly, director of food and beverage for hotel, describes the current style as “casual elegance.” Wood tones have been lightened and obstructions in the room removed to make an open space that seats 245 diners at tables of cherry wood, bordered in mahogany. The tables were made in Wisconsin, the chairs, in New Jersey. Low dividers that break the room into more intimate spaces feature hidden induction heaters that allow their use for buffet service. A filter system provides crystalline tap water, served in reusable, ceramic-capped bottles. A private dining space, separated from the main room by glassed wine racks, offers seating for 10. Another space, called the Alcove, can seat 12. Executive Chef Ken Gladysz said it took two years of research and consideration before changes were made to the room. “The restaurant has a tremendous amount of history, as the old formal dining room of a luxury hotel,” he says. “If we’re going to change the ambience, do we change the style of food?” In keeping with current trends, the kitchen makes use of local, fresh fare and updates dishes to reflect what’s in season. The menu is less extensive than it was, concentrating on grilled...