Open letter to the Caterer and Hotelkeeper,  

I am sending you today a rather sad and frustrated letter. 

Unfortunately on its 6th year, the students part of the Galvin Cup cocktail competition has been cancelled due to the lack of entry. Only one entry from Westminster Kingsway College was received and so we decided there wasn't much point in holding a competition for just one. 

I personally find it is such a shame that no one in Education and in the Catering Colleges of the country is interested (apart from one) to take part in this unique competition offered to both students and professionals.

The Cup was created in 2007 not only to raise standards and promote our industry in this country but also to provide a platform where students, Teachers, Headteachers and professionals alike  (bartenders, Food and Beverage Managers, bar Managers etc...) can meet, connect and share their experiences, needs and aspirations.  

None of us can decide how beautiful we are. Beauty is totally out of our control and entirely in the hands of God. We are either born with or without it and simply cannot do anything about it.

By beauty I mean being blessed with purely good looks. The kind of looks we see on television or at the cinema. People like George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Kate Moss, Brad Pitt etc....

While it is a well proven and documented fact that beautiful people enjoy (in general) more positive attention, better pay or have even more chances of promotion within an organisation beauty can be cold-very cold-freezing cold even. And cold beauty on its own is not attractive.

As I said above, unfortunately none have us can decide or control how beautiful we are. However, what we all have control over is how CHARMING we are.

Charm is in all of us and as such it is up to us to turn it on as and when with our guests (and also in our private life).

Charm is what really makes us attractive and memorable. Charm is just like a smile, it is an integral part of any FOH uniforms.

To be charming is easy, just follow these simple steps:

• Have a warm good heart, be positive and generous in spirit
• Engage people (your guests and fellow team members) with a warm smile and eye contact
• A warm smile is a smile where all the face smile (ie you use all your face muscles)
• You can be charming to many people at once. Simply look at them and smile to them in turn
• By eye contact I mean FULL UNDIVIDED ATTENTION (ie as if nothing else mattered)
• Charm is about having FIREWORKS IN YOUR EYES when you look at people

When guests see your fireworks they will be dazzled and literally under your magic spell. They will feel good and very special for it for they will feel it is for them and for them only. Charm is personal,  it is one on one, it is about sharing a magic moment with someone else.

Charm, kindness and generosity of spirit do not cost anything and yet their value is immense.

This is what good service is about and what guests really come to get when they dine at your restaurant.

Besides.... As beautiful as the Prince ever was, he has always been known as Prince Charming, hasn't he?

Make excellence a habit!

I believe the line raises standards and help us achieve our potential. This is why we must learn about it as early as possible.

In the Art of Service there is no advanced level, it's all about the basics. One of those basics as described in The Art of Service training board game is the Golden Rule number 7 -"Always look your best".

The meaning of this rule is that it is vital to make a good first impression and look the part. It's about trust and confidence and creating and sharing a connection and bond between the guests and yourself before a word is even spoken.

"Elementary, my dear Watson." Unfortunately, not so elementary.

As an industry we forever lament the fact that so few of our people are from the UK. I could cite 1001 reasons why young people do not want to study and join our ranks. Yet, when they do join and study Hospitality I sometimes wonder if we teach them the right values and if all the Catering Colleges really draw the line on what the basics are.

I often visit Catering Colleges or receive students at Galvin at Windows as part of my role and interest in education. More often than I can say I find myself surprised by the way the students are groomed or dressed (piercing and earrings, badly shaven, zip open, shirt hanging out of the trousers etc...). I am equally just as shocked that the teachers or the head teachers would find this type of personal grooming appropriate or acceptable.

This is the Hospitality industry!!!

I too was at Catering College once and my parents were not wealthy. I never wore designer's suit but was always suitably dressed as and when necessary with a shirt, tie, jacket, trousers, black polished shoes and black socks. I was also well shaven, my hair was neatly cut and my hands were clean.

At my old College the students had to behave and accept the school's code of conduct. We understood the reason why we had to dress up for service and for schools visits. There was no way we would have left the school dressed in the same way as some of the young people I have recently seen. My old head teacher always told us that we did not only represent ourselves but the school and its reputation too.

There are some great Catering Colleges in this country like Westminster Kingsway College in London for example who do a great job and set very high standards. I only wish more would follow in their foot step and teach young people the basics with the same beliefs, rigour and discipline.

The line in the sand is both a symbol and a statement about what you are and stand for.

The line simply divides what is right and what is wrong. The line makes everything either black or white (with only a very thin line of grey in the centre).

It's about stating your vision and values, your expectations, establishing the right culture while communicating and sharing with the whole team what your business and brand stand for.

It's very important because everyone needs to know exactly what good service is and how to deliver it, what the expected behaviour or attitude is and how to meet and exceed the guest's expectations.

Drawing the line is about being clear, fair and just, consistent and a true professional. It helps create a sense of unity because everyone knows what is expected of them and where the line is. No one ever exists or succeeds in isolation and the lines draws attention to the value of everyone's contribution.

Once the line is drawn, there is no turning back (who lives by the sword dies by the sword) and anything you do must be on the right side of the line.  By that I mean everything single little details.... (Especially the details).

The line means you know what you want and have made a conscious decision to make a difference. It's the only way to differentiate you from the rest of the world. The line is the real start of your journey to excellence.

Remember however, it's a line in the sand and therefore when the tide comes in the line will disappear. And this will happen time and time again. You must be ready and prepared for the tide so that as soon as the water recedes you can draw the line again. Better still, stay in the way of the water and become the line yourself with your trusted fellow colleagues.

Some people at times do not understand the value of the line. They do not see the beauty and power of discipline and rigour. They think it constraints them when really it sets them free.

Not so long ago I explained to one of Galvin at Windows staff why discipline and rigour are so important and why we should not be afraid of it or reject it but rather embrace it.

I asked him: "Do you like music?" of which he replied immediately "Of course, music is my passion. I love it".

"Well..." I said, "If you like music then you must like discipline and rigour, for there would be no music without it. Rhythms and sounds from your favourite songs would never sound the same and discipline and rigour give you the pleasure of music. Without it there is no music-period".

He looked at me puzzled for a second and could not believe what he just heard. I could see from his eyes that he was still thinking about it. But I knew he got it, the message was understood and it now made sense to him.

I am very proud to announce my collaboration with Westminster Kingsway College in London to launch a new part-time qualification aimed at aspiring restaurant managers.

The new course, entitled the Art of Service - Restaurant Manager, will run over 28 weeks from 15 May as a once a week day-release programme.

Geoff Booth, assistant principal at Westminster Kingsway College, said the course is unlike any other currently available.

"It has been developed by industry in collaboration with the college and is designed to inspire people to become great restaurant managers," he said. "It's not just another management qualification, but it's more about how we create an inspirational culture to get the very best out of our restaurant teams and develop a dynamic restaurant business."

The course will be divided into sections covering areas including restaurant reservations; creating a high performance culture; customer psychology; selling skills; finance; and food knowledge.

What we wanted to do is put together a course that is relevant to what professional restaurant managers need to know to be able to do their job but also run a business. It is designed to give them a clear vision of their business, understand the financial side of it as well as things like HR, business development and marketing and PR.

For more information on the Art of Service - Restaurant Manager course, which is priced at £2,225, email geoff.booth@westking.ac.uk or email me at fred@theartofservice.co.uk (or tweet @fredsirieix1 or @theartofservice)

The scale of ownership is a concept.

It's about measuring what (truly) matters and what (really) makes a difference. The scale weighs up a very real yet intangible and invisible component present in all of us:

Our true and pure sense of ownership which is made of the four following parts:

• 70% responsibility level
• 10% urgency level
• 10% knowledge and expertise level
• 10% loyalty level
  

For managers and businesses knowing someone's ownership weight is very important because you can then make informed decisions and decide who can best represent or support you, who you should train and develop and/or possibly promote or just simply work well with. However the challenge is huge. Not only everyone is a different weight, everyone uses a different scale to measure ownership.

And some scales are way off!

Hence why there are so many discrepancies in attitudes and behaviours in teams and businesses.  Success for an organisation comes from using a common and shared scale and from ensuring every team member is over the minimum weight limit.

In fact the heavier you are (lean muscle of course) the better it is. The heavier you are on the scale, the more you care, the more you are able to perform and deliver, the more you are trusted and respected and the more successful you can be.

Do you know how much you or your team weigh on the universal ownership scale?  If you don't, get on the scale with your team, look in the mirror and find out what your real weights are.

1. The guests are KINGS - always and forever

2. Understand the difference between service and looking after people. You serve strangers with/without heart but look after those you care for.

3. To look after people you must be able to put yourself in the guests shoes first. How do you know what they want otherwise? As you meet and greet guests, consciously think about what they want, what they come here for and how you can make them feel special and please them.

4. Be always ready for the guests, be "on the boiling point" and have a "gazelle on red bull" frame of mind. There is no grey here. It's black and white. Either you are ready or you are not.

5. The basics and nothing but the basics. Good service is good service no matter where you are. At the Ritz or a road side cafe

6. Eye contact, smile and give your full undivided attention to guests. Remember you are on stage when in service-just like an actor. So perform!

7. You must have an inner desire to please and make people feel special. This is what hospitality is about and what we are here for.

8. Be positive, warm, welcoming, hospitable, kind and generous and make sure you radiate these feelings to guests and those around you at all times. Let me give you an example: when you walk past someone who likes or dislikes you, you can sense what they feel even if they don't speak. Make sure you send the right vibes as these will build the business reputation.

9. Be awake, aware and ready for the unexpected. Do not take anything for granted. Be ready and on your guard and you'll be always able to make a difference and make people feel special.

10. Be proud of yourself and what you do. You are the best! People can sense confidence and positive attitude. From my experience (humble) confidence brings success.

There aren't many things in life which give me as much pleasure and joy as learning does.

Learning for me is about a lifelong journey of development, growth, self-discovery and awareness. It teaches wisdom and creates excitement, it inspires and has the ability and the power to both satisfy and reward at the same time.

Yet learning and training can be seen by some as a burden and a chore with no real value, purpose or benefit.  Others on the other hand already know it all or think they do.

Learning is often misunderstood or not taken seriously enough. It takes commitment, determination and creativity to learn. It's about a frame of mind, an inner drive to not sit still, go forward and get better. To learn one needs to be open and receptive and be able to listen.

Listening is very important as without listening one can't take it in and apply the learning.

Learning is neither a one off nor something one does at school until 14 years old. Learning is a habit- it's constant and continuous.

Learning should not only be an integral part of a person's life journey it should also be part of any organisation's wider culture. For learning is the only way to develop, grow, motivate, attract and retain our good people. It's also so much more pleasurable and rewarding than just earning money and what's more it teaches about values and the value of values.

To learn is about coming closer to the truth. It's about being true to oneself and understanding integrity and honesty. It's about accepting we are not (and will never be) there yet, seeing the flaws within, taking responsibility while enjoying the journey along the way. At times it can be painful and so it takes courage to keep going and learn some more.

Learning is addictive yet it has no side effect. Its beauty, its adrenaline the rush lays in the deep satisfaction and excitement ones feels from education.

While I am writing about learning, I also cannot help to think about teaching. Both learning and teaching go hand in hand-you can't have one without the other. It's about give and take. In restaurants the young commis learn from their managers, in turns the commis will become headwaiters and one day be managers too. This is why restaurants need to create a high performance culture where learning, development and creativity are top of the agenda.

To progress, restaurants and the teams within must learn. And every single top restaurant can only maintain their position in the market place because of the quality of their training and teaching and their general ability to transmit the knowledge.

And knowledge- let it be known does not only go down the ranks, it goes sideways and up too.
However it is important to remember that teaching is a proper job, as such it's not for everyone. Teaching is like everything in life; to be good at it one must enjoy it and have fun with it.

Teachers in our industry (ie restaurant managers) are like doctors or mechanics. There are good ones and there are bad ones. People only become good teachers through experience, innovation and beliefs in people and the good nature of people.

Teaching is an art like no other and there is no greater achievement for a teacher to see people grow and realise their true potential.

In The Art of Service the only way to excel is to be both a disciple and a master at once. However it is wise to remember to be (always) humble and young at heart for there will always be much more to learn than we will ever know.

I first heard of Le Manoir when at Catering College in France. I remember looking at the pictures of this beautiful hotel and restaurant from the Relais & Chateaux guide.

As students we are all in awe with such places, their excellence and their passion inspired us and made us dream. They were only for the best professionals and working there even for a short placement meant that you were one of a kind.

And so I was particularly excited and happy to go there on the 27 January with my family to celebrate my 40th birthday.

The trip from London was not the best. The traffic was so bad that it took us three hours to get there. I called the reception on the way to let them know we were running late. The girl on the phone could not have been sweeter, more polite and more professional.

She knew of the delays already and what if felt like to be stuck in a traffic jam like this. She was so genuinely sympathetic but what did it for me most of all was her down to earth attitude and her capacity to connect there and then on my level and share a moment with me.

We arrived at 7pm and our reservation was for 7.15pm.

As a fellow professional I felt bad. But not for long, they did not let me....