Fine dining’s love affair with inspirational quotes
chef Niki Nakayama opened a restaurant in Los Angeles, US, in 2011, she asked herself: “What do I want the staff to feel when we’re doing our work?” Then she wrote down the following words on a piece of paper: “Every day, better in every way. Everything is done with focus, heart, gratitude, love, care, purpose, intention, faith.”
Initially the paper was placed by Nakayama’s workstation, but over time, it found its way into the menu, and eventually, it was reprinted as a permanent sign that hangs in two places in the kitchen today.
Restaurant kitchens across the world, especially those in the fine dining world, display inspirational quotes and slogans for their staff to see and, hopefully, take to heart. Some read like a meditation; others a rousing locker room chant.
POSTING A MANTRA
The popular TV show The Bear thrust this behindthe-scenes practice into the spotlight. The ‘Every Second Counts’ sign that first appears in Season Two is directly inspired by the ‘Sense of Urgency’ sign, meant to invoke focus, organisation and expediency, that hangs in the restaurants of chef Thomas Keller — not least because both hang near clocks.
Keller isn’t the only high-profile chef to post a mantra that might have caught on with generations of industry workers. When chef Daniel Humm moved from Switzerland to San Francisco in 2003 to work as executive chef at Campton Place without knowing much English, he would say “make it nice” to connect with his team and to express what he needed, said a spokesperson for his restaurant
