Un-training staff to act like humans.

Can you choose for me?

I usually let the staff or the chef choose my meal. I would argue it makes me enjoy the meal more. It also has an interesting side effect: it confuses staff, mostly because they have been trained not to think for themselves.

Restaurant staff are trained to do a small number of things very well. Make sure guests are seated and served, that food and drinks arrive on time, and, depending on the restaurant, sell a bit more and advise on the wine. In some restaurants, some staff are not even allowed to take orders, take payment or serve food.

Experienced staff are no exception. Maybe they are the rule. An experienced waiter once refused to choose for me, and in my experience experienced staff need extra convincing before they will.

It starts the moment I put the menu aside.

• Me: “Can you choose for me?”
• Waiter: “Sorry?” (confused look)
• Me: “Can you choose for me? I eat everything. You cannot go wrong.”
• Waiter: “Really?”
• Me: “Yes, really. I do this all the time. You cannot go wrong.”
• Waiter: “Uh, OK.”

The second course.

The starter is usually a safe bet: something almost everyone likes, like carpaccio, or whatever is most popular, like a sharing platter.

Once I tell them it was good and met my expectations, they relax. The next course comes with more confidence, and a bit of bravado.

A small step in re-training staff to be human again.

Related: A plea for scripted authenticity.

First published on 6 February 2017, also on my travel blog Omakases. Menu made with Midjourney.