Only 15 restaurants in North America have this distinctive honor: 15 consecutive years as AAA Five-Diamond Award winners. And Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel & Spa is in one of those coveted spots.
For 2015, just 59 restaurants made the Five-Diamond list – 47 in the U.S., six in Canada, four in Mexico and one in the Caribbean. Each year AAA reviews nearly 30,000 restaurants, but just 0.2 percent make the AAA Five Diamond. Victoria & Albert’s is the only one in Central and South Florida, and one of only two in Florida.
So we again congratulate Chef Scott Hunnel, Master Pastry Chef Erich Herbitschek, Maître d’Hôtel Israel Perez and their team for earning the coveted award for the gem of a restaurant at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Chef Scott is in his 20th year with Victoria & Albert’s, Chef Erich has been there for 19 years, and Israel is starting his 10th. And the rest of the team gets kudos, too: Chef Aimee Rivera, Chef Tom Hill, Chef Mathew Sowers, and Manager Vivian Altesor.
“The backbone of Victoria & Albert’s continues to be the wonderful, loyal culinarians, dedicated servers and devoted reservationists,” says Israel. “They are the pillars that support our uncompromising commitment to greatness.”
AAA Five Diamond restaurants reflect the ultimate in luxury and sophistication. Add cutting-edge menus, the finest ingredients and “food prepared in a manner that’s highly imaginative and unique” and you’ve got the extraordinary combination that defines a winner. But beyond the kitchen, the maître d’ must lead an expert service staff “that exceeds guest expectations by attending to every detail in an effortless and unobtrusive manner.”