The Art Of The Restaurateur

Until 30 years ago, restaurateurs were considered the most important figures in any restaurant's success, with chefs consigned to the kitchen. This process began to change with the elevation of chef-patron Paul Bocuse in the late 1970s, and has continued with the rise of the celebrity chef. Restaurateurs are hugely important but rarely written about and significantly under-appreciated. The profession, other than its commercial and social aspects, has a fundamental human appeal: restaurateurs derive their name and profession from the French verb restaurer when their role was to restore the health of travellers battered by the potholes of French roads in the early 19th century. The role has changed a lot since then, and continues to evolve in fascinating ways."

- For the first time, a global guide to the Art Restaurant - a place where great art and memorable food meet - Interviews with chefs, restaurateurs and artists, including Tracey Emin, Mark Hix and Julian Schnabel - Richly illustrated with images of the art in its context "I went to Noma and interviewed Ren (Redzepi). We were talking about art and food but the restaurant was closed. Everybody asked me how was the food, what did you eat - and he basically gave me some marmite. The best marmite I've ever had." - David Shrigley This is the definitive guide to Art Restaurants - a new way to appreciate food. Christina Makris, collector of art and a Patron of The Tate and RA, takes the reader on a tour of 25 of the world's greatest art restaurants, from New York to Hong Kong and Cairo to London. Makris traces their stories, details the art highlights, and meets artists, restaurateurs and chefs including Mark Hix, Vik Muniz, Julian Schnabel and Tracy Emin. A captivating guide to where great art and memorable food meet.

The bestselling business book from award-winning restauranteur Danny Meyer, of Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, and Shake Shack Seventy-five percent of all new restaurant ventures fail, and of those that do stick around, only a few become icons. Danny Meyer started Union Square Cafe when he was 27, with a good idea and hopeful investors. He is now the co-owner of a restaurant empire. How did he do it? How did he beat the odds in one of the toughest trades around? In this landmark book, Danny shares the lessons he learned developing the dynamic philosophy he calls Enlightened Hospitality. The tenets of that philosophy, which emphasize strong in-house relationships as well as customer satisfaction, are applicable to anyone who works in any business. Whether you are a manager, an executive, or a waiter, Danny’s story and philosophy will help you become more effective and productive, while deepening your understanding and appreciation of a job well done. Setting the Table is landmark a motivational work from one of our era’s most gifted and insightful business leaders.

An art expert takes a critical look at restaurant menus—from style and layout to content, pricing and more—to reveal the hidden influence of menu design. We’ve all ordered from a restaurant menu. But have you ever wondered to what extent the menu is ordering you? In May We Suggest, art historian and gastronome Alison Pearlman focuses her discerning eye on the humble menu to reveal a captivating tale of persuasion and profit. Studying restaurant menus through the lenses of art history, experience design and behavioral economics, Pearlman reveals how they are intended to influence our dining experiences and choices. Then she goes on a mission to find out if, when, and how a menu might sway her decisions at more than sixty restaurants across the greater Los Angeles area. What emerges is a captivating, thought-provoking study of one of the most often read but rarely analyzed narrative works around.

Whether you're new to the business or you've been a server for years, The Art of Hosting will give you the tools you need to walk, talk and act like a seasoned pro. Filled with insider tips and info, this book will show you in clear, concise and easy-to-understand terms how to be an outstanding server in even the finest restaurants-and get the biggest tips! Includes sections on Table Set-up, Taking Guest Orders, Serving Drinks and Wine, Increasing Your Tips and more.

What really separates the best from the rest? We all know that it takes hard work, dedication, and the occasional dose of luck for someone to make it to the top of their chosen field. Yet, we also suspect that it takes a little something more—but what? The Art of Doing asks today’s most successful celebrities, businessmen, and iconoclastic achievers, “How do you succeed at what you do?” Illuminating, surprising, and profoundly inspiring, interviewees include: • 30 Rock Star Alec Baldwin • Baseball Legend Yogi Berra • Actor Laura Linney • Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh • Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan • Opera Diva Anna Netrebko • Indy Champ Helio Castroneves • Foodie God David Chang • High Wire Artist Philippe Petit • Funk Master George Clinton • Bestselling Writer Steven Dubner • Tennis Icon Martina Navratilova • Puzzle Master Will Shortz • Style Guru Simon Doonan • Indie Rock Band OKGo • Jeopardy! Champ Ken Jennings • Business Guru Guy Kawasaki • Photojournalist Lynsey Addario • Blogger Mark Fraunfelder • Alien Hunter Jill Tarter • Visionary Vintner Randall Grahm • Startup King Bill Gross • Activist Connie Rice • Erotic Filmmaker Candida Royalle • Tabloid Editor Barry Levine • Country Musician Ray Benson • Hostage Negotiator Gary Noesner • Online Love Experts OKCupid • Inspiring Teacher Erin Gruwell • Neuroscientist Richard Restak • Guru of Ganja Ed Rosenthal • Master Hunter Chad Schearer • Broadway Producer Marc Routh • Reputation Fixer Mike Sitrick • Ballpark Designer Joe Spear • Circumnavigator Jessica Watson

The Taste of Art offers a sample of scholarly essays that examine the role of food in Western contemporary art practices. The contributors are scholars from a range of disciplines, including art history, philosophy, film studies, and history. As a whole, the volume illustrates how artists engage with food as matter and process in order to explore alternative aesthetic strategies and indicate countercultural shifts in society. The collection opens by exploring the theoretical intersections of art and food, food art’s historical root in Futurism, and the ways in which food carries gendered meaning in popular film. Subsequent sections analyze the ways in which artists challenge mainstream ideas through food in a variety of scenarios. Beginning from a focus on the body and subjectivity, the authors zoom out to look at the domestic sphere, and finally the public sphere. Here are essays that study a range of artists including, among others, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Daniel Spoerri, Dieter Roth, Joseph Beuys, Al Ruppersberg, Alison Knowles, Martha Rosler, Robin Weltsch, Vicki Hodgetts, Paul McCarthy, Luciano Fabro, Carries Mae Weems, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Janine Antoni, Elżbieta Jabłońska, Liza Lou, Tom Marioni, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Michael Rakowitz, and Natalie Jeremijenko.

From the Financial Times's long-standing restaurant critic Nicholas Lander comes this celebration of the history, design and evolution of the world's favourite piece of paper: the menu. On the Menu is a stunning collection of menus, from those at the cutting edge of contemporary culinary innovation, like Copenhagen's Noma, to those that are relics from another time: a 1970s menu from L’Escargot on which all main courses cost less than one pound; the last menu from The French House Dining Room before Fergus Henderson departed for St John; a Christmas feast of zoo animals served during the Siege of Paris in 1870; and three of the world’s original restaurant menus—now hanging proudly in London’s Le Gavroche. Throughout, Lander examines the principles of menu design and layout; the different rules that govern separate menus for breakfast, afternoon tea and dessert; the evolution of wine and cocktail lists; and how menus can act as records of the past. He reveals insights from interviews with Michael Anthony, Heston Blumenthal, Massimo Bottura, René Redzepi, Ruth Rogers and many more of the most renowned contemporary chefs of our time, who explain how they decide what to serve and what inspires them to create and design their menus. These are truly pages to drool over.