It is usual today for high-end restaurant owners and chefs to take on a level of celebrity status rarely seen only a few decades ago. “Chef” has become a glamorous career, with popular television shows profiling an increasing numbers of chefs as film stars were once made famous. Connected to this celebrity is how it enables ownership and corporate presences from these creative individuals, and a multitude of chefs are CEOs of respected – and expanding – franchises, ranging from Paula Deen's empire in the South to Wolfgang Puck's international renown, establishments, and product lines. In the midst of this is Danny Meyer, certainly an esteemed chef and restaurant owner, yet not quite a household name. It may be this “middle ground” status, …show more content…
In the following, Meyer's many perspectives on hospitality are explored, as these are then discussed in personal terms. Ultimately, and using equal parts of common sense, passion, and skill, Meyer has established a unique identity in the field, and his Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business is an insightful and entertaining examination of the processes of the industry itself. From the opening of his book, Meyer presents a strangely unusual perspective on the restaurant business, and as his primary motivating force. That is, he does not discuss the joy of cooking well, the fascinations of the restaurant business, or even the social component of it as fueling his life and career; instead, he asserts that hospitality itself is a primal …show more content…
All of this, however, is presented in an intimate and honest way, as doubts and excitement are equally conveyed. The business side of hospitality for Meyer, as for any chef, is difficult, but at the same time his innate appreciation for hospitality maintained the processes as compelling and unusually attractive to him: “I liked the kind of people I kept meeting in the business, felt blessed being around so much good food and wine” (Meyer, p. 41). It is nonetheless never “easy,” and Meyer goes into detail regarding some of his personal challenges with his flagship Union Square Cafe. From this he distills a component to hospitality success: an absolute willingness to actually confront the most difficult circumstances, from issues with finances to a changing public (Meyer, p. 49). In another chapter, Meyer indirectly conveys his own role as an entrepreneur, which is not uncommon in the singular world of the chef/owner. This goes as well to a cornerstone of his business and culinary philosophy, and one that relies on breaking through paradigms. In “Whoever Wrote the Rule...?” he sets out how and why his own restaurants have deviated from traditional, fine dining norms, and simply because he has