This week I got to eat some amazing food. Amazing, but the experience wasn’t amazing and I’ll tell you why. It wasn’t organized and the experience I was promised wasn’t delivered.
This restaurant even calls itself “a unique dining experience.” Now, while it was unique cuisine – the chef hasn’t repeated a menu in four years. The experience was just off. Not unique. Not above expectations. Just off.
What Went Wrong
- The experience was sold as a “cooking class.” It was not. The chef sold it as a cooking class that would involve some interaction from the audience. This is more demonstration, but the “class” was set up outside on a porch with a musician and the groups were seated far away from the chef’s smoker and stove. Did I mention that it was about 95 degrees?
- We were told to arrive promptly at 6:30. No food was served until 9 p.m. This restaurant is a BYOB, and everyone was drinking wine and gallons of water. But no one even received a piece of bread until 9 p.m. Plus, this was a weeknight. Most of the group were parents or had to be at the office the next morning. Ugh.
- Portions were not sized for the large group. The price tag for this meal was $50 per person. When I’m paying this much money, I want my money’s worth. It felt like the chef was expecting 10 people and prepared for 10. The “class” had 25 guests. Several of us only got one morsel of the beef tenderloin or andouille in the corn chowder. Disappointing.
- It was 95 degrees and outside. No one was informed of this. It’s fine to serve dinner outdoors, but for a reservations-only restaurant, it’s important to tell guests what to expect.
What Went Right
As I said before, not everything was terrible. The food I did get to eat was amazing. The chef had a real flair for creating non-traditional takes on everyday favorites. For instance, he created an awesome beef tenderloin stroganoff and a scrumptious berry bourbon tart. The prawn and artichoke beignet was incredible.
The chef’s family served us. He had two lovely children, one serving as artist for the ladies. The other passed out cold ice water every 15 minutes. What little interaction we had with the genius chef was inspiring and fun.
I got enough to return for another meal. Now, I won’t go back for cooking class (unless the format changes), but the food was special enough that I will return.
The Lesson
The cooking class was an excellent idea for generating business and building this chef’s brand, but it wasn’t ready. The idea needs to be baked and the process needs to be tested and refined or the experience suffers. Guests have expectations when they sign up for a costly class such as this. They want to learn something. They want to have a memory. That takes a lot of focus and thought and maybe even a few more staff members or less of a crowd.
