A great restaurant doesn't distinguish itself by how few mistakes it makes but by how well they handle those mistakes.
Danny MeyerRead
In an age when so many groups are rolling out restaurants faster than your local baker makes donuts, my goal is that each restaurant feels hand-crafted. That they have their own soul.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of individuality and care in the creation of restaurants amidst a trend of rapid proliferation.
Danny Meyer highlights a desire for his restaurants to have a unique identity and essence, contrasting with the rapid establishment of numerous generic dining options. He advocates for a more thoughtful approach to restaurant creation, where each one is crafted with attention to detail and a personal touch, akin to how a local baker thoughtfully makes each donut.
In practice
Use this quote to emphasize the importance of quality in a restaurant presentation at a culinary school event.
A great restaurant doesn't distinguish itself by how few mistakes it makes but by how well they handle those mistakes.
My history has been to grow the roots as deeply as you can before going on to the next thing. That's why it took 10 years to go from Union Square Cafe to Gramercy Tavern, and another 10 years to go from Blue Smoke's first location to its second, and five to go from Shake Shack 1 to Shake Shack 2.
The most important thing you can do is make the distinction between customer service and guest hospitality. You need both things to thrive, but they are completely different.
Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you. Those two simple prepositions - for and to - express it all.
Why don't we pay more attention to who our farmers are? We would never be as careless choosing an auto mechanic or babysitter as we are about who grows our food.
Get up early and go to the local produce markets. In Latin America and Asia, those are usually great places to find delicious food stalls serving cheap, authentic and fresh specialties.
The greatest lesson came with the realization that good food cannot be reduced to single ingredients. It requires a web of relationships to support it.
I'm a firm believer that the world should be your oyster when you're cooking. People should open themselves to other cuisines - there are a lot of hidden secrets all over the world.
To butcher a pork shoulder is to be forcibly reminded that this is the shoulder of a large mammal, made up of distinct groups of muscles with a purpose quite apart from feeding me. The work itself gives me a keener interest in the story of the hog: where it came from and how it found its way to my kitchen.
I don't believe in twisting yourself into knots of excuses and explanations over the food you make.
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