A wonderful dining room
The Go is a wonderful Chinese game welcomed by the eastern civilization. A board game where two opponents face each other with white and black pieces. The most daring have compared it to chess, where two worlds—also divided between black and white figures—face each other, in the same way as we could describe chefs and waiters. In chess, you have to kill in order to win. In go, you need to build in order to live. The goal is not to eat the opponent, but to map out a larger territory.
Equivalently, in gastronomy, this is how we consider the complicity of the kitchen and dining room teams. Building and proposing strategies to seduce. The dining room of a restaurant converges in a way few spaces can. It is a universe of emotional connections enriched by the feedback of proximity.
We have got to reinterpret our profession taking advantage of the good times in the kitchen to grow with them—those white jackets. To entice, so they can entice.
We must be able to connect emotionally with the cooks and better prepare our approaches to the diners. To serve with a purposeful, yet calm, gaze. To take advantage of the oriental wisdom… of its rite. The enchantment of the tea ceremony is a paragon for western hospitality.
Feeling good, comfortable, neat… They say that he who wears perfume—in our case, subtly—has a good opinion of himself. Exploring runway trends to review our uniforms. Knowing how to ask questions. Reflecting on our tone of voice. Boasting a natural, frank smile. Forcing can look ridiculous; servility is eerie and overwhelming. Simplicity. Always simplicity and normality as a rule.
The kitchen reassembly in the living room—introducing new paths and concepts—can be fascinating. A perfect interpretation of the rhythms and hiatus posed by the tables, as we become tellers of stories, and dishes, and wines, and so much more…
Wisdom is indispensable for physical and mental decompression. Not in vain study and knowledge are part of our narcissistic refuge. They involve the professional motions that we carry out. Study, perseverance, consistency and curiosity are the pillars to achieve confidence and determination.
The kitchen reassembly in the living room—introducing new paths and concepts—can be fascinating. A perfect interpretation of the rhythms and hiatus posed by the tables, as we become tellers of stories, and dishes, and wines, and so much more... Josep Roca
Important, in deed, yet not vital. The values of the waiters of the future are far beyond knowledge and concrete training. They are grounded in generosity and in knowing how to manage emotional intelligence.
I feel very fortunate to have the support, eagerness and complicity of my dining room team. I owe all of them an important part of our success. We experience an extraordinary scene of positive inertias and it is a true luxury to be able to show the charms of our kitchen along with the loyalty, rigor, enthusiasm and affection with which my team welcomes and captivates our guests. I wish for that golden light of positive energy to transcend beyond our home.
As Sebastià Serrano reminds us, we hominids are here to celebrate. His wisdom endorses this. I encourage you to celebrate with our guests by showing our affection and outstretched hand.
Fortunately, in celebrating amid plates and cups, the waiter’s profession is intertwined like a nested tree with the diners eager for shelter and warmth. Every contact with a person is an opportunity to improve their life.
Dear colleagues, eager diners, admired cooks, the dining room is not in danger. Just like the fine, generous, bold and shady wines, it never dies; it only reinvents itself; and, today, it has the potential to become better than ever. Let yourself be seduced.
