In the Caterer Interview with Fernando Peire (last week's issue), the director of London's the Ivy spoke a lot about the difference between restaurants run by chefs and those run by front of house folk.
Is there a discernible difference from a customer's perspective? And who do you think makes the best type of restaurateur? In fact - who do you think is doing it really, really well?
Hi Janie,
In our experience in reading about 1,400 detailed assessments per month, the product (food) is really important. But service leaves much more of a lasting impression. We sometimes see examples of customers being quite forgiving about poor food if the staff have handled the situation really well but very rarely the other way round. But which makes the best restauranteur? Its really about the passion an individual has for giving the customer a great experience and how that is communicated and shared across all staff (B&FoH) rather than what their job position is.
We'll tactfully decline to say who we think is doing it really really well! But let's just say that their teams often leave a lasting impression with customers by the way they interact and that this is often done quite visibly. There are some great small chains of up to about 6 sites but it needs careful direction and leadership to sustain the originality as the chain grows - and it really doesn't matter who that comes from.