A hearty congratulations to Coyle’s restaurant clients who won 2010 James Beard Awards, announced on May 2! For a complete listing of all nominees and winners, click here.
What is most impressive, when one peruses the list of nominees and winners in the restaurant and chef categories, is how varied the talent is in the restaurant industry. On the lists, we find craftsmen and craftswomen, moms and pops, classically trained and accidentally learned restaurant operators, entrepreneurs, chefs, sommeliers, and more. The restaurants themselves run the gamut in terms of geography, cuisine, service style, and every other ingredient that defines a restaurant concept. However, they all share a common ingredient: soul.
The guest experience in restaurants continues to evolve. The innovators featured in the JBF Awards understand that guests come to them for an experience: a transporting event that takes them to other cultures, expands their horizons, or simply gets them out of their own kitchen for a night. The authenticity and devotion required for restaurant staff to deliver this night in and night out, all while incurring a punishing physical toll, is what makes restaurants unique.
To this end, we should all take a moment to be thankful for the complete cast of characters that work so hard to make each performance memorable. After all, a great restaurant experience at The French Laundry becomes a clunker if an uncaring server, frazzled host, or slow busser is part of the cast of performers.
Let that remind us that the JBF Award winners are not only fantastic culinarians; they are wonderful leaders, team builders, mentors, and teachers—something they have to execute every single night.
