H-E-B Wows SXSW Attendees With Fine-Dining Experience

During the popular South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and festivals, taking place March 8-17 in Austin, Texas, members of the media, influencers and foodies sat down to a one-night-only dining experience at the iconic Hotel Saint Cecilia on the first evening of the event, which turned out to be hosted by none other than Texas grocer H-E-B.

Under the guise of the “ITK Restaurant Group” – a name derived from its “In the Kitchen” content series inspiring customers to cook from home – the grocer served up a sumptuous six-course meal ranging from Herb-Infused Tenderloin to Raspberry Lavender Demi, with such other dishes as Black Garlic Winter Squash Risotto and Ginger Halibut Ceviche, for more than 85 guests. The epic five-hour culinary adventure began with cocktails in the hotel’s courtyard.

“We leveraged this dining surprise as an opportunity to showcase our amazing quality and assortment of ingredients and the culinary expertise within H-E-B,” explained Martin Otto, H-E-B’s chief merchant officer. “Through this unveiling, we wanted to demonstrate anyone can host this same culinary experience at home with access to the extraordinary ingredients and services from H-E-B.”

As the meal drew to a close, the team of H-E-B chefs introduced themselves to diners as the creators of the dishes. Otto then addressed attendees as associates brought out H-E-B shopping baskets filled with ingredients used throughout the repast.

San Antonio-based H-E-B operates 400 stores in Texas and Mexico, employing more than 110,000 associates. The company is No. 6 on Progressive Grocer’s 2018 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.