A recent trip to Paris

[vmilor]

Two diners at l'Ambroisie on March 12 and March 19 respectively confirmed that this little gem continues to uphold the highest standards and it is the standard bearer of the nouvelle cuisine spirit today after the retirement of Joel Robuchon, the untimely death of Alain Chapel and the retirement of Pierre Troisgros whose kitchen is now managed by his son. At 56 years of age, Pacaud is not showing any sign of tiredness and has achieved a level of purity and seeming simplicity that, IMO has secured his place among the greatest chefs of the 20th century. I do not know any other restaurant, or I should call an institution, which is that consistent and this is a very exalted level consistency where the quality difference between the best dishes and others is so minimal. When having dinner at L'Ambroisie and savoring their truffe bel humeur one feels that everything is fine with the world and time is standing still. No need to show this off through decorative tricks a la Patrick Jouin(who decorated Plaza Athenee for Ducasse) by wrapping the chandeliers in hugh metallic organza to drive home a not too subtle message. Pacaud himself does not need such extra support as he let his cuisine speaks for itself for a fortunate group of diners most of whose become regulars.

Talking about Ducasse and his temple at the Plaza Athenee, there are good news. The ballroom has now been redesigned and is no more hiding what it really is("a luxurious ballroom")and making the best use of it. Gone are the silly things like the wrapping of chandeliers and now we have a more relaxed and luxurious setting with interesting panels and noteworthy silver sculptures from Folon which decorates each table. The cooking too, which had gone down a notch after the move to Plaza Athenee from the Poincare location, is back to form. Of the six dishes we have had, four of them were very good to exquisite, with the exception of a bit chewy scallops and a lackluster Limousin lamb. Clearly the new chef Christian Moret is proving to be a worthy successor to the talented Piege(now at Les Ambassadeurs) and he seems to be tuning down half notch Ducasse's quite baroque style Parisian cuisine without altering its luscious-decadently rich essence. We will be back.

But I don't think we(myself and my wife)will be back at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon My respect for the great chef whose cuisine I was priveleged to savor many times in the 80s notwithstanding, L'Atelier is a joke and a ludicrously expensive one at that. One mid sized and not so fresh scallop,clearly taken out of the shell long before it is served and then served in a shell (for more than 20 euros), a single langoustine in a ravioli which is a mushy mess (for more than 25 Euros), etc. The simple tartine de pied de porc with parmesan and truffle turned out to be the best dish, save for the fact that the two thin slices of truffles were inexcusably tasteless at a time (march 14)the truffles should have been at their peak. The spaghetti aux truffes featured the same precut and refrigerated poor quality truffles but fortunately the foie gras(not in the descriiption, a nice surprise)filling elevated this dish to a higher level. Overall L'Atelier comes across as an assembly line operation and clearly the management can plant as many Ateliers as they want in all corners of the world given that all their disrespect for prime ingredients. But I suppose Robuchon deserves to cash on his well deserved reputation but I can not justify the inclusion of two good chefs, Lecerf of ex-Astor and Braun of ex-Laurent in this operation. Both of these chefs were present during our lunch.

A much better and cheaper(though not cheap)and light lunch alternative in Paris by the way is a Japanese sushi place called Isamiin Ile Saint Louis. Absolutely pristine quality sushi. There are not too many tables so reservations are recommended. They speak a little French.

[docsconz]

That is disheartening to hear about Robuchon. Any other recent experiences to indicate a trend or was it simply an off day?

[robert brown]

Vedat, do you know the status of the new Robuchon in the 16th? I would only take exception to your saying that Robuchon deserves to cash in with these Ateliers. He won't be doing any of it with my wallet, on top of which he shhould have a legacy to protect. He's taking a big fall in my eyes, and while I haven't had completely negative experiences at one visit to the Paris Atelier and two or three to the Monaco one, they best illustrate where certain high-profile chefs and restaurants are today on both sides of the Atlantic. I suspect that the new Paris Robuchon is like the one in Monaco: a sit-at-a-table place.

You should check in more often here.

[vmilor]

Robert, I have not been on the place at the 16th which is the old Seize sur Seize. Lizzie did and reported that the cooking as essentially the same as the L'Atelier. Except one sits at the table.

Personally it did not bother me to sit at the counter as we wanted to see the "Pharoah"exhibit and I wanted to have a quick lunch. However, I could not as somebody recognized me and they brought several complementary desserts, basically everything the restaurant had. There was also one Turkish waiter so we chatted and chatted. My understanding is that Robuchon and his billionare Greek partner want to create a McRobuchon, in most metropololitan areas and in all these places the offering will essentially be the same. Obviously, if L'Atelier were in Atlanta, it would still shine but in Paris it has no raison d'etre. This may be why we have only heard English and Japanese spoken. French are not patronizing the restaurant.

[Culinista]

Thanks for the good news that ADPA is still up to snuff. Did they also get rid of those silly blown-up photos of runway models? I always felt like I was eating in a Gap catalog.

I agree on L'Atelier, although I never had the privilege of trying Robuchon in his heydey. We were so down after our experience there that we did not even consider Robuchon-Taillevent in Tokyo. Black pork tonkatsu at Maisen sounded like a much better idea at the time.

We'll make a point of going back to L'Ambrosie on our upcoming trip.

[vmilor]

Thanks for the good news that ADPA is still up to snuff. Did they also get rid of those silly blown-up photos of runway models? I always felt like I was eating in a Gap catalog.

Oops they did not. But I thought the girl was good looking. Linda thought the guy was good looking. I thought they introduced an element of humor and light heartedness.

Robert--I stand by my statement that Robuchon deserves to cash in. He was the perfectionist's perfectionist. We are now living in an era where many young chefs with a short stage in a faddish place learn a few gimmicks and start their own shops and sometime they even attain glory at a young age if they know how to feel the pulse of the restaurant going public. So why not Robuchon who is, with no doubt, one of the giants of the culinary scene in this century? Can't he just sit and relax and count his cash at the end of the day? I, for one, remember the lunch menus for 140 FF that he used to have(about $14 in 1985) and I am glad to return the favor.

[docsconz]

I don't begrudge anyone like Robuchon cashing in. I just wish he would do it with quality. The restaurant was on my list for my upcoming Paris trip, but now I think I'll avoid it. We'll see what happens between now and then. I never got to try his cooking in his heyday so this is truly disappointing news.

[Carlsbad]

His table restaurant was on my list of possibles for the next trip, too. Does everyone have this rather dismal view?

[pim]

His table restaurant was on my list of possibles for the next trip, too.  Does everyone have this rather dismal view?

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Yes.

[docsconz]

An interesting contrast to the discussion here of The Atelier de Joel Robuchon is presented by Mark Bittman of The New York Times (Registration required).

He actually considers it a bargain.

[Culinista]

This reminds me of the later screen performances of Marlon Brando or recent DeNiro. Disappointing, but I can't blame them for cashing in.

Unlike the silver screen, where great performances can live on after the performer retires from greatness, food is now. I'm not lucky enough to have fond memories of eating at a master's table for 140FF. How I wish I were. I can only imagine what Robuchon was like at his peak, because the food at L'Atelier betrays absolutely no hint as to why highly honed palates like yours hold him in such high esteem.

Maybe the principle of cashing is morally defensible in the abstract, but we are talking about 100+ euros per person, not an $8 movie ticket. No wonder I felt like I'd had my pocket picked at that crowded counter.

Not that I haven't overpaid for overhyped food before, but somehow it's sadder when it's done in an illustrious name. I'm all for a comfortable retirement, but often the cost of cashing in is to cannibalize your own legend.

[John Talbott]

His table restaurant was on my list of possibles for the next trip, too.  Does everyone have this rather dismal view?

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Yes.

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I think that while most critics and commentators like the food - the prices, ambience (or lack of it), seating and doors that only open from inside - have put off most of us serial-eaters there. I read Bittman's piece as not so positive, see the Digest today. So many great places to go, why waste time on imperfection?

[vmilor]

.

Unlike the silver screen, where great performances can live on after the performer retires from greatness, food is now. I'm not lucky enough to have fond memories of eating at a master's table for 140FF. How I wish I were. I can only imagine what Robuchon was like at his peak, because the food at L'Atelier betrays absolutely no hint as to why highly honed palates like yours hold him in such high esteem.

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Oh, well. I wish I had not had this "luck"and were 10 years younger. So we can trade places and be both "happy".

Not that I haven't overpaid for overhyped food before, but somehow it's sadder when it's done in an illustrious name. I'm all for a comfortable retirement, but often the cost of cashing in is to cannibalize your own legend.

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Of course. I was kind of making this comment "tongue in cheek" and as a reference to the modern times where opportunism is, in general, justified when it works(esp. in the Anglo-Saxon world I should add...but is now being exported to the rest of the world in the name of globalization). I am glad that 2 good friends, you and Robert, reacted in the way I was hoping to hear.

[Joe H]

Having eaten your way through San Sebastian, Calandre, etc. which two or three restaurants/areas do you prefer right now? One priority would be for a dinner that would be a true "wow" experience, a sensorial awakening if you will. Where would you go for this? A second (and different) priority would be for sumptuous indulgence and pampering. Where for this?

Also, I once wrote about a 2,000 year old Roman era furnace about 50 km northwest of Genoa. Have you ever been there? It has a Michelin star but was just an extraordinary experience. Unfortunately it's so far out of the way that I will probably not return.

Last, do you ever come to Washington? There is a restaurant here, Maestro, that I believe challenges Calandre. It's chef, Fabio Trabocchi, was twice nominated for the Rising Star Beard award (same age as Massimiliano) and now is nominated for the Mid Atlantic. My guess is that if he was in New York he would have won the Rising Star and be nominated for the national chef of the year this year. Fabio has been to Calandre; recommended Uliassi to me as a close second to it although I haven't been yet. If you're ever here I would enjoy meeting you and sharing this with you.

I, too, wish I was ten years younger (I'm 58).

[little ms foodie]

We had an o.k. meal at L'Atelier last July but it isn't a place we'll go back to. Here is what I wrote in a trip report:

<<This was my 6th trip to Paris and my husbands 3rd. The first night we all went to dinner at L'Atelier Joel Robouchon. We were very excited as the press has been so good. We showed up early, around 7pm but the counter was full with a 1 1/2 hour wait so we took the small counter facing the window/backs to the counter.

The restaurant is gorgeous but from the get go the service sucked! We all had champagne then wine and 2-3 small plates each. All of us thought the food was VERY good. Some of the things we had that really stood out were the gazpacho, sorel broth with asparagus, monkfish and the famous potatoes which came with the pork chops. Even though we raved about the ingrediants and presentation all thought the small plates were REALLY small. This was tapas size not tasting menu size. It was very overpriced for the servings and the bad service. Glad I got to go to see for myself but I won't be back.>>

[Joe H]

http://www.chowhound.com/boards/intl5/messages/19460.html

This is the report that I posted on another board two years ago, a week or so after it opened. It is interesting to read the various comments today and relate them to my impressions then.

[vmilor]

Some people I trust reported that l'Atelier was much better right after its opening and has declined steadily. I guess they are trying to figure out the limits of the possible within some boundaries, i.e. how much they can compromise from quality without losing clients. It still works, thanks to a combination of factors: Robuchon's name, curiosity of people who never ate at Robuchon, possibility to dine solo without raising eyebrows, international athmosphere which welcomes foreigners, small size portions, gorgeous receptionist, stylish attire of the servers, good PR and relations with the media, possibility to get out quickly if you are in a hurry(they prefer it this way), fine wines by glasses, etc.

My best guess is that they are run according to a corporate mentality with 20 someting MBAs who put pressure on their supply chains for ever cheaper prices and steady delivery of ingredients irrespective of seasons as they are only concerned about the corporate "bottom line". They want to generalize this model as a toned down version of 3 star cooking for contemporary diners. Their is a gap between portrayal and delivery. To me, to borrow from Marc diBiaso, this is a gourmet McDonald model. They have some fine ingredients but they preslice things(like truffles and parmesan) which should not be presliced to speed up the delivery time. L'Atelier, in the last analysis, is not a French restaurant. It is an American restaurant. With some "Japanese" makeup of course which is "de rigueur" nowdays but this will not impress somebody like "culinista" who knows one or two things about Japanese cuisine and culture.

I found that the servers were under the instruction to either push the client to order more or get him/her out to maximize turnover. It works. I won't be surprised if some management consultant wise kids came up with the model and recommended the seating arrangements, including the outside sliding doors which opens only one way. Oh...so exclusive

Joe, great to hear from you. I would love to come to DC if I can and visit friends/favorites and the one you mention. I am writing at the blog below with Degusto and there are some lenghty reviews. I will soon write a long review of Venice which may interest you. I(most everybody who cares about Italian cooking) would like to hear about your new discoveries too. Have you tried Da Vittorio in Bergamo?

[Joe H]

Some people I trust reported that l'Atelier was much better right after its opening and has declined  steadily.  I guess they are trying to figure out the limits of the possible within some boundaries, i.e. how much they can compromise from quality without losing clients. It still works, thanks to a combination of factors: Robuchon's name, curiosity of people who never ate at Robuchon, possibility to dine solo  without raising eyebrows, international athmosphere which welcomes foreigners, small size portions, gorgeous receptionist, stylish attire of the servers, good PR and relations with the media, possibility to get out quickly if you are in a hurry(they prefer it this way), fine wines by glasses, etc.

My best guess is that they are run according to a corporate mentality with 20 someting MBAs who put pressure on their supply chains for ever cheaper prices and steady delivery of ingredients irrespective of seasons as they are only concerned about the corporate "bottom line". They want to generalize this model as a toned down version of 3 star cooking for contemporary diners.  Their is a gap between portrayal and delivery.  To me, to borrow from Marc diBiaso, this is a gourmet McDonald model. They have some fine ingredients but they preslice things(like truffles and parmesan) which should not be presliced to speed up the delivery time. L'Atelier, in the last analysis, is not a French restaurant. It is an American restaurant.  With some "Japanese" makeup of course which is "de rigueur" nowdays but this will not impress somebody like "culinista" who knows one or two things about Japanese cuisine and culture.

I found that the servers were under the instruction to either push the client to order more or get him/her out to maximize turnover. It works. I won't be surprised if some management consultant wise kids came up with the model and recommended the seating arrangements, including the outside sliding doors which opens only one way. Oh...so exclusive

Joe, great to hear from you.  I would love to come to DC if I can and visit friends/favorites and the one you mention. I am writing at the blog below with Degusto and there are some lenghty reviews. I will soon write a long review of Venice which may interest you. I(most everybody who cares about Italian cooking) would like to hear about your new discoveries too.  Have you tried Da Vittorio in Bergamo?

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Fantastic blog! A real pleasure to read. And Berkeley! I was accepted there....in '68..... (!) but didn't go for financial reasons-I lived on the East Coast and the rest is a story for wine. I have not been to da Vittorio-yet. But I will go. I also probably agree with your 18 for Calandre. I would actually have given it a 16 four years ago, topping out at 18.5 in December of '03 and a shade lower based on this past December. My best meals have been as much about opportunism and extraordinary circumstances as much as the restaurant itself. (A dinner at El Raco de Can Fabes on a night when a visiting two star chef sat next to us. We asked to be served what he was served. Almost five hours later and about 18 courses this was a meal I could not duplicate four nights later when I returned with friends.) Still, your recent Spanish trip really intrigues me-SanSebastian is a town/area that I MUST visit.

My current obsession with Italy is the walled town of Soave and using this as a base for exploration. http://www.hotelroxyplaza.it/index.html is an interesting link for a four star hotel (E110/night for a jr suite in a totally restored building). Also, it's ground zero for the wine consortium with several interesting restaurants.

Edited April 19, 2005 by Bux (log)

[John Whiting]

L'Atelier is a joke and a ludicrously expensive one at that.

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I came to that conclusion two years ago.

[vmilor]

Joe,

I just read your superb l'Atelier review. I have just finished mine which will be on the blog(after I edit it) so I was trying not to get influenced. But clearly the prices are up(now a single langoustine at 25 Euro)and the quality is down. When I visited, Robuchon was not there.

I always stay in Verona(when we visit Calandre) and once we stayed at one of the villa Pisanis near Padua for an extremely reasonable price. We tried La Peca, originally recommended by Craig and it is really very good. I also had a very good meal at Perbellini--who may one day get a third star. Have you tried Trattoria Pompiere in Verona. They have the best salumi/prosciutto/lardo selection in the world.

Personally I don't understand how email works in egullet anymore. When something gets too complicated technically I give up as I hate to lose time with computers and essentially I don't even like email as a tool of correspondance(I always call my friends)but one has to put up!

Thanks for the very nice word on our blog. Hopefully it will get richer and better and all written comments there are welcome. Also check out recipes by Mikael or degusto. We have actually tried your sweet gorgonzola risotto recipe with pistachios (I used Turkish pistachios which are fantastic) with the rice they gave me at Dal Pescatore and it was fantastic.

[vmilor]

L'Atelier is a joke and a ludicrously expensive one at that.

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I came to that conclusion two years ago.

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Not surprising and I am glad to follow your foodsteps. I will be puzzled if we disagree John.

By the way I may be in Paris for a few days in May. Do you have some new discoveries and recommendations?

[Bux]

I am the minority voice here. I ate at l'Atelier de JR last September under less than ideal conditions -- we had a baby and one of us at a time spent part of our meal walking him outside the restaurant -- thus it's hard for me to complain about any of the impositions imposed by the nature of the concept and design. A formal sit down meal for the four of us was out of the question. Even a lunch at Aux Lyonnais was difficult together. The counter made it easy for one of us to come and go and the staff handled that quite well.

I thought the dishes I ate were rather exquisite. Of course we didn't dine in the sense I've come to think of fine dining, but the food I ate was not at all disappointing. Interestingly enough on that trip we met a French chef with a restaurant in Venezuela who had worked in NY. He was visiting relatives in Paris, but he had been in Paris earlier in the year to spend some time in the kitchen at l'Atelier. He too was most impressed with the operation. It is what it is, in terms of a restaurant. I'm not the first to be very pleased by the food, and I trust I'll not be the last.

Yes the whole operation is an affront to French restaurants, and perhaps the very tiny segment of the Parisian polulation who might ever eat at a three star restaurant is ignoring l'Atelier for any number of reasons, but I suspect it has no place in their pace of life, rather than that they're acting as gastronomic critic. As a destination restaurant it is a curiosity offering none of the customary comforts of a destination restaurant. It's never likely to have a star, and certain never more than one. So it gets a strange crowd and that may doom it more than anything else.

[Jonathan Day]

Some people I trust reported that l'Atelier was much better right after its opening and has declined  steadily.  ...  My best guess is that they are run according to a corporate mentality with 20 something MBAs who put pressure on their supply chains for ever cheaper prices and steady delivery of ingredients irrespective of seasons as they are only concerned about the corporate "bottom line". They want to generalize this model as a toned down version of 3 star cooking for contemporary diners.  Their is a gap between portrayal and delivery.  To me, to borrow from Marc diBiaso, this is a gourmet McDonald model. ...

I found that the servers were under the instruction to either push the client to order more or get him/her out to maximize turnover. It works. I won't be surprised if some management consultant wise kids came up with the model and recommended the seating arrangements, including the outside sliding doors which opens only one way.

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I hope that even though I am one of these dastardly management consultants my views won't be written off.

In my experience it is very difficult to create a restaurant, or any business, that communicates the kind of attention to the quality of product or service that one experiences at a place like L'Ambroisie. Sadly, it is very easy to go the other way. You can get things wrong either, as Vedat suggests, by focusing on the bottom line rather than the product itself, or (and this is more common) simply by getting things wrong, in other words by not paying attention to detail, getting sloppy about standards and quality, etc. In most cases, the businesses that do this tend to be unprofitable as well. There may be exceptions for restaurants and hotels aimed at single-visit tourists, where mediocre delivery doesn't cramp demand even though customers rarely return.

Paradoxically, it's often a good recipe for a business to ignore the bottom line, for the most part, and to focus almost exclusively on delivery and the customer. Of course someone needs to look at the financial output of the business: if the balance sheet doesn't balance or the P&L is persistently in the red, the company will close. But most employees' attention should be focused elsewhere.

That's the advice I tend to give my clients -- but then, I'm neither the holder of an MBA nor 20-something any longer.

[vmilor]

Some people I trust reported that l'Atelier was much better right after its opening and has declined  steadily.  ...  My best guess is that they are run according to a corporate mentality with 20 something MBAs who put pressure on their supply chains for ever cheaper prices and steady delivery of ingredients irrespective of seasons as they are only concerned about the corporate "bottom line". They want to generalize this model as a toned down version of 3 star cooking for contemporary diners.  Their is a gap between portrayal and delivery.  To me, to borrow from Marc diBiaso, this is a gourmet McDonald model. ...

I found that the servers were under the instruction to either push the client to order more or get him/her out to maximize turnover. It works. I won't be surprised if some management consultant wise kids came up with the model and recommended the seating arrangements, including the outside sliding doors which opens only one way.

←

I hope that even though I am one of these dastardly management consultants my views won't be written off.

In my experience it is very difficult to create a restaurant, or any business, that communicates the kind of attention to the quality of product or service that one experiences at a place like L'Ambroisie. Sadly, it is very easy to go the other way. You can get things wrong either, as Vedat suggests, by focusing on the bottom line rather than the product itself, or (and this is more common) simply by getting things wrong, in other words by not paying attention to detail, getting sloppy about standards and quality, etc. In most cases, the businesses that do this tend to be unprofitable as well. There may be exceptions for restaurants and hotels aimed at single-visit tourists, where mediocre delivery doesn't cramp demand even though customers rarely return.

Paradoxically, it's often a good recipe for a business to ignore the bottom line, for the most part, and to focus almost exclusively on delivery and the customer. Of course someone needs to look at the financial output of the business: if the balance sheet doesn't balance or the P&L is persistently in the red, the company will close. But most employees' attention should be focused elsewhere.

That's the advice I tend to give my clients -- but then, I'm neither the holder of an MBA nor 20-something any longer.

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I think I should separate mentality from profession. Given certain incentives at place, management consultancy profession, esp. its high end which I will call "strategic consultancy"(Jonathan correct me if I am wrong) does attract some of the best and brightest in the US and I expect the 3 or so top firms to be especially careful in their recruitement policy and not to promote the type of mentality that I think encapsulates the type of business practice I attributed to l'Atelier. On a personal level I will actually make the more dashing comment(nobody should take personally) that those in management consultancy, esp. it they made it to the partnership status in the 3 or so firm I mentioned, are more rounded, intellectual, artistically sensitive and interesting(a subjective opinion)people than the academic professors with whom I interact. So it will be an "ecological fallacy" to deduce personal characteristics from a structural feature I attributed to the management consultant practice. On the other hand, management consultants mostly hire MBAs and "cost cutting" seems to be the first thing in mind that these 20 somethings focus when they get their hand dirty in the field. I have a strong hunch that L'Atelier restaurants are more preoccupied with the rationalization and standardization of their supply chain today than other aspects of business. Given the paucity of gourmets who can judge ingredients among their international clientele, and given the fact that they delivered at a higher level when they began and built some goodwill, their business model may work just fine. But their will always be some minority voices like mine, or Whiting's, or Marc's, or Mikael's, or Robert,s etc. who will cry "foul" from the sidelines.

[Jonathan Day]

Some people I trust reported that l'Atelier was much better right after its opening and has declined  steadily.  ...  My best guess is that they are run according to a corporate mentality with 20 something MBAs who put pressure on their supply chains for ever cheaper prices and steady delivery of ingredients irrespective of seasons as they are only concerned about the corporate "bottom line". They want to generalize this model as a toned down version of 3 star cooking for contemporary diners.  Their is a gap between portrayal and delivery.  To me, to borrow from Marc diBiaso, this is a gourmet McDonald model. ...

I found that the servers were under the instruction to either push the client to order more or get him/her out to maximize turnover. It works. I won't be surprised if some management consultant wise kids came up with the model and recommended the seating arrangements, including the outside sliding doors which opens only one way.

←

I hope that even though I am one of these dastardly management consultants my views won't be written off.

In my experience it is very difficult to create a restaurant, or any business, that communicates the kind of attention to the quality of product or service that one experiences at a place like L'Ambroisie. Sadly, it is very easy to go the other way. You can get things wrong either, as Vedat suggests, by focusing on the bottom line rather than the product itself, or (and this is more common) simply by getting things wrong, in other words by not paying attention to detail, getting sloppy about standards and quality, etc. In most cases, the businesses that do this tend to be unprofitable as well. There may be exceptions for restaurants and hotels aimed at single-visit tourists, where mediocre delivery doesn't cramp demand even though customers rarely return.

Paradoxically, it's often a good recipe for a business to ignore the bottom line, for the most part, and to focus almost exclusively on delivery and the customer. Of course someone needs to look at the financial output of the business: if the balance sheet doesn't balance or the P&L is persistently in the red, the company will close. But most employees' attention should be focused elsewhere.

That's the advice I tend to give my clients -- but then, I'm neither the holder of an MBA nor 20-something any longer.

←

I think I should separate mentality from profession. Given certain incentives at place, management consultancy profession, esp. its high end which I will call "strategic consultancy"(Jonathan correct me if I am wrong) does attract some of the best and brightest in the US and I expect the 3 or so top firms to be especially careful in their recruitement policy and not to promote the type of mentality that I think encapsulates the type of business practice I attributed to l'Atelier. On a personal level I will actually make the more dashing comment(nobody should take personally) that those in management consultancy, esp. it they made it to the partnership status in the 3 or so firm I mentioned, are more rounded, intellectual, artistically sensitive and interesting(a subjective opinion)people than the academic professors with whom I interact. So it will be an "ecological fallacy" to deduce personal characteristics from a structural feature I attributed to the management consultant practice. On the other hand, management consultants mostly hire MBAs and "cost cutting" seems to be the first thing in mind that these 20 somethings focus when they get their hand dirty in the field. I have a strong hunch that L'Atelier restaurants are more preoccupied with the rationalization and standardization of their supply chain today than other aspects of business. Given the paucity of gourmets who can judge ingredients among their international clientele, and given the fact that they delivered at a higher level when they began and built some goodwill, their business model may work just fine. But their will always be some minority voices like mine, or Whiting's, or Marc's, or Mikael's, or Robert,s etc. who will cry "foul" from the sidelines.

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The top firms charge so much for their services that it's highly unlikely that any restaurant, outside of a big chain like McDonald's, could afford to hire them. Unless a business has a turnover of (roughly) $1bn/year, the firms at the top of the profession won't be particularly interested in them. And I can assure you that "cost cutting" is not at all a favourite activity, either for the partners or for those 20-something MBAs.

I do think Vedat is onto something: an exceedingly commercial focus, one that says, "charge every penny that the market will bear" and "reduce costs until the customers start to defect." While correct from an caricatured view of economic rationality and opportunism (one that says, e.g. that I would pick the pockets of my dinner guests if I didn't fear getting caught), this kind of behaviour is almost never good business.

But I don't see this as having much to do with management consultants! Most of the top firms do a lot of work generating customer loyalty. Here's Bain: "Strategically align the interests and energies of employees, customers, suppliers and investors, in a self-reinforcing cycle". McKinsey, Monitor, BCG would all say similar things.

You could argue that it's private equity firms (which are more likely to be involved with restaurant groups) that are to blame: see this cogent essay by the British economist, John Kay.

In any event, I suggest we get back to Paris and the food...