Director of Food & Beverage, U.S. and Canada, Marriott International

Sarah Jane Curran is the Director of Food & Beverage for the U.S. and Canada at Marriott International, where she helps shape beverage strategy, menu development and guest experiences across the company’s diverse hotel portfolio. Her work connects creativity with commercial performance, ensuring beverage programs are relevant to guests, operationally practical and scalable across multiple properties.

Sarah began developing her passion for beverages while studying at The Culinary Institute of America. She later earned a master’s degree from New York University, where her research focused on beer history and education. Her hospitality career has included serving as Beer Director at Eleven Madison Park in New York City and General Manager at ChurchKey in Washington, D.C. She has also taught beverage classes through Cornell University and Ana G. Méndez University.

With expertise spanning spirits, cocktails, beer, menu design, costing and multi-property beverage operations, Sarah brings a valuable hospitality-buyer perspective to the Bartender Spirits Awards judging panel. She evaluates spirits not only for their quality and character, but also for their mixability, versatility, value and ability to perform successfully within real-world bar and hotel programs.