do it for the people

michelin part 3, people come first

This is a re-sharing of a culinary experience that I had back in 2022, working at a 2* Michelin restaurant, Birdsong SF. I posted an eight-part series on Twitter at the time, but it was never formalized in a longer format. I’m doing this to sort of immortalize the experience here since it was some of my earliest beginnings of living according to my values, doing what I found interesting, and finding beauty.

It’s an experience that helped shape my first sabbatical and I’m revisiting some of these learnings as they mix with conversations and readings in my current sabbatical.

Each part will be about the same with some grammatical and intonation fixes, plus an updated reflection at the end.

This is part three. Enjoy 😌.

people come first

At Birdsong, every day before service there’s a meeting where the entire team - front of house, back of house, beverage, and customer relations comes together for fifteen minutes. It’s kind of like a standup in a normal technology company when everyone spits out what they’re working on for the day.

The first five minutes are spent reviewing the significant-significant (read: VIP) customers. There’s research done beforehand as to who they are, why they’re here, their background, times they’ve visited, and details like their handedness.

There was no official definition of what a VIP was. The only inkling I got was customers who had returned three or more times, worked in the culinary industry, or folks who were restaurant investors. For the most part, we treated everyone that walked through the doors like a VIP, because that is what great service was.

Guests who had worked or were auxiliary to the culinary industry were taken note of - they understood the nitty gritty details of restaurant work. When you know how the sausage is made, you see more, so the details matter even more.

Anniversaries and birthdays were taken note of as well. It’s business as usual for us, but for our guests, it’s a special day for them. It’s the team’s job to perform and push through the mundane. Guests want dazzle, chefs want consistency.

Handedness is particularly important. It determines the utensil layout and how the server will approach the guest when they come with each dish.

The second five minutes of “standup” involved going through dietary restrictions and preferences. Anniversaries and birthdays got something a little extra. Menu modifications were noted for vegetarians, pescatarians, nut-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free folks.

Preferences mattered as well. Don’t like gamey meats? Not a huge fan of peas? You won’t find them in your meal. As long as guests informed us, it was not a problem.

All of these restrictions and preferences were tabulated on little cards that indicated to the chefs when things need to be switched up. During service, this took the form as little stickies on bowls to help the chefs know which covers were modified.

I also overheard the sommelier talking about her approach when “wining” guests. Gauging how much wine information a guest knows is an on-demand performance. She was prudent to not overload guests with information and only revealed more when necessary, providing a catered experience.

The last five minutes were reserved for any thoughts from the head chef, as well as a handout we were expected to memorize, describing any new dishes on the menu, should anyone ask about the origin and conception.

We’d finish by an appointed team member reading off an inspiring quote. Another member is popcorn-selected for tomorrow’s inspiring quote, and we collectively ended with “have a good service”.

reflections

Sure, there’s food, there’s wine, and cooking, but ultimately, it’s about people.

Remembering guest preferences and characteristics can make or break a restaurant. We all have that one favorite sandwich/coffee spot we constantly hit up - the owner has taken a liking to you, knows your common orders, and gives you something extra in every order. Excellent customer service gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside and a strong reason to show up again. Honestly, if anyone even remembers the smallest thing, I’m impressed.

The work is always done beforehand. None of this “magical experience” that the customer feels is actually magic. It’s pre-work, a bunch of hours putting ourselves in the customer’s shoes and figuring shit out. It’s probably one of the hardest things to get right - being a balanced mix of prescient, spontaneous, and adaptive all at the same time.

← part 2 | part 4 →