Why Your Chef Should Never Write Your Menu
There, I’ve said it. Provocative? Sure. But also a point that was first made to me by the president of a global hotel group, and it stuck. His argument was simple: guests don’t want clever menus, they want comfort food. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I think he was onto something.
Now before anyone accuses me of throwing chefs under the bus, let me confess — I spent 17 years as one. From pubs and banquets to Michelin stars, I’ve done the whole grind. Which is why I know how insular kitchens can be. When you’re under pressure every night, short staffed, working around dodgy equipment and impossible timelines, your world shrinks to the pass in front of you. Writing menus in that state of mind is a dangerous business. You’re thinking about mise en place, prep time, plating… not the poor guest who just staggered in after a red-eye flight.
That doesn’t mean there’s no place for ambitious, chef-led restaurants in hotels — there absolutely is. But for the bulk of hotel F&B, the lesson is clear: stop creating menus nobody asked for. Cook the food your guests crave, and do it better than they ever expected. Menus shouldn’t be a chef’s ego trip; they should be the reason guests come back – sounds simple right?
