Getting the Chef Involved In The Wine Dinner
August 28, 2009
Getting the Chef involved
I’ve come to the realization that one of the many strengths of a restaurant when it comes to wine is its chef. Think about it. Who knows taste better than your chef? I think it would be a rave mistake to not include your chef in your wine program.
The easiest way to accomplish this is to hold regular wine dinners. The chef has the palette to help you match up your wines with the food he can prepare for the dinner. It’s a no-brainier.
Here a few things you should do when setting up a wine dinner. I’ am sure that you could add some to this list so feel free to contact me with your additions or comments.
1) Featured Winery. – It’s a good idea to feature a specific winery,
wine or region. That way you can work with your distributors and see if you can get a guest speaker involved, maybe a winery owner, winemaker or wine authority and feature their wines.
2) Develop a consistent Style.- People like to know what to expect when the shell out cash for a wine function. Come up with a style
that you and your guests are comfortable with, including pace and content.
3) Market Inside and Out- To make this an event, make sure you have enough guests. Once you have chosen a theme or winery, promote the event for enough time in advance to secure enough people to make it worthwhile. Start with marketing it in the restaurant with check presentation cards, posters and fliers in the restrooms and entry ways. Have your servers mention the event while getting to know the table. Also, market in local papers, coffee shops, wine and spirit stores, and community centers. Email blasts and a press release to the local paper would help too!
4) Make sure you have enough wine glasses for the event.- I can’t tell you how many wine dinners I have been to that did not have enough glassware to supply all the guests. If you do not feel like purchasing them is a good idea make sure you rent enough for all courses and a few backups!
5) Make sure the Chef is involved with all aspects- Get your chef involved from the beginning. Let him attend the tasting meetings with suppliers to get a feel for the wines and maybe to gain a little inspiration from them. Work with him to develop a menu that both of you are comfortable with and would be easy to produce. After all its good business to keep him/her inspired and fresh.
Wine dinners are a great revenue source and can contribute to the overall marketing approach the restaurant has. Given its importance in the restaurants personality, keep going with the dinners even if response wanes on occasion.
Comments
Got something to say?
