Of course the food is important, however………

July 18, 2012

Of course the food is important, however………

One thing never seems to change – front-of-the-house vs. back-of-the-house mentalities. When are we going to get it? Service is just as important, if not more important, than the food that we serve. WOW- I can’t believe I actually said that with conviction. For a chef to come forward and tell the truth – SERVICE IS WHAT BRINGS CUSTOMERS BACK – seems to be a mortal sin to those who dedicate their lives to making great food and ignoring the fact that oftentimes it is the service that builds a restaurant’s reputation.

On the other hand, without GREAT food, the server faces an up-hill battle in winning over any guest with discriminating taste. One would wonder if we can ever get the two, equally important restaurant factions to work as a real team.

Some of you might be thinking, “this is not my restaurant – we are always on the same page”, OK – there maybe some that have made the leap, but what about the other 800,000 or so who are constantly pointing the finger one way or the other.

I would be interested in your thoughts.

It’s All About Service

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harvestamericacues.com

President of Harvest America Ventures – Restaurant and Culinary School Consulting. Five decades of experience as chef, educator, food and beverage manager, consultant. Member of 1988 New England Culinary Olympic Team. Won gold medal in Olympics in Germany, 2001 ACF Educator of the Year, cooked at the James Beard House, Author of three novels.

2 responses to “Of course the food is important, however………”

CINDY GREER

July 18, 2012 at 6:20 pm

Hello Paul…so glad to see this very important information come from a seasoned professional like yourself. I too was surprised you said the food is not as important as the service but I MUST agree. You might be the most talented chef with a flair for the extraordinary but I promise you that if the service in that lovely expensive restaurant is slow and inattentive the once happy customer is now not only looking around confused but very HUNGRY. Even if the food comes out and blows away the guest they still will not soon forget how long they sat and waited for that food.

So in the end the customer leaves with a full stomach calling his/her friends saying the food was great but we waited so long I am not sure I would go back. Restaurants stay alive with local repeat business….period. And this my friend is the end of the story.
All the best my friend,
Cindy

Reply
culinarycuesblog

July 18, 2012 at 6:35 pm

Thanks Cindy. Absolutely true. People come initially for the food, and return for the way they are treated. Since success is all about return customers, then every chef must acknowledge the importance of service.

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About Me

PAUL SORGULE is a seasoned chef, culinary educator, established author, and industry consultant. These are his stories of cooks, chefs, and the environment of the professional kitchen.

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