4 Questions a Winning Menu Should Answer.


Guests pay a premium for the right presentation.

Most chefs see a menu as merely a list of their lovingly-crafted dishes with corresponding prices from which a customer chooses and tells the waiter what to bring. Just look at any local Indian restaurant menu to see what I mean. But is it really enough for a business to survive? Or heaven forbid, thrive? Not in this economy.


And since chefs, managers and restaurateurs write them all the time, have they ever asked themselves this simple question: what is a menu?

At this stage a training exercise could be introduced with coloured pens and sticky notes and lots of ideas would no doubt spring up from all participants about what that answer might entail. There's even a Wikipedia answer. But from the point of view of sales and revenue (your bottom line!), here’s what I’ve come to believe a menu should be: 

“The menu is a profoundly powerful sales tool, that allows you to tell your story and encourages people to engage in that experience through the products and services on offer, in exchange for money.”

Let’s look at some of those key phrases:

'Profoundly powerful'
Done well, a menu can change your life. Profound AND Powerful.
'Sales tool'
If it ain’t selling it, then it's being wasted. 
'Allows'
By choosing to read your menu, you are given permission to pitch ‘your story'
'Tell your story'
People buy people - remind them why they chose this table instead of cooking at home.
'Engage in that experience'
Sell the sizzle, not the steak - give them something real and personal to talk about.
'products and services'
You sell wine; but guests pay a premium for the right presentation, glassware and service.
'in exchange for money'
A menu can change your life.
Not credit. Nor goodwill. Nor for free.

The real work in creating a winning menu design begins, and encompasses, that phrase. Read it again. 

 Now consider your menu. From the tactile feel, to the logo design, to the size and weight, to the font size and layout; to the pictorials and artwork; to the language and pace; to the welcoming intro; to the dishes and descriptions; to the prices and terms; and to the promise of more to come… have you answered the four fundamental questions that definition brings up:


  • What story are you telling your guests?
  • Who are those people that might want to share in that?
  • Which products and services can you offer that reflect those values?
  • How much can you comfortably charge for those right now?


From McDonalds to Michelin; these principles form the DNA of any great menu if customers are to engage in you, your product and your brand. 

 Get it right, and sales will soar. Get it wrong and all you have on your menu is mediocrity. Is that something you'd order? 

'Twelve Days Inn', Two Years Late

Here's a missive I tapped out two years ago that got left behind in the drafts folder. Wow, this 'sabbatical' is into its third year. Best decision ever and still not tempted back.

 12 days in, here's what I think:

 Don't give up the booze because...
... you want to lose weight. Although you will.
... you want to save money. Although you will.
... you want to 'turn over a new leaf'. What's wrong with old one?
... alcohol is 'evil'. It isn't.
... it's the 'right thing to do'. According to whom?
... your 'partner or spouse has given it up'. Make your own mind up.

 These are just short-sighted goals that you can push against as you cave in to that temptation.

 But DO give up the booze (or reach out for help) if...
... it is a negative impact on you.
... it is a negative impact on your friends and relationships.
... it is making you ill.
... it is tempting you into criminal behaviour.
... It is putting people in danger.
... It is putting your livelihood in danger.
... it is badly effect personality or decision making.

 If you answer 'Yes', an truly honest Yes, to any ONE of these, then you need to seriously consider your position.

But if your answer is 'No' to ALL of these (which is a good thing), it begs the question:
Is there a truly long-term positive reason for you to give up the booze?
Yes there is and it is profoundly simple: to tap into all the energy, creativity and positivity that floods BACK into your life which alcohol has been draining out of you all along.

 You can't swim upriver forever.

 That's why I am enjoying my sabbatical for the time being.

Typing is Talking, So Talk

I have a lot to say. In fact, most people think I have too much to say and just won't shut up. My client Suzy calls it the 'talking stick'. It's a clever little trick she uses to to stop me waffling on in meetings... "I have the talking stick right now, not you." Schtum! Point taken.

 But over the last 18 months, I've lost my voice in a different kind of way. My blogging voice. There are a million things I want to talk about and yet as soon as flip open the laptop to start typing.... the well just dries up. Nada. Not a solitary thing. It's like this little voice inside my head saying What'll they think?; Isn't that too sensitive?; What if I offend someone?; What if my boss reads this? (he might); Who do you think you are? or even Nobody cares. So I close down the lid and leave it for another day. 

 Seth Godin calls it the Lizard Brain or the resistance. My sous chef Chris calls it a 'limiting belief'. Either way, it's that thing that stops you from being you. Worrying about what other people think, holds you back. Worrying about not getting it absolutely perfect, holds you back. Heck, worrying about what holds you back, holds you back.

 Which is why I am writing this. I just started typing the first thing that popped into my head so it's never going to be my best work. But it needs to be written if I am going to kick start this fundamental need. A need to be heard. To be part of the conversation.

 I'm not even going to stick in a picture. "OMG," I hear the Social Mejia Peeps collectively groan, "he doesn't get it. Everyone knows great pictures drive traffic". Do they? Here's the thing; my all time favourite blog (the one I check in with every night when my head hits the pillow) is Daring Fireball by John Gruber. And guess what? He doesn't put a damn picture in from one end of the month to the next. He does something far more powerful: he PAINTS a picture. His words, bursts of opinion, quick links to random stuff or clever little riposte to that latest guesstimate written as *fact* (endearingly called 'claim chowder') really stirs up a very powerful resonance in my imagination and to that of his readers. That's a powerful space to occupy. I think I want to be in that place. But you gotta ship.

 So here goes. It's just words. But they're my words. And I do think they're worth sharing. Hopefully you do too.

A Leader who knows his Onions


A colleague of mine recently had to give a short presentation which involved describing a leader that inspired her, but using food as the analogy to describe that leadership inspiration. Her challenge caught my imagination and we had an interesting discussion about it. As we are in the catering sector, the humble onion is one ingredient that gets overlooked in our business and yet underpins so much of what we produce from our kitchen. With that in mind, here is a leadership analogy that might just work for you.



An onion packs lots of character despite its size. 
And like a true leader, this appearance belies an unflinching willpower that’s fueled by passion. (Be careful of the smaller ones, they tend to have more bite!)


If you cut an onion open during a meeting, it’s aroma will definitely stand out.
… and this ability to ‘stand out from the crowd’  and leaving that memorable impression is what turns a good leader into a great one. 

However, the same onion has a harmonizing effect when cut within a kitchen.
Skilled leaders create harmony and team spirit by motivating the people around them.

Sometimes the humble onion leads from the front - just look at French Onion Soup. 
- true leaders don’t shy away from situations that others might find very challenging.


And in other recipes the onion leads from behind by bringing out the best in other flavours.
Through empathy, influence and skillful maneuvering, a smart leader can energise the team to raise their game. 
Onions add bite & texture when thrown in a salad, but cooked down in a sauce they add sweetness. 
Different challenges have diverse paths to a solution requiring the canny leader to think outside the box and encourage the team to explore those paths.

Cutting across an onion reveals a number of rings - symbols of both strength and continuity. 
Like great leadership, these represent new experiences or challenges, with one bigger than the last.



And as any search on leadership will tell you, an onion - just like our proverbial leader - is made up of many layers. 
For me, each layer represents a chapter in our experience that moulds us into the type of leader we are today.
As for stripping them away, you might think there will be nothing left. But paradoxically, I believe we are left with ‘everything else’. Put simpIy, the leaders who shaped our early behaviours, continue to influence our decisions today. So it is vital to seek out - and offer - great leadership!
If nurtured under the right conditions, an onion can be cultivated to produce a future crop. 
This can also be said of true leadership skill. Be that manager, mentor or coach.







One final point about the humble onion: 
like any great leader, they also have the potential to move you to tears.

Sport Relief vs Tax Relief


It struck me that the Chancellor - every chancellor, I guess - must be pretty heartless when it comes to announcing a budget. No matter who he tries to please, there are always people on the other side of the fence who feel they got a raw deal. 
And so it was with the so-called ‘granny tax’, which wasn’t really a tax at all but the Red Tops didn’t focus too much on such details. What mattered to them was that ‘’little old ladies” were being screwed out of their hard earned cash while the fat cats in Downing Street retired to their subsidised bar for a snifter. And that sells papers.
Talking of bars, the licensed trade were incandescent with rage that Duty was sneaked in under the rather misleading statement of ‘no changes to duty rates’ when in fact it meant the 2%-above-inflation calculator would still apply from previous years. In real terms that means an additional 9p on the pint while the punter paying for it thinks there was no increase at all.
The problem with all this wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth at such injustice is that we can’t make a difference. Yes we can vote in a new government, who will happily provide more of the same. Or perhaps we can lobby for some changes, but this only moves the burden elsewhere. Perhaps we can start a movement...
But wait. Before the Chancellor can even begin to worry about such a backlash, he is given a massive get-out-of-jail-free card from the general public as a result of one frenzied night of overwhelming generosity. I am of course talking about Sport Relief and the amazing achievement of raising £50M during a frantic night of charity broadcasting. 
The worst thing that could have happened from Mr. Osborne’s perspective, would have been if Sport Relief had had a dismal disaster with worse-than-ever results to report on the night. Mr. Osborne would have woken up to headlines screaming their vindication that the economy was not working and that heads should roll. 

Alas that didn’t happen. In typical British form, we accept our lot, count our blessings by giving a little to charity and begrudgingly pay that little extra for our hard-earned pint down the pub.
Who can blame the Chancellor’s heartlessness, when the great British public has more than enough heart to go around?

Five Key Management Philosophies

My company have invited applications for a new and very exciting ‘Leadership Academy’ training course which involves a year long course of study, field trips and projects for the twelve successful candidates lucky enough to be chosen to take part. The process involved a number of essays being submitted which is to be followed up by an assessment day held in London at the end this month.

Due to my hectic schedule over recent weeks (more about that later), I have to admit that I have been neglecting you guys for too long now, so I thought I would adapt a couple of my essay submissions and share them with you since I think they come from an interesting perspective....

Management Style

The Management Style I have developed over the last 20 years can be distilled down to five key philosophies: Inspiration, Delegation, Discipline, Ownership and Trust.

Inspiration is the fuel that gets your personal and team goals off the ground and keeps the group moving towards that vision. When all is going well, this can be self-fulfilling. However during difficult circumstances it is your ability to inspire that can pull the team together and drive individuals to achieve their maximum.

Delegation is the front line attack in freeing up your schedule if you are to get the real work done of planning and leadership. In my current role, the stock take is a collective team effort, while our Head Chef finally has a computer to work on after 10 years in the job so that he can communicate directly with the client and suppliers. This frees me up to spend time on further training, assisting other sites with my  operational experience or on the frequent marketing projects that hit my inbox.

Discipline is twofold: discipline within yourself to strive for excellence at every level and discipline among your colleagues to understand what is expected of them and the boundaries they have to work within. As employer and Chef Patron in my restaurant operations, I have always encouraged my chefs to teach the Kitchen Porters how to prep the dishes, but no chef is entitled to change a recipe without my consultation since the business depends on our food and service consistency. Incidentally, shelling langoustines during downtime for a steward also has the knock-on benefits of motivation, development, delegation and succession planning.

Ownership is a fundamental tool of empowerment that I have always given my team if they are to have full confidence in their role. At the height of my success as an entrepreneur in Nepal, a typical service saw my teams serving hundreds of guests across multiple venues. This meant relying on my staff to make decisions in my absence that would reflect the values of the business. For example a complimentary Irish Coffee sent to a table celebrating a birthday or a personalised dessert served to a VIP. This resulted in an abundance of goodwill and repeat business which greatly enhanced our bottom line, not to mention our brand equity.

Trust is possibly the most difficult entity to fully appreciate and develop within a team. And by trust I don't mean vigilance that your staff might steal from you (values-based recruitment should avoid this), I am referring to
i) trusting each team member that they will deliver their best work at all times.
ii) inspiring the team to collectively trust in my leadership ability.
iii) encouraging team members to trust in their own ability to deliver excellence.
iv) fostering a fun yet professional atmosphere where staff trust each other.

Without this mutual trust, I have found one can end up micro-managing your staff or worse, doing their job for them and this is a huge waste of your energy and their potential. To avoid this, I have a simple policy: I trust my staff to get it right (and we share the credit), however if something doesn't go according to plan, then I trust them to tell me first (and we share in finding the solutions).

What are your key philosophies in Management, and do they work for you?

Google: Your People Skills

So, according to an article in the New York Times, the "people analytics" teams within Google decided they would trawl through 18 months of personnel files, staff feedback and management meeting notes, feed the answers into an algorithm to distill the data down and have finally come up with an eight-point plan to becoming a great manager within the Googleplex.

Although a noble (if extraordinarily over-engineered) piece of navel gazing, the results were not as pioneering as Google perhaps hoped for. I suspect the boffins would have arrived at the same conclusion had they fed the twenty best-selling business motivation books into the same algorithm... especially with such familiar sounding mantras floating to the surface as "have a clear vision and strategy"; "be a good coach" and other nuggets of obviousness.

Cynicism aside however, I think this scientific study based on empirical evidence does confirm what we suspected all along: that great management is about having great people skills. All-to-often managers believe that having a superior knowledge and experience of the tasks they set their subordinates will be enough to turn them into great managers. If this were the case, then why don't we see Premier League managers run onto the pitch to replace an injured team member in the dying minutes of a huge game. Simply because their job is to manage, not to play.

To be a great manager, you must hone your skills in getting the best out of your people. What sort of skills am I referring to? Skills in listening, coaching, mentoring, leading (by example), communicating, mediation, fostering trust, showing empathy, instilling discipline. The list goes on. In short, you have to be 'in tune' with each team member and with the team as an entity.

Put the whole together and it sounds intimidating. If this is the case and you don't know where to start, then start small by beginning with yourself. Follow these basic principles and you will quickly see results:

Get your office in order.

  • Turn up on time.
  • Be smartly dressed.
  • Keep your language in check.
  • Think twice about everything you say and do.
  • Get your office in order.
  • File everything (and keep it that way).
  • De-clutter your desk (and keep it that way).
  • De-clutter the workspace (even that dirty old radio someone thought was a good idea).
  • Keep your door open whenever you can.
  • Smile, spend time with your people and be receptive.
  • Listen actively.
  • Reflect on the consequences (before as much as after.)


Guess what? On a subliminal level, you are now moulding your people. If you extol these virtues diligently, you will quietly influence your team to follow suit thus creating a more professional environment. Now just build on that with the eight-point Google plan, or better still, seek out training and experience opportunities within your organisation to further understand this vital area in team leadership.

Pseudo-Chef: Comedy of Errors

This is one of the funniest videos I've seen in a long time. Watch it a couple of times and enjoy it.


After reflecting on it for a while, I think there is a large pinch of truth to be found in there somewhere. Over the years I have met, worked with and sadly, employed a number of chefs who really believe the dishes they cook are worthy of a Masterchef finale, when in truth they would be laughed out of a transport caff.

I am talking about chefs that produce the most bland or insipid sauces and purees safe in the knowledge that a trendy 'swipe' or 'smear' presentation will lift it to greatness. Or calling a dish locally-sourced because "the label on the box in the freezer said 'Made In England'" (the actual words of a waitress describing a burger's provenance to a friend of mine in a pub recently).

Or the kind of chefs who consider ketchup to be a great substitute for tomato puree and a tin-opener essential to their knife kit. Or who perhaps look at you blankly when you ask "Is this dish actually finished?' or "Have you added any seasoning?" where the final stage of 'pass and correct' - meaning to sieve the sauce or soup and adjust the seasoning - is all too often omitted out of laziness. 

Or who get defensive when you ask if we can do something other than spaghetti bolognese for the special. (And by the way, serving the ragu on the side does not render it 'de-constructed'.)

And why has this culture been allowed to develop? Because it is now the norm for this bland mix-and-match pseudo-cooking to be praised at every turn for it's so-called uniqueness and creativity. Eric Morecambe's piano tinkling with Andre Previn wasn't a masterclass in music, it was a masterclass in comedy. In the same vain there are thousands of so-called chefs - in small local pubs, big chain mega-brands, neighbourhood eateries and tired institutions - earning a decent salary, not for the Masterclass in cookery they think they are delivering but for the comedy of errors their customers have to put up with.

Milestones in our Lives


Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler described songs as "milestones in our lives". I think he is on to something. If I want to cast my mind back to a happier, or perhaps more melancholy time, I will put on a certain album that reminds me of that moment in my life.

I think it's also true of dishes we cook. Especially if you are a chef. As you move from one influence to another, from one job to another or one country to another, there are certain dishes that become bookmarks in our culinary life. The question is, what sort of menu would they make up today?

Kilroy's Lemon Tart
Anton Mosimann's Bread and Butter Pudding will be a dish that had the most indelible mark on my career and as a result I have a real love/hate relationship with it. On one hand, it opened my eyes to a new way of cooking traditional classics and through it's popularity, I got to travel around the world making it for some very special occasions. On the other hand I made so much of it that today I would have to be super-hungry to eat even a spoonful.

Kilroy's Lemon Tart became my signature dessert over a two year stint in Bermuda where I made about 5000 portions by hand on a Formica table that I hope I never have to see again. And setting up in Nepal allowed me to develop Seared Chicken Breast stuffed with Nak's Cheese (- yes the spelling is correct: if you’re thinking the milk came from a yak, it's worth bearing in mind that a yak is male) and remains the signature dish in our restaurant to this day.

Dessert 'Wizard of Oz'
Thinking back to some of the life-changing milestones in my life's map of discovery, I fondly remember suchdishes as Sauerkraut in St. Moritz or Thukpa in Tengboche or Sel Roti in Sikkim. Which make me think that perhaps the greatest thing about cooking is that the act of doing so - with it's aromas, textures and flavours - will take you right back to that place or moment in time you want to experience again. Like listening to a song.

More importantly, this allows you to ‘emotionally connect’ with your guest in a very fundamental way, either by sharing with them YOUR experiences through a carefully crafted menu or by allowing them to create new milestones for themselves by putting them in a great atmosphere, where the service and food will be immortalised in their future memories and reminiscences.

God's gift to cooking?

So, the Chef thinks he's God's gift to cooking?...

He is...

If the front of the restaurant was swept and is tidy.
If the front door is well lit and easy to push open.
If the heating /air conditioning is set just right.
If the Welcome is as warm as the bread should be.
If the music is not too loud.
If the lighting is just bright enough.
If the Bartender is chatty.
If the prices are as expected (or better).
If the wine is at just the right temperature..
If the glasses are polished.
If the waiter is friendly.
If the mood is right.
If the order is taken correctly.
If the bread is fresh (and perhaps warm).
If the guests are now enjoying themselves 35 minutes into their meal.

"OK Chef; Starters away!"...

Devil's Advocate

Could we have been more attentive?
Could we have had that meeting earlier to iron things out?
Could we have just told the chef it wasn't good enough to take out?
Could we have made it in sooner this morning?
Could we have done more to be ready on time?
Could we have avoided winding that person up?
Could we have thought about that more before we went ahead?
Could we have squeezed in that extra table?
Could we have checked that it was cooked through properly?
Could we have double checked that bill was correct?
Could we have done better?

It's easy to say; 'Perhaps not'.
The real question is; 'Why not?'

The Profit's In The Pudding. 

How often have you requested the bill at the 'end' of your meal, without being asked if you would like a dessert by your waiter?

It never fails to surprise me that any restaurant, especially an Indian or Chinese one for example, would pass up the massive opportunity to tap into the profitability that desserts - and liqueur coffees, cognacs or malt whisky - can be to their bottom line.  

Let's think for a moment about the costs involved in selling a steak or even a chicken tikka masala: 
• You have to invest heavily in a marketing campaign to get the customer in the door. 
• You have to invest substantially in the fixtures and fittings to get the venue right. 
• You have to invest in your linen, menu printing, crockery, cutlery and glassware to get the presentation right. 
• You have to ensure great ingredients to get the product right.  
• And you have to invest heavily in your team and your training to get the customer experience to the right standard. 

All this to sell that main course before simply allowing a lazy or incompetent waiter present the bill and letting them walk away without a further sale.    

With just a tiny addition to one or two of the above investments, your ability to sell a dessert makes the enterprise far more profitable, since the hard work has already been done in getting the point of sale already. 
 
With this in mind, lets think about the additional costs of tagging on that dessert on their bill:
• other than an engaging dessert menu, no extra marketing is needed since you all ready have your clientele 'in situ'. (Although more diners will be attracted on the promise of a decent pudding selection to round off their meal.)
• the fixtures and fittings have been admired so nothing extra required there. 
• The additional linen, menu printing, crockery, cutlery or glassware required is negligible since it was required anyway and therefore already in place.  
• There is an added cost due to the extra ingredients required, however this is instantly converted to profitable revenue with each sale. (In fact I would almost consider this an investment  - chefs will disagree, unless they gratefully count the cash at the end of the night.)
• The service staff are already in place. (And with these happier customers consequently paying bigger bills (and therefore leaving bigger tips), they will be highly incentivised to take on board the small additional training required to make that sale.
• And I have yet to meet a chef who does not want to do more with their knowledge and skill in the area of patisserie. Development in this key area could be just the incentive they need to stay longer with your team. 

If you want to enjoy your 'just desserts' through increased dessert revenue, here are three simple rules:
• Mobilise your team: if they believe they have a fabulous product, they will sell it.
• Sell the experience: an engaging menu that tells a story will pique the imagination. (Perhaps you recently served a celebrity... Share that story and people will want to try the dish they had.) 
• Keep it simple: reasonably priced, homemade, classic puds served elegantly will always win through. 

'UK PLC'

Finding myself sat next to a very eminent (and highly opinionated) celebrity chef for lunch recently, we discussed the merits of good training. Needless to say, we both agreed that it was hugely beneficial both on a personal level and for our industry as a whole. 

I went on to say that I felt very lucky to be part of a company where training and personal development were built onto it's DNA and actively encouraged at all skill levels. (During the last nine months I have attended over two dozen courses ranging in diversity from Health and Safety to mediation skills to personal branding, which incidentally I highly recommend.)

My dining companion (who is highly regarded as both an entrepreneur and an educational ambassador within our industry) thought about that for a minute and then surprised me with a rather cynical remark: "the problem there is that this commitment to training is a risk since the chances are that most employees would leave having 'soaked' up all this new-found knowledge leaving the company out of pocket and benefitting their competitors." 
This seems to me a very blinkered point of view since it does not take into account all of the overriding benefits of such an approach:

• A constant commitment to training encourages a culture of innovation and growth within the organisation. 
• The employees that do stay for the long haul are more capable of moving the company forward and adapting to market upheaval (as we have seen over the last three to four years)
• New employees quickly become more productive, and therefore profitable, as they transcend this learning curve.
• This personal development stems stagnation and inertia which can strangle any corporation. 
• Many employees ARE encouraged to stay longer in the company which reduces the time, expenditure and energy of re-recruitment. 

In fact, when you think about it, there is very little so-called 'risk' involved. 

There is however one overriding reason why every company worth it's salt should invest in such training and that is because of the massive benefit to what you might call 'UK PLC' (in other words, the country as a whole). 

It goes something like this: Great training produces great employees, who build great companies (big and small), which creates real investment to feed industry growth, which creates new jobs, which require more employees who will need, you guessed it, great training.

And on the subject of your competitors: if they are spending expensive time and resources on trying to recruit your well-trained people instead of training their own, then I would suggest you have an edge over them anyway.

Long Time No See

During a very difficult service on a cold January evening years ago, we found ourselves very short of dining tables in the warmth and cosiness of our Dining Room. The next morning I set about rearranging the tables to create more space. Through trial and error, we managed to accommodate 72 covers where only 56 could sit previously. As I stood back to admire the row of romantic looking tables-for-two along the window (overlooking the waterfall), I recounted to the waiters a situation I was reminded of during a Lunch at The Savoy Hotel’s iconic River Room...

.... On arrival, my host shook hands with the Manager on reception and passed him a rather substantial tip while politely requesting a table by one of the main windows. Gracefully accepting the generous incentive, the Manager glanced at his diary and loudly announced as if to an old friend “Aahh Mr. Cooper; long time no see.” This was quite amusing as he had never been before.  Swiftly we were lead into the famous dining room where the ritual was repeated with our Head Waiter. Graciously he promptly offered a chair at one of the highly-coveted window tables and proclaimed; “Mr. Cooper... your usual table!”
Later that evening as I stood surveying our readiness for service, I watched two very tall Australian tourists who had obviously wandered in for the first time out of curiosity and couldn’t decide whether to stay or move on. Immediately they were greeted enthusiastically by one of my smallest waiters; “Namaste Gentlemen... Long time no see!”
Humoured by his remark they browsed the menu and ventured in further to have a look around. With seating for 300 covers available, the wily waiter urged them to just enjoy a beer at any table of their choosing... in the garden... in the bar... in the dining room.... or perhaps on the terrace. Eventually they relented and chose - quite randomly - a table outside on the terrace.
“Aahh,” he said pulling out a chair for them, “your usual table.”
(And over the next three nights of their vacation, it was.)

Twelve Days Inn

12 days in, here's what I think:

Don't give up the booze because...
... you want to lose weight. (Although you will.)
... you want to save money. (Although you will.)
... you want to 'turn over a new leaf'. (What's wrong with the old one?)
... alcohol is 'evil'. (It isn't.)
... it's the 'right thing to do'. (According to whom?)
... your partner or spouse 'has given it up'. (Make your own mind up)
All of these are short-sighted goals that you can summarily reason against as you cave to that temptation.

But DO give up the booze (or reach out for help) if...
... it is a negative impact on your life.
... it is a negative impact on your friendships and relationships.
... it is making you ill.
... it is tempting you into serious crime.
... It is putting people in danger.
... It is putting your livelihood in danger.
... its effect alters your personality for the worse.
If you answer 'Yes' - an honest Yes - to any ONE of these, then you need to seriously consider your position.

But if your answer is 'No' to ALL of these (which is a good thing), it begs the question:
Is there a truly long-term positive reason for you to give up the booze?
Yes there is and it is profoundly simple:

To tap into all the energy, creativity and positivity that floods BACK into your life which alcohol has been draining out of you all along.

This is the real reason why I am enjoying my sabbatical for the time being.

I do appreciate it.

Reflecting over the years on what is the morning of my 40th birthday, this is the phrase that sums up how I feel about my career, family and life experiences up to now.

The thing is, anyone who knows me will know that I use this phrase a lot, especially in emails.

How many times have you sent an email and not received a reply? You begin to wonder sometimes if they received it in the first place, or cared that you sent it.

One lesson I learned from my friends in the U.S. Embassy in Nepal was that Americans have a culture of replying to every (genuine) email, every time. Even if it is to say 'thanks'. It's just one word, but I feel better knowing that person got my message, read it and took the time to reply.

As a result, I now endeavour to reply to each one of mine out of courtesy to the person writing it. And since I appreciate their interaction, I usually drop in the phrase 'I do appreciate it'. Because I do.

Without that interaction you cannot move forward, negotiate, request, communicate, produce, offer help, do great work, enjoy a moment. Their interaction acknowledges me. Now that is something to be thankful for.

And on that note, I wanted to thank YOU for checking in with The Kitchen Sync to read my musings: I (really) do appreciate your time and consideration.

The Myth of 'Cheaper by the Bottle'

Let's take a bottle of wine (750ml) which you are going to sell at £12.00, then it is fair to say the equivalent large glass (250ml) of wine should work out at £4.00 (one third) to bring in the same revenue. Most operators however, will charge MORE than this per glass as they want to encourage you to purchase the full bottle.

My strategy to encourage a good following of regulars in the bar (to supplement our dining revenue) was to make it 'cheaper by the glass'. In this case, perhaps £3.85.

But is this fair to your diners who you want to encourage to return? Well let's think about that for a minute. Whether it is the couple on Table 1 or the group on Table 12, they will tend to order by the bottle regardless of pricing for any number of the following reasons:

To quickly get 'settled in' for the evening or occasion.
To enjoy the 'sharing' element that such a purchase brings.
To avoid the hassle of looking for the waitress every time they need a refill.
To show off. (To their date, to other tables nearby or sometimes just their wealth.)
To feel pampered.
To get a quick consensus (in a group)
To easily calculate everyon's share of the bill.
And because they figure they will be paying less for it as it's usually 'cheaper by the bottle'.

Therefore if you charge less by the glass:
The average diner won't notice - especially if the food and service meet expectations.
The astute diner will figure it out and perhaps order by the glass. (But will they count how many they have?)
And the best diners won't care - and they are the ones you should be working to attract anyway by exceeding their expectations.

And if you still need convincing why your bottles should bring in more revenue, don't forget about the added cost to your bottom line for the service staff, linen, rented floor space and general cost of time and energy that adds up while uncorking and topping up at the table.

Meanwhile in the bar, very few of your punters buying their drinks in rounds will calculate how much wine they are consuming by the glass and consequently drink more of it. And if they think it is good value, they will convince themselves to have another round since they are "saving" every time they spend.

Waiter to Wine

The opening day of my first restaurant was a very nerve-racking experience. That it was in Kathmandu added to the adventure and as a result, I had to look into every single detail of the operation to make sure it was to the highest standard. To that end, we had spent weeks getting everything in place and now our first guests had arrived and were ordering some drinks. Everything was pristine, the fixtures and fittings gleaming and the staff fresh-faced and almost as nervous as myself.

As I floated between kitchen, dining room, bar, terrace and garden, checking and double checking that all was ready, one of my waiters approached me tentatively and waited politely for me to finish my discussion with one of the team. Eventually he timidly told me "Sir, the guests want some wine."
"That's great news Hari, we have loads in stock so just go and see the bartender. And make sure they are well looked after." Struggling with his English, he said "Sir, the thing is, I can't serve any wine"
"What do you mean you can't 'serve any wine'? I said incredulously, "We have done all the training and now you say you can't serve the wine?"
"No Sir," he continued, "I know how to serve it, but I can't. We don't have the right eh... (how you say in English...?).."
But I cut him off; "What... you mean wine glasses? Of course we do.. they're the best ones I could find in the city... and there's 200 of them in the bar. Use those!" I roared.
"Not glasses Sir, we don't have eh... (how you say?).." he replied, desperate to tell me the problem.
"You mean wine bucket?' I offered. "We have loads. Make sure you use a really clean one with lots of ice and a fresh napkin" I barked. By now I was getting pretty riled up.
Just then the head waiter passed and the two lads had a brief exchange in Nepali about the problem.

Then he smiled once he knew the phrase he needed:
"Wine opener Sir! We don't have a wine opener. What shall we do?" As I dispatched the keenest-looking dishwasher to run to the nearest store with a few rupee, we burst out laughing at the thought of it: all that preparation and we had forgotten something so simple. Sometimes you really do need to sweat the small stuff.


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