4 Hospitality Lessons From Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio

Great restaurants cast a “spell” over their guests and the smallest details can break it.

EXPERT OPINION BY MICAH SOLOMON, THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE EXPERT @MICAHSOLOMON

Tom Colicchio. Photo: Vincent Tullo/The New York Times/Redux

Tom Colicchio, top judge on Top Chef and the top-notch restaurateur and chef behind Craft,  told me something I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since our conversation.  

Colicchio shared that a great restaurant puts diners under a magical spell: “from the second someone makes that phone call to their time in the dining room, with waitstaff moving through the dining room, actually looking at their tables, truly zoned in to what is happening in their station, to when the customers walk out of the restaurant and get in the cab.” 

That spell is always at risk of being interrupted and even broken, often by the smallest things. 

1. The details you think don’t matter are the ones that do. 

According to Colicchio, even how you garnish the plates can disrupt the customer experience. The kitchen sometimes doesn’t understand this because they’re not “facing the customers.” 

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“Think about this” You’re going out to dinner, and you’re spending a lot of money,” Colicchio described. “Would you like that piece of salad on your plate? They get it pretty quickly when it’s put to them like that.” 

The spell can also be broken by small awkward moments, such as having to track a waiter down and hail them to find the restroom. That same waiter was ignoring signals from the guests in their section. 

“I even worry about the weather,” Colicchio added. “If they have a great meal with us and step out of the restaurant and it’s pouring, they’re going to get soaked.”  

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