The other morning one of the chefs showed me a copy of the Good Food Guide 2008. We are in it. This is one of the most exciting achievements we've had. The restaurant has been trading seven months and always seems, to me, to be in a permanent state of pandemonium. But now we have been singled out as an excellent new restaurant.
Not only do I believe it is a fair and truthful write-up but we scored a nice '4' which puts us amongst the best. The only mistake was the chef's surname, but he can live with that.
With any such achievement there are going to be consequences. This will be newsworthy stuff and we need to capitalise on it. I've contacted the local papers, sent them copies of the review, primed the chefs to be on call for photographs, taken note of copy deadlines and made sure the papers are able to print a decent story within their schedule accompanied by nice photographs. I am trying to impress upon the chefs that, if we do not seize this opportunity right now, the news will simply disappear. Hopefully our efforts will ensure this good news story will be throughout our local papers this week. To pay for advertising is a total waste of money if you can turn your advertising into news copy which is published for free. Unfortunately the chefs are rather blasé about the process; they seem to think the news simply happens.
The second consequence is that there is every likelihood that all sorts of strange people will emerge from the woodwork enticed by such an endorsement. The risk is that we will become a 'must do' place and the pressure on the chefs to deliver the highest attainable standards might be too much. Such pressure might cause them to spectacularly implode. They need to manage their time and resources better than ever.
But my main anxiety here is the possibility that hordes of middle class Good Food Guide toting folk start upsetting the balance here. There will be compromising situations. We have a significant number of manual labouring young men here in the pub. I ride them hard if their language is bad but I can see Sophie and Charlotte, en route to the lavatory, having to pass through the thick of them and complaining loudly. I don't want to 'posh-up' the place but I am afraid it might go that way. I am also concerned that the faithful few, who have regularly used the restaurant from the start and have been true to our objectives, might find themselves displaced by this trendy set.
This morning the chefs were muted. I think the enormity of it has yet to sink in - but it is clear that this achievement has probably helped pave the way to a successful future but with it a lot of hard work.
This evening I am delighted to report that the chefs' confidence has returned. Indeed it is being rapidly turning into arrogance. I suspect for the next few days they will be horrible to live with.
Chefs are a difficult breed.