National Bestseller
Essential lessons in hospitality for every business, from the former
co-owner of legendary restaurant Eleven Madison Park.
Will Guidara was twenty-six when he took the helm of Eleven Madison
Park, a struggling two-star brasserie that had never quite lived up to
its majestic room. Eleven years later, EMP was named the best restaurant
in the world.
How did Guidara pull off this unprecedented transformation? Radical
reinvention, a true partnership between the kitchen and the dining
room--and memorable, over-the-top, bespoke hospitality. Guidara's team
surprised a family who had never seen snow with a magical sledding trip
to Central Park after their dinner; they filled a private dining room
with sand, complete with mai-tais and beach chairs, to console a couple
with a cancelled vacation. And his hospitality extended beyond those
dining at the restaurant to his own team, who learned to deliver praise
and criticism with intention; why the answer to some of the most
pernicious business dilemmas is to give more--not less; and the magic
that can happen when a busser starts thinking like an owner.
Today, every business can choose to be a hospitality business--and we
can all transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences.
Featuring sparkling stories of his journey through restaurants, with the
industry's most famous players like Daniel Boulud and Danny Meyer,
Guidara urges us all to find the magic in what we do--for ourselves, the
people we work with, and the people we serve.
