Spend The Night In The “Ice Cream Bed” At New York’s Omni Berkshire Place

You may have slept on high-thread-count hotel sheets before – but the Ice Cream Bed to be found in May at Manhattan’s Omni Berkshire Place hotel – well, it really takes the cake. All you have to do is enter the contest by tomorrow, May 10^th.

The Ice Cream Bed featuring a whimsical scratch-and-sniff citrus headboard, and an edible wall of treats behind it – is the highlight of the new, exciting and unprecedented Flavor Suite that is the result of a partnership between spice brand McCormick, and the famous Omni Berkshire Place hotel. The adorable Flavor Suite is actually a re-tooling and re-decorating of the New York hotel’s famous Rodgers & Hammerstein suite – where the famous duo penned the Broadway hit, “Oklahoma.”

For the first time in the Flavor Forecast’s 22-year history, McCormick will bring its trend report to life through a groundbreaking pop-up hospitality experience. The Flavor Suite is a vibrant reimagining of the hotel experience that infuses the Flavor Forecast’s themes into every corner. In partnership with Omni Berkshire Place, the iconic and historic hotel steps away from Central Park, McCormick will transform the luxurious, 1000-square-foot Rodgers & Hammerstein Suite into a creative and multisensory destination with interactive interior design and whimsical but flavorful amenities. McCormick will also give flavor adventurers a chance to win a two-night weekend stay — worth almost $5,000 — from May 20, 2022 through May 22, 2022, including one night in the Flavor Suite.

In April, McCormick unveiled the 22nd Edition of the Flavor Forecast, the brand’s yearly report on the latest trends influencing the way we cook, flavor, and eat.

From the moment guests enter the new Flavor Suite, they will find eye-catching decor, intricate textiles, and vivid colors inspired by Egypt and India, two countries with rich culinary histories. To create this immersive environment, McCormick tapped the expertise of two female chefs who inspired this year’s Food Stories trend with their special interpretations of regional foods: Monica Saxena, the founder of award-winning Indian restaurant aRoqa in New York City, and Iman Moussa, a pioneer of plant-based Egyptian cuisine at Koshary Corner in Clarksville, Maryland. Said McCormick Chef Kevan Vetter: “We were inspired by these women as restaurateurs and wanted to highlight them and their cuisines, which they have transformed.”

The Flavor Suite for two lucky travelers will also feature offbeat and zany amenities to highlight this year’s Flavor Forecast themes.

A retro bedside phone will offer Sundae Service at the push of a button, delivering ice cream on-demand with a special Plus Sweet-inspired toppings bar. Adventurers can mix and match toppings like gomashio, a Japanese condiment made with sesame and salt, or chamoy, a Mexican sauce made with pickled fruits and child peppers, for complex and unpredictable layers of sweetness. (Make my sundae hot fudge!)

The Time Out Hotel Minibar (complimentary, of course) will serve mindful cocktails and mocktails to showcase the power of time. While guests sip on Blood Orange-and-Beet Margaritas and other infusions, aromas of green tea and lemongrass promote a relaxing experience.

The novel Ice Cream Bed (totally Instagrammable with the installed photo booth in the suite) will rise to the occasion with adorable dessert-inspired bedding and a scratch-and-sniff citrus headboard featuring a large spoon.

An edible wall will encourage guests to broaden their horizons and palates as they taste delicious regional snacks pinned to a world map.

“For more than two decades, the world has looked forward to McCormick’s Flavor Forecast for the big emerging trends in the culinary world, and we’re excited to take it to new heights,” said Chief Marketing Officer Jill Pratt. “The trends identified this year highlight the people, flavors and ingredients both here and far that are so often overlooked. Through the Flavor Suite, we hope to create not just a fun-filled experience, but also whet an appetite for the world of flavors out there.”

Some of the Egyptian snacks will include:

Knafeh — A dreamy Egyptian-spun pastry in equal parts sweet, crunchy, ooey-gooey, and delicious. Often soaked in rosewater or a sweet syrup

Baklava — Crunchy layers of phyllo dough play host to the spiced flavors of ground cinnamon and cardamom sweetened with honey

Qatayef — Stuffed, fried-to-a-golden-crisp, and drenched in sweet syrup, these are Arabic fig- and nut-filled mini pancakes

Kahk — An aromatic butter cookie

And dates, of course!

Some of the Indian snacks will include:

Pink Cham Cham — Often made with rosewater and cardamom

Maharaja/Bombay Mix — A popular Indian snack of spiced-and-dried ingredients such as nuts, lentils, chickpeas, puffed rice and fried onions.

After the pop-up Flavor Suite is dissolved, in May, travelers can still enjoy its themes at Berk’s Bar in the Omni Berkshire Place, for a Blood Orange-and-Beet Margarita, or a Sipping Sour.

This all sounds like the perfect foodie experience. And what about this year’s flavor forecast? What can you treat your tastebuds to in 2022?

After a year-long research process, McCormick uncovered three themes in this year’s 22nd Flavor Forecast:

Food Stories celebrates the power of women in food and flavor — from professional chefs to grandmothers who pass down their recipes.

Plus Sweet shows how sweetness finds new dimensions through subtle and unexpected flavor combinations.

Time As A Luxury Ingredient highlights the minutes and hours that are irreplaceable and precious, especially after periods of isolation and reflection.

You can enter to win the contest through tomorrow, May 10th, through McCormick’s Flavor Maker App, available on iOS and Android, or by visiting the McCormick site. For more details about the Flavor Suite and a deeper dive into this year’s trends, visit flavorforecast.com.

Where’s my spoon?

For more about my Wanderlust travels, please Follow me on Instagram at @DebbiKickham.