“Aside from hospitality and delicious food, our [restaurateurs'] job is to entertain people. Restaurants should make people feel special, excited and fulfilled.” PeopleFeelsShouldJobsSpecialExcitedRestaurantsFulfilledDeliciousHospitalityDelicious Food Author:Joe Bastianich
“Restaurant Man is kind of the story, an unabridged story of what happened in my life, the good bad and ugly. Some people might glean some life lessons. It is honest, not written as a press release.” PeopleMenKindStoriesMightWrittenHappenedHonestLessonsPressesUglyReleaseRestaurantsLife LessonPress Release Author:Joe Bastianich
“Frankly, Milan kind of sucks as a restaurant city. Its so fashion-obsessed that people dont pay that much attention to the food.” PeopleKindPayCitiesAttentionFashionObsessedRestaurantsMilan Author:Joe Bastianich
“The general manager is kind of like the step into darkness when you reach the top of the league. As GM, you're responsible for everything, including the maitre d's and the sommeliers - all these people who have their own agendas. But you probably make less than the maitre d' and have a lot more work and a lot more headaches.” PeopleKindStepsDarknessResponsibleIncludingManagersLeagueAgendasHeadacheGeneral ManagerSommelier Author:Joe Bastianich
“I think a lot of people overlook the importance of the menu as a marketing tool and a way of communicating to the customer what the ambition of their restaurant is. Not only the typeface and the design, but what is it printed on? Is it cheap-looking? Is it the right kind of paper for that restaurant?” PeopleThinkingWayKindDesignPaperAmbitionToolsImportanceMarketingCommunicateCustomersRestaurantsPrintedMenusTypefaces Author:Joe Bastianich
“After World War II, a lot of people moved to the cities for work and abandoned the old vineyards. Then in the 1950s and 1960s, wineries were paid to produce volume at a cheap price. That's when the Lambruscos and bad Chianti were popular.” PeopleWorldWarCitiesProducePaidMovedWar Of The WorldsAbandonedWorld War IiWorld War IVolume1960sVineyardsChianti Author:Joe Bastianich
“Maitre d's are at the financial spigot of the restaurant, meaning they control who gets in and who doesn't, but aside from that, they don't do anything. And yet they get paid as much as the highest-paid people in the place.” PeopleHighestPaidFinancialRestaurants Author:Joe Bastianich
“Selling wine is all about sizing people up, and it takes a certain amount of chutzpah. The tableside bottle sell is a very funny thing - you take a look at the guy's blazer, what kind of shoes he's wearing, what kind of broad he's with. Is he trying to be a hero?” PeopleTryingLooksKindGuyCertainAmountHeroSellsWineShoesSellingBroadsBottlesFunny ThingsBlazers Author:Joe Bastianich
“There are certain things that make restaurants work and a certain kind of DNA that people who excel in restaurants need. But it's a lot like life, in the sense that you get out of it what you put into it.” PeopleNeedsKindCertainRestaurantsDna Author:Joe Bastianich
“Most people who open restaurants will fail, because they lack the fundamental understanding of restaurant math. Either they think they're superstar cooks or they think they're superstar hosts.” PeopleThinkingUnderstandingFailingFundamentalsMathCooksRestaurantsHostSuperstar Author:Joe Bastianich
