The Art of the Restaurateur

by Nicholas Lander

The Art of the Restaurateur presents the compelling stories behind some of the world's best restaurants, and celebrates the complex but unsung art of the restaurateur. In his first ever book, acclaimed Financial Times restaurant critic (and former restaurateur) Nicholas Lander reveals everything you ever wanted to know about the highs and lows of the restaurant business. Every story is fascinating, different, and has something to tell about the creation of a successful restaurant, from finding the right location to deciding what kind of food to serve. Engaging, erudite and packed with insights, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in food – especially, of course, anyone who's ever dreamed of opening a restaurant.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Food Writing, Business, Cooking, Food and Wine

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 17, 2012

Reviews

[Robert Muller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this book four stars but for the writing. The interviews and observations of restaurateurs (people who run restaurants, not chefs) are illuminating, entertaining, and inspiring to a certain extent. The writing, though, detracts. A couple of examples. "Yet Ousback never considered himself a restaurateur. 'I'm a loiterer,' he would say, 'I believe that is the role of the restaurateur.' Once, before his suicide in 2004, Ousback elaborated that the most successful restaurateurs are those who loiter with intent." The introduction of suicide here is not followed up as relevant to success, but he put it in and has to take responsibility for the way it sucks the life, so to speak, out of the whole paragraph. Illuminating but weird. Here's another: "Within her restaurants, Marie-Pierre has a constant smile that vanishes the moment she sees something she dislikes or disapproves of." Lander writes too well to assume he's just incompetent, so it's deliberate, which makes it weird. Hence, three stars.

[Marks54 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book by the restaurant critic of the Financial Times that collects a series of short essays on critical restauranteurs and their establishments in London, Paris, New York, and a few other places. The book was surprising. While I thought it would be directed towards "foodies" - which I am not -- the essays turned out to be interesting and perceptive short cases about the issues that these restauranteurs faced in perfecting a "world class" restaurant and how they went about solving them. How these marvelous and odd businesses operate is a real wonder and the author does a really fine job in sorting out the critical issues for each case. The local nature of these restaurants has always amazed me, along with the efforts that the restauranteur makes to optimize his particular business in its setting. The tension between personal management -- and how the restauranteur and chef get along -- along with the pressures for organization and standardization, are of critical importance for considering innovative research. Oveerall, the book was more entertaining than I thought it would be and will help me more fully understand how these complex service businesses operate on a continuing basis. These sorts of service businesses have been hard to get a handle because they are small and highly localized. This book is effective at comparing cases and drawing some useful conclusions.

The writing is clear and easy to read. The chapters are short and the cast of characters to be analyzed is clear. Overall, this was a valuable book that was relatively easy to read.

[Zahwil Dossa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. I found the structure a little tedious with each chapter devoted to a different chef and his restaurant success.

But I did like that Lander abstracted different lessons from each Chef. What unites them all is a love for good food, good wine, and enriching the lives of staff and customers.

[Stefan Tosovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was cool and interesting but sometimes I got a little bored

[Jaydub · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and illuminating look into the business side of restaurants and being a restaurateur. Writing style is not to my preference. Still worth the read for the wealth of information and the interviews.

[Vladimir Semenov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful for anyone who wants to open a restaurant but also very entertaining to read

[Patricia Eichenlaub · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and pretty book but it didn’t hold my interest

[Bailey Hack · Rating 5 out of 5]

dreams are free!!! :)

[Catherine (The Gilmore Guide to Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

At age twenty-nine, Nicholas Lander became the proud owner of L’ Escargot, a London restaurant that had fallen on hard times. So began his journey into a world he would come to love and a group of people he would grow to admire. Throughout the 1980s Lander built L’Escargot into a London restaurant of renown. When health reasons forced him to sell it in the 1988 he realized that, all along what he loved was to eat not to cook and so, through timing and connections, he began a new career as the first restaurant critic for the Financial Times. The Art of the Restaurateur is his carefully considered ode to all that goes into making some of the finest restaurants in the world the successes they are. After an introduction to the book’s concept, which he explains is to “show the importance of the restaurateur’s profession, by telling the stories of these professionals I most respect and admire…”, he goes on to in-depth chapters on 20 restaurateurs. Their restaurants and histories cover the globe and it is fascinating reading. Here are just a few bites:

You can read the rest of this review at The Gilmore Guide to Books:
http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2012/0...

[Bahar · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading this book, I felt like all these restaurateurs had these amazing restaurants and backgrounds, but the tone and style of Lander are sooooo boring that the stories became dull. I really like the idea behind the book and the choice of people, but if I wasn't so interested in culinary books I wouldn't probably have finished reading it. It just lacks the amount of entertainment that some other writers such as Anthony Bourdain or Marco Pierre White offer.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting book about the restaurant business. I probably would have enjoyed it a bit more if I was actually familiar with more of the chefs, restaurateurs and restaurants he was talking about, but I think I found a few places I would like to visit if I'm ever in NYC, London or Ireland again!

[Paul Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry to say this but books like this have become a little passé. Restaurateurs, on the basis of what I've read in this book, are dull, and this too is dull. If you're thinking of opening a restaurant then you may get some satisfaction from this, if not then avoid.

[Alessandra Porro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um bom livro para quem gosta de restaurantes. O autor selecionou alguns estabelecimentos nos EUA e no Reino Unido para explicar o que faz um restaurateur e quais as dificuldades de se gerir um bom restaurante. Mas senti falta de análises mais profundas sobre o ramo.

[Gus · Rating 3 out of 5]

In theory this is a great book, interviewing famous restrateurs from around the world and

getting little snippets of advice. It was good but a little hit and miss, I suppose it is

more for interest than usefulness for business.

[Brian Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great insight into life of a restaurateur but the author is too self-absorbed.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engrossing book about the lives and careers of restaurateurs, who often operate in the shadow of celebrity chefs, but clearly have a major impact on the ongoing success of a restaurant.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is perhaps a little too enthusiastic in his praise for some of the people he interviews but overall it is a good look at a part of restaurants that most other books do not focus on.

[Luciano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lectura indispensable para todos los que brindan un servicio, no sólo en restaurants.

[Jwsrauch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about the thought process of well known Restauranteurs..Must read for those owning or thinking about owning a Restaurant.

[Karyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this on the "Lucky Day" shelf at the library. It was an unexpected and enjoyable read. It was interesting and inspiring to read about famous restaurateurs.