Meat Fruit, nitro ice cream poached at our table and a dozen other culinary delights were on show. But what I was really interested in was the service.
And being a spy who likes to share. I wanted to investigate, learn from the experience and share it with you.
DINNER AT
DINNER
Last night I ate at Dinner. It's Heston Blumenthal's two Michelin starred restaurant in London and it was recently voted the ninth best restaurant in the world.
The food was amazing. But that's all I want to say about the grub.
I was there to watch and learn about service.
THE KNIFE TEST
Have you
ever dropped a knife in a restaurant? It's great to see the way the waiting staff react. Here's what happened last night.
If the waiter had been there one second earlier he would have caught the knife before it hit the floor! Super fast.
And then... he apologised! He actually said, 'I'm sorry about that sir, let me get you a clean one'
TEAM
WORK
It was like a train on the tracks.
I loved it. Brilliant systems, no fake smiles or insincere platitudes. Lots of thought to creating very firm foundations.
RADAR THINKING
This was probably the best bit.
We were very fortunate. We had a table looking right into the kitchen. Throughout the
evening there were several times we wondered what they were doing, making, brewing, etc
Right on cue, just like the shopkeeper in Mr Benn, a member of the team would appear and offer an explanation.
FIRST AND LAST
One chance to make a first impression. We all know that.
But what about a lasting impression?
Perhaps it
was the Deputy Manager's RADAR or the fact that I'd been taking notes all night and asking too many questions, but as we paid the bill we were asked if we'd like to meet the Head Chef Ashley Palmer-Watts in the kitchen.
Perfect.
So much learning, a note pad full of fab ideas for every type of business and a world-class meal.
ALWAYS
LEARNING
And if you'd like to know what I've been learning, teaching and writing about for the last 15 years then take a peep at the special event I'm holding on 3rd April. Details at the bottom of the page.
Be Brilliant!
