Service with a sneer

[Andy Lynes]

In a controversial article for Waitrose Food Illustrated, chef Richard Corrigan accuses restaurants that add supplements to dishes of "being greedy" and "exploiting their customers' naiveté" and says that the use of asparagus out of season is "a sign that the kitchen simply doesn't care." He goes on to claim that "My hope is that people will leave my restaurant thinking they were well looked after. To achieve that, you have to get the right staff. I look for people who are happy to be themselves and at home with the concept of service."

But do Corrigan's arguements stand up under scrutiny?

Many restaurants who charge less than Corrigan's hefty £48.00 for three courses are forced to levy a supplement when serving luxury ingredients like langoustine and foie gras; its not greed, just simple maths.

Equally, not all top chefs adhere strictly to the seasons, more a matter of choice on their part than a sign of not caring about their customers. Shaun Hill for example regularly served asparagus out of season at The Merchant House - believing that seasonality in the modern world of efficient global transportation is as much about what you want to eat at any given time of the year as what is available from local suppliers - and no one would accuse Hill of not caring.

Service at Corrigan's Lindsay House has been criticised by at least one guide which says that "there can be ‘really serious problems with service’. Staff have been labelled ‘rude’ & accused of basic errors such as pouring sediment into wine glasses – ‘not something you expect from a Michelin-starred restaurant’." I myself suffered a poor service experience at the hands of one of Corrigan's former maitre'ds.

Physician, heal thyself?

[Dirk Wheelan]

He's right about Nico, et al, although customers shouldn't take the piss either.

I'm not sure what his point is about supplements though. Presumably, he's talking about prix fixe menus, in which case it does seem a little contradictory to have a fixed price if several of the dishes available exceed that price. The effect of this, I suppose, is that the supplemented items are also the most attractive, and customers end up choosing them and spending more money than they'd originally been led to believe. Pretty annoying practice.

As regards seasonality, most chefs lack the repertoire these days to deal with seasonal stuff, including at the top end. It's easier to warble on about the global market than to actually change your menu regularly, especially if you're busy filming or consulting with your ghost writer (btw, this is not aimed a Shaun Hill, who's earned the right to use asparagus whenever he damn well pleases).

He's right about waiting staff too. They just get worse and worse. Perhaps it's the lack of recognition, at least relative to chefs. I mean, their job is fundamental to the whole dining experience, but can anyone name any celebrity waiters?

[Paula Jonvik]

I read this post just before I hit the hay tonight.

I made myself get back out of bed, fire up the infernal dial up- smoke 2 cigarettes waiting for the page to load, just so I could say...

Silvano Giraldin.

[Matthew Grant]

What? Silvano Giraldin is charging supplements and serving out of season ingredients?

[Conor]

Blimey, i get the feeling this thread will provoke a lot of response, so i will try to stay as impartial as possible.

As far as i can see it there are three main "accusations".

1. Adding on supplements on menus

2. seasonality of ingredients

3. ability of English service staff

As far as supplements are concerned, i agree to a point. If you charge already £48 for your menu, then there should be nothing that can add to that. But then what about the people who are doing as good a menu as Richard Corrigan for £22, their margins may be far less, their dining room less sulubrious, their PR less effective, they could justify a lobster/kobe beef suppl. Basically it comes down to one fact: are you getting value for money? if you are, with or without a supplement then go for it.

As far as seasonality is concerned, there is a lot to be said for Shaun Hill's view and lets face it, it is probably quicker to get an asparagus spear from South Africa today than it was to get it from Oxfordshire a few years ago. What i believe is far more important nowadays in terms of sustaining our agricultural economy and preserving our country's future health and education when it comes to food, is locality.

As for the last point, well i could go on for ever. I once did a presentation to some senior figures from the hospitality industry. I listed 8 famous restaurants and asked the panel to name the chefs and the restaurant managers. It was no suprise that all chefs were named straight away and not one could name a restaurant manager.

You could talk about the why's and wherefores of the service industry in the UK until you are blue in the face but ultimately it comes down to 2 main factors. Firstly we do not have a service culture, and have never had. The upstairs downstairs mentality will always remain, yet we are happy for our children to stack shelves in tesco's but not to become a chef de rang in a good local restaurant. This stems from one thing, i believe. The vast majority of parents do not stay at the Ritz, they do not eat at Locatelli's or Ramsayas or Aikens. They can't picture Claridges. They do know on the other hand, the 2* b&b outside Chester, and the shit restaurant down the road that microwaves everything and then serves chips with it. Would you want your kids to work in places like that.

Until we can promote an education on quality of ingredient and quality of service to the furthest points outside London, we will always suffer this service issue.

I must say, however, that i find it very suprising that Richard Corrigan has decided to pigeon-hole and steryotype some very large countries in Europe. I have had some wonderful staff and some awful staff from all the countries he mentions. At the end of the day, human nature knows no geographical boundries.

[erica graham]

Hmm

Menu supplements, yes I hate them, especially on a short choice prix fixe menu, because they are always against the dish I want, but I will not order them on principle ( and yes I would cut off my own nose etc ...)

However, if as a small restaurant, you are offered some amazing produce that you want to serve, but will not cost out you are left with a problem. We solve it by adding the dish on as a "special" on top of all the other dishes on the menu, in an attempt to look like we aren't taking the michael. Seems not to offend when I take the time to be upfront about the reason behind the supplement ie I simply tell people that its the only way we can afford to put the dish on.

Staffing and service I think will be a point of issue in all countries and at all levels. Rudeness, arrogance, bad training and dis-interst can all be pigeonholed together and can rear thier ugly heads in the most surprising places. You quite simply can't catagorize which country produce the best and worst staff, because they all do.

Brainwashing kids from an early age that the service industry can be good to work in might work- we do alot in conjuction with our local school (including having the whole food tech class for lunch in the restaurant) to show that working in a restaurant can be something to be passionate about and proud of, but to be honest even my own mother never likes having to tell her friends that I married a chef!!!!! I suppose it is typically English to think that working in catering is something you do between college and a "real job". (Unless you are a TV chef, but that qualifies you as a celebrity and therefore OK!!)

[Winot]

Conor's right in my view - a lot of bad UK service comes down to class issues.