Georges Auguste Escoffier was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who transformed the restaurant eating experience and who remains a legendary figure amongst chefs and gourmets.
The Frenchman honed his culinary craft in Nice, Paris and Monte Carlo. In 1889, Richard D’Oyly Carte, the great impresario and owner of the new Savoy Hotel in London, invited Escoffier to London. He wanted him to take charge of the restaurant at the Savoy Hotel and establish its reputation as one of the best hotels in the world. Conventional preparation and serving of food at the time followed a time-honoured tradition. Many main and side dishes were placed on the table at the same time, giving the appearance of a sumptuous banquet. But the food quickly became cold and this approach emphasised quantity over quality.
Escoffier did away with this approach and replaced it with ‘the Russian style’. Only one dish was served at a time, perfectly prepared, heated and proportioned for the diner. A sorbet was served after a strongly flavoured course to refresh the palate. The Frenchman created many new, lighter dishes with unusual and distinctive flavours.
Escoffier introduced new methods and practices for the kitchens. The food was freshly acquired each morning. The numerous kitchen staff were organised in disciplines, each responsible for a particular type of food. He forbade swearing, smoking, gambling and bullying amongst the staff. The traditional problem with cooks was consumption of alcohol, so he banned it and supplied cold barley water for them to drink instead.
Esscoffier always dressed very smartly and he insisted that the staff do the same, with white hats and jackets and highly polished shoes. He supervised all proceedings from his glass-fronted office.
The Savoy Hotel quickly garnered a reputation for exquisite cuisine and it attracted the rich, famous and glamorous. It was a favourite haunt of the nobility, politicians and actors. The great Australian soprano, Nellie Melba, performed in London and she sent Escoffier two tickets for the opera. When she came to dine at the Savoy, Escoffier presented her with a new creation – peach melba.
After leaving the Savoy in 1898, Escoffier went on to manage the restaurants at the Paris Ritz and London Carlton hotels. Escoffier created many new recipes and sauces and published a highly influential book, Le Guide Culinaire, which is still used today as a reference work. More importantly, his fresh approaches to kitchen management were adopted by hotels and restaurants throughout the world. He retired in 1920 and died in 1935.
Rearrange the process. Very often, you can innovate by changing the sequence in which things are done. Escoffier did this by serving one dish at a time, perfectly prepared, rather than presenting all the food at once.
Demand the highest standards and you can charge the highest prices. Escoffier transformed the Savoy kitchens by setting and maintaining strict disciplines for work practices. He established and rigorously protected his reputation as the best and most creative chef.
Make yourself memorable and distinctive. Get a catch phrase. Escoffier was known as ‘the king of chefs and the chef of kings’. Once his reputation was established, his success was assured. If you position yourself as different from the rest in some memorable way, then you can use that as a lever for competitive advantage.