A family recipe on the menu of every Neiman Marcus restaurant in the country — for a full twelve months — is among the most operator-relevant offerings in the retailer's 2026 Fantasy Gifts lineup, unveiled alongside the 100th edition of its iconic Holiday Book on October 21.
The gift, titled "Your Heritage Recipe at The Restaurants of Neiman Marcus," invites the recipient to collaborate with the retailer's Corporate Chef to refine a cherished family dish. The finished recipe then appears on Neiman Marcus restaurant menus nationwide for a full year, accompanied by a custom hand-illustrated menu. For foodservice professionals watching luxury hospitality dining trends, the activation underscores how high-end retailers are treating their in-house restaurant programs as genuine brand differentiators rather than amenity afterthoughts.
The Culinary Gift in Context
Neiman Marcus has long operated full-service restaurants inside its flagship stores — a model that blends retail and hospitality in ways most department-store competitors abandoned decades ago. Placing a guest's personal recipe on those menus nationwide represents an unusual inversion of the typical chef-driven menu development process, and signals that the retailer views its restaurant network as a meaningful platform for client engagement at the highest tier. The move aligns with broader restaurant hospitality programming strategies that luxury properties use to deepen loyalty among top spenders.
The broader Holiday Fantasy campaign — built around the theme Grand Gestures — wraps the season's marketing in a red-bow motif that runs from in-store displays and shopping bags to digital lookbooks and social content. The Beverly Hills flagship hosted a launch event featuring a champagne tower, an Italian grazing table, and a live performance, with the celebration set to expand into key markets through exclusive dinners and seasonal activations. Starting November 29, select Neiman Marcus restaurant locations will host Breakfast with Santa, interactive storytimes, and specialized holiday dining, with featured experiences at NorthPark and Coral Gables flagships.
Fantasy Gifts and Philanthropy
The 2026 Fantasy Gifts roster spans seven experiences, ranging from a behind-the-scenes Lucasfilm visit to a six-day Italian journey with the Buccellati jewelry family. A Michelin-starred dining and perfumery trip to Alsace, France — featuring a stay at Villa René Lalique and wine pairings from Lalique's cellar — rounds out the food-and-beverage-adjacent offerings for the ultra-luxury tier.
Every Fantasy Gift purchase triggers a corporate donation to The Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation. The retailer is also running a point-of-sale campaign benefiting Boys & Girls Clubs of America through January 31 — an initiative that has generated nearly $2 million since 2018 across in-store and online channels.
"The 2026 Fantasy Gifts continue to redefine extraordinary luxury through one-in-a-lifetime experiences, unparalleled access, and boundless imagination," said Darcy Penick, President and Chief Commercial Officer of Exemplar Luxury Group, the parent collective that also includes Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. Cheryl Han, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer at Exemplar Luxury Group, noted that the campaign is designed to "meet clients wherever they engage," blending physical store activations with immersive digital lookbooks and gift guides spanning categories from gourmet food and treats to beauty and home.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
