Finding the joy of service with Milk Bar's Christina Tosi and restaurateur Will Guidara
Nov 5, 2024
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Christina Tosi, a James Beard award-winning chef and author, joins her partner Will Guidara, a top restaurateur known for transforming Eleven Madison Park. They discuss the transformative power of service in both the culinary world and personal life. Listeners learn about the concept of 'unreasonable hospitality' and the importance of thoughtful gestures. They also emphasize nurturing workplace culture for employee fulfillment and reflect on how meaningful connections enhance the dining experience. With humor, they share personal stories about success and the joy of relationships.
Christina Tosi and Will Guidara emphasize that genuine hospitality is rooted in exceeding guests' expectations through intentional and thoughtful gestures.
Their philosophy highlights the importance of nurturing meaningful relationships over transactional obligations, fostering joy and lasting impressions in every interaction.
Deep dives
The Concept of Unreasonable Hospitality
Unreasonable hospitality is the idea of providing experiences that exceed expectations through intentional and thoughtful gestures. Will Gadara and Christina Tosi, experts in food and restaurant culture, showcase how their approach to service transforms the dining experience. They emphasize the importance of making guests feel seen and valued, with memorable acts like serving a New York hot dog at a fine dining restaurant to enhance a guest's culinary journey. This concept serves as a guiding principle in their work and personal lives, illustrating that joy and hospitality go hand in hand.
Deliberate Care in Business Practices
The duo discusses the significance of nurturing relationships over merely fulfilling transactional obligations in hospitality. This philosophy involves understanding customer needs and desires deeply to deliver more than just a standard service. Tosi reflects on her upbringing, where her family instilled the value of making life magical for others by crafting meaningful experiences. By framing their work through a lens of care, both Tosi and Gadara argue that meaningful interactions can result in lasting impressions on their patrons.
Creating Joyful Experiences for Guests
Gadara recounts a memorable instance where he recreated a beach vacation for a family whose trip was canceled due to poor weather. He transformed a private dining room into a beach-like setting with sand, a kiddie pool, and tropical drinks, showcasing how to bring joy to others through creativity. This energetic gesture illustrates the heart of their hospitality approach—that it’s about crafting impactful memories rather than simply serving food. By focusing on such unique experiences, they encourage people to seek out joy in unexpected places.
The Ripple Effect of Generosity
The conversation emphasizes the idea that genuine acts of kindness often yield a ripple effect, influencing both customers and employees to embrace hospitality. Will and Christina believe that if team members receive thoughtful gestures, they are likely to replicate this behavior with patrons, thus creating a positive culture. This reinforces the notion that generosity is about treating people better than they expect without needing anything in return. The iterative process fosters an environment of joy and satisfaction, impactful not just on a personal level but across the broader community.
Christina Tosi and Will Guidara have found many winning recipes — in food, business and love. Christina is the chef-owner at Milk Bar, a James Beard award winner and the author of multiple cookbooks. Will transformed Eleven Madison Park into a three-Michelin-star restaurant ranked among the world's best. The power couple joins Adam to share remarkable stories about their hospitality and food empires — and they share the secret sauce to their success: a commitment to serving others before yourself.
Available transcripts for ReThinking can be found at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts