INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF HENRY AGUILAR. We wanted to find out what good service meant for different people or professionals in this industry and we decided to start with the workforce of this field.
Our first interview took place in NYC, the restaurant capital of the world. The Beatrice Inn – Steak House Best Steak House 2018 by the NYTimes – Red Meat and Respect – Service Director. Henry Aguilar is a restaurant and service specialist his pedigree ranges working at the best French restaurants to currently being the service director at one of the best steak houses in history.
He also has worked for legendary Chef such as: “Alain Ducasse” which is a four star restaurant in Manhattan. He is from Ecuador and with no surprise this man is one of hundreds of very qualified servers that represent part of the spectrum in the workforce in this business atet are teaching and leaving a legacy of excellence in service and discipline.
He says:
Service is a very important but a fragile segment in this industry and thanks to these professionals the expectations in restaurants go from levels of excellence to perfection.
For Henry Service represents a way of living, He says, his respect for food and passion have taken him from learning how to cook well to recognize the difference between good and terrific wines and restaurants.
He explains: it is a pleasure to serve food to people, I become my customer’s host for the time guests seat on my tables. My customers respect and appreciate that a lot. Service for me is anticipating and expediting the needs of the customer, it’s everything you would expect “AS” a customer yourself. Superb service can often salvage a mediocre dinning experience, but rarely can a superb meal be rescued by mediocre service.
Henry’s rules of thumb and recommendations: – Make sure you learn and know very well the menu- Read the food section on major newspapers-If you want to please your guests forget the word “NOT” while working or serving- Customers come first, second and third.
Henry’s short term goal is to inspire others to learn about knowledgeable and cordial service and his long future goal is to make the difference opening his own restaurant.
