Two-time James Beard-winning chef Traci Des Jardins finds the customer experience “disorienting” at some of today’s trendiest restaurants—in spite of being indisputably a trendsetter herself. The problem, says the San Francisco restaurateur (and former Iron Chef and Top Chef Masters contestant) is a shift to a “narcissistic” model of dining and customer service.
It's puzzling to me when I go out to dinner sometimes; it’s certainly not the same sort of hospitality that I practice. Waitstaff come to the table and say, in essence, “Let me tell you how we do things here,” even to the point of saying “this is how you're supposed to eat [a dish]”; it’s not about “what kind of experience do you want to have?” but “this is the experience that we want you to have.”
Chef Traci Des Jardins • Photo Credit: FrankenyImages.com
Des Jardins’ puzzlement didn’t surprise me, as her own hospitality approach is so palpably customer-centered. Des Jardins is not only a cooking wizard, as her awards and every biteful at her six restaurants prove (for example, the melt-in-your-mouth tapas at The Commissary, where Top Chef was recently staged and which The San Francisco Chronicle this week named one of San Francisco’s Top 100 restaurants), but a stalwart of customer-centered hospitality.
My philosophy has always been to teach the service staff in my restaurants to give the guest the experience that they want to have, rather than having it be all about the restaurant and the chef and what they want to project to you. Though it is important for what’s unique about a chef and restaurant to shine, but I think the experience should always be dictated by what the guest wants to eat and experience.
To pull this off, she says, “you have to listen well and be nimble”; customer desires range widely depending on the customer and the occasion. “They may be looking for a simple bite and a glass of wine or they may want to sit for six and a half hours and have an elaborate, multi-course experience. I feel that most of my restaurants can provide that range of experiences, and pulling this off is part of what makes our jobs fun.”
Each of Des Jardins’ six restaurants has its own service vibe, from her flagship of fine dining, Jardinière, to the semi-formal Commissary, to the casual Public House, to the quick-service Transit. But in all of them, she advocates and strives to deliver this flexibility, this attitude of “if we have it in house and can make it happen for the customer, we will.”
As far as food, though Des Jardins is known for her flavor choices and strong sourcing preferences, she doesn’t override guest preferences. “We'll do everything we can to get the guest what they want. With no judgment! If somebody likes their meat well done, though that's not the way I cook my meat, I don't have any judgment about that request. Ditto on gluten and vegetarian preferences.”
Entrepreneurial lessons
Not too many chefs (and, undeniably, even fewer female chefs) have achieved the kind of diversified restaurant empire that Des Jardins has. I asked her to explore with me some of the lessons and challenges she has had along the way:
- Staying on top of the numbers and the regulations Thus far I haven't had to close a restaurant. Along the way there has certainly been bumps in the road. Believe it or not, compliance [with food safety regulations] and other regulatory issues are among the most challenging issues; the rules are always changing and you have to stay on top of it and make sure the business side of things is taken care of. Being in business is a challenge: you really have to stay on top of your numbers and you have to be a business person in addition to being a creative chef.
- Being an ethical owner Food and wage costs as well are significant, but not something I would ever skimp on. In fact, we’ve been doing 100% healthcare for close to ten years now. We made the decision to commit fully toward that direction at the height of the post-9/11 recession, in fact. I said to my team, “This is important; being in business is about more than what I put in my pocket, and I would rather close my doors than run a business in America that doesn’t support the health and security of my workers.
- The importance of empowering your staff and management team Having a team—the right team—is essential. 20 years ago, 30 years ago the role of a chef/owner of the restaurant was to be n their restaurant every night and every service. The industry has changed dramatically, with most of the leading chefs in the country having multiple restaurants. With that comes you running your restaurants absentee and who's in it becomes absolutely essential that you have a crew that can run without you. That they're educated, empowered, that they know what to do to make things happen in your absence. That's just become the norm and so yeah you know team is what it's all about. We're only as good as the team that we have with us.
Being a woman in this industry
I spent some time talking with Des Jardins about what it is like being a woman in this business. Covering this industry for years, I’ve long been aware of the inherent – often blatant – sexism in the restaurant business, and was wondering about her own in-the-trenches perspective.
I feel incredibly fortunate; look at the statistics and how many women are there out there that have multiple restaurants—not many. There are several of us, but you could name four times the number of men who have achieved multiple restaurants and great success. I think the answer here is connections; men have had, greater access to connections–and funding. I wouldn’t necessarily call it intentional discrimination, but there’s just greater opportunities if you’re within the so-called ‘boys’ club.”
I think though, that also here lies the secret for women who want to make it in this business: rely on the feminine knack for openly sharing with others and see where it leads. I think we [women] are much more apt to share information. I always make a point to reach out to young women that I see are coming up in the ranks. I go over and say, "If you ever need anything, let me know" and share information. Because that has worked so well for me, myself: A lot of the learning and education in this business I've gotten has been through colleagues in the industry and connections to people through friendship. I can call any number of people and ask a question and they will share incredibly valuable information with me.
Ageism
In spite of her generally sunny outlook on discrimination/lack thereof in her younger years as a woman, she is less sunny about ageism, and how it starts to affect her and other women as they grow older.
The other thing is I feel for sure, I have not felt a great deal of discrimination in my younger years except for the fact that I worked with all males and was always one of the only woman around and so on and so forth. As a woman who is 50 years old you feel it much more, it's definitely, it's a huge age factor that is very significant and very palpable.
Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, hospitality industry consultant, customer experience thought leader, keynote speaker, trainer, and bestselling author.
