the following is a copy of my FOOD SERVICE NEWS column.
TURNING FIFTY
The summer of 2013 will be remembered by many Minnesotans in
the hospitality industry as the year half their patio business was lost to
inclement weather.
Golf courses will dole out woeful statistics showing how
many rounds were lost because their greens were under water.
But for Klecko, trauma manifested in a different form.
He experienced a fiftieth birthday.
Alright, living half a century doesn’t automatically qualify
a guy as old, but who’s kidding who?
When the thresholds crossed, and you squint just so, a guy
can start to make out the finish line.
One of my acquaintances suggested that I use this unique
perspective to mark milestones.
So after pondering girls I’ve dated and nuns I’ve loved, my
focus shifted to our industry.
I suppose it would be appropriate to start off by thanking
district #281. During the autumn of the Bicentennial, all the schools in my
county made it mandatory that each student be exposed to industrial arts and
home economics.
On my first day of seventh grade, I spent period six with Ms
Williams in Cooking 101 where she had me baking apple crisp with three
beautiful girls.
I never touched a wrench after that.
Like many of you, my journey started bagging groceries and
washing dishes. By the time I was sixteen, many of my friends were setting
their sights on what colleges they would attend. But I already had three years
of work experience.
Why would I want to go off to broaden my horizon when I
already got to lean against dumpsters, drinking cans of Blatz and smoking
Merit’s with grocery store bakers?
At seventeen, I vultured a dish washing gig at Nicklow’s. On
Friday evenings belly dancers would walk through my work area virtually naked.
As you can imagine, these ladies understood how boys hormones worked, and
nothing gave them greater pleasure than “accidently” brushing up against me,
just so they could watch me blush fire hydrant red.
With that said, I hope you will indulge an old man a brief
moment to get sentimental and share some of his current observations as well.
Lately I’ve been reading a bit about this dead poet named
Ezra Pound. The guy was pretty much responsible for launching such literary
greats as T.S. Elliot, Joyce, Frost and even Hemingway.
Pounds formula to success was to take ideas and strip them
of anything that wasn’t imperative.
Each aspect of language (in his eyes) needed to be anchored
in clarity, precision and economy.
There simply weren’t any bells and whistles in this guys
scope because he felt ancillary words only slowed down the truth.
He believed nothing could cross this planet faster than an
idea laced in purity.
Well I’m not sure how pure my thoughts are, but if there was
just one thing I’ve learned from the people that have flourished in my
industry, it would be to embrace hospitality.
Not too long ago, I was downtown Minneapolis schlepping
bread samples to potential accounts.
It’s mid afternoon and I’m standing in front of the Graves /
601 Hotel.
You might be surprised to hear this, but since we’re family
now, I’ll tell you the truth. I can get intimidated entering luxury concepts.
Even though I do this fairly often, and even though many of
the people I will deal with come from similar backgrounds, the whole experience
can be daunting.
So I walk up to the gentleman working the door and the first
thing I asked him was what entrance would be appropriate. To my surprise I was
encouraged to enter the front door (I guess I should have mentioned I was
dressed in baker’s whites) and the desk help greeted me with a sincere smile.
If you’ve work hospitality for even a minute, you gain an
uncanny extra sense that enables you to know who is rolling their eyes
internally. No, this woman was upbeat and pointed me over to the elevator that
would take me up to the fourth floor so I could talk to my contact at Cosmo’s.
Within seconds I crossed the restaurants threshold only to
be greeted by a manager who could have doubled as a GQ model. The price of this
guy’s suit had to rival my mortgage payment.
When I told him who I had come to see, a look of
disappointment formed on his face. I was told that this particular chef was off,
but the manager said he would see if he could track down somebody else.
The concern more than won me over, then the unthinkable
happened, the manager actually got me a sit down with the Executive Chef - John
Occhiato.
You sales reps reading this know exactly how rare it is for
a concept to have its staff in sync to the point where they actually become
accessible to you.
And accessible was exactly a great way to describe Chef
Occhiato. After discussing product lines, John extended me the courtesy of
touring his kitchen and making me feel welcomed.
Who knows, maybe I’m getting soft, but the older I get, the
more I tend to agree with Ezra Pound’s theory. Bells and whistles are for
sheep. The only component that is indispensable in our industry is our attitude
and willingness to be of service
Without this, everything is smoke and mirrors.
Without this, there can be no hope of leaving behind a
legacy.
Thanks Graves / 601 Hotel for the shot of inspiration.
And by the way, it’s still not too late to send birthday
gifts.
Until next month -
Sweetly done
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