InterContinental Hotels Group’s new wellness brand Even Hotels has introduced a health-inspired food and beverage platform called Cork & Kale which will be available at all Even Hotels properties – the first of which are set to open before the end of June 2014 in Norwalk, Connecticut and Rockville, Maryland, US.

Developers of the American Farmers Restaurant Group, Vucurevich Simons Advisory Group (VSAG) and culinary nutritional consultants – from the US-based food Sourcing-Preparing-Enhancing certification body – collaborated with IHG to develop and provide nutritional analysis for a menu focused on ‘simple, natural and good ingredients’.

VSAG designed the new hotel F&B service model and built a working test kitchen used to validate all recipes, equipment and processes.

“Cork & Kale is an upscale fast casual food and beverage offering featuring freshly prepared food and pre-packaged grab-and-go items as well as retail-style products,” Even Hotels said in a statement.

Menu choices include heart-healthy and low-fat options, paleo or vegetarian-friendly dishes in addition to sweet indulgences. Guests can order their food for the next day through the platform's Good-to-Go service. Team members at each hotel will undergo a certification process to understand and communicate to guests information about the Even Hotels menu including nutritional content details and the health benefits of each dish.

Each hotel will also include a Cork & Kale Bar experience, featuring hand-crafted cocktails made with fresh herbs and natural mixers.

The Even Hotels brand, oriented towards meeting travellers’ wellness needs, was originally launched in 2012 after 24 months of consumer research. This F&B platform meets the first of the brand’s four wellness-focused pillars: Eat Well, Rest Easy, Keep Active and Accomplish More.