Continuing our series of seasonal advice to get you all through the festive period, we hear from Daniel Willis of Luca. An industry veteran with a good few Christmasses under his belt, he tells us how fellow restaurateurs can get the best out of their teams over the festive period – and ensure that everyone has a whole lot of fun whilst they’re at it.

Quotes and thoughts on teams, services, guests and festivities

“If you build it, they will come”

The problem with really great restaurants is that people love to go to them – they’re always busy.  The problem with busy restaurants is that the people who work in them complain they’re too busy! It’s good to remind yourself, especially at this time of year, that it is a privilege to be a busy restaurant. In a cost of living crisis, when homelessness is at its highest level ever and inflation and mortgages are through the roof, you are very fortunate to have so many people through the doors. So never complain that you’re too busy or, if you must, always preface it with “we’re not complaining – it’s the best problem to have”.

“The 1st rule of Christmas is there are no holidays taken at Christmas, the second rule of Christmas is there are no holidays taken at Christmas!”

Making sure your team members are there and can work is imperative.  There will be illnesses, there will be feigned illnesses – “honest, I got food poisoning!” –  so don’t make it even harder for yourself and allow extended breaks during this time.  That’s not to say that people can’t go home for Christmas; we never finish later than the 22nd, so everyone gets at least one day to travel before Christmas Eve. Closing over the break is also a great way to allow people to use some holiday – so, be flexible – not everyone needs to close the restaurant. Those who have to travel the furthest should get to go home earlier, and equally, those people going away should come back early and open up the restaurant!

“Team work makes the dream work” 

First things first, we’re all in it together, everybody working on the floor to make it happen – this is so important.  I have so many responsibilities that pull me away from the floor, at Christmas I find it very freeing to be consumed by service and just concentrate on being present with our guests.  As you get older, time gets quicker and quicker, so much so that it’s hard to remember last year and easier to forget that it increasingly becomes one long service. Often it’s difficult to get a moment to sit down and eat and it’s important to make sure that as a culture you are prioritising people who have been working for the longest and especially important for managers to set the example here. What you feed your team is just as important as when you feed them! Make sure they are eating enough fruit and vegetables and encourage them to get enough sleep. Keeping the parties to a minimum around this time of year is hard but necessary. Having said that, don’t forget to have fun! Crack open a bottle of Champagne after a big service and say thanks to your team.

“Where there is preparation there is no fear”

We all say “mise en place” a lot.  It’s easy to forget the meaning and philosophy behind it: everything in its place. Never underestimate how busy you will be. If you’re going to be 20-30% busier, that means you will need 40% more stock, linen etc.  Don’t make your life harder by not having the things you need to make a service happen, and equally don’t run out of things to sell at the busiest time of the year!

“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor”

When every service is busy, it often makes life easier. Your team will get into a rhythm, but busy services can take their toll and increase stress on the team, especially when things go wrong.  With this in mind, it’s good to remember your position as a mentor: pick people up when they are down. One of our values is genuine friendship, between ourselves and our guests.  It’s important that you are being kind, patient and tolerant.  If you have a stressful service, debrief as to why it went wrong.  Lunch briefing the day after a hard service is a great time to be positive and remind people that once a service has finished, it’s done. Every new service is a fresh start to begin again and not only get things right, but be better.

“You have bewitched me, body and soul”

Everybody wants to have a great time at Christmas, so it’s super important you make people feel special. It’s easy to forget this when busy, and then relationships with your guests can become too functional.  I often describe servers at busy restaurants as having the 1,000 yard stare. They’ve seen so many faces over the day that their reactions have become learned and formulaic, and it can feel very soulless. Remember that everyone who has come to dine with you is up for a good time, and so as tired as you may be, you have to bring the energy!  We try and think of little things we can do for our guests, even if that’s just delicious things that we make for them: chocolate truffles with their coffee, boozy Christmas cocktails, a dish or two with a festive twist…. Nothing too corny but something fun people will appreciate.

“If you see me in a fight with a bear, pray for the bear”

As much as this time of year is about making everyone happy, it’s good to remember that the guest isn’t always right. Especially when they’ve drunk 3 negronis, 2 bottles of wine and 4 espresso martinis. When people are drunk, they are often the worst version of themselves. Don’t let anyone abuse your staff or equally put them in a situation that makes them feel uncomfortable.  It’s your job to protect them.

“To eat good food is to be close to god”

Always treat your team to a really great dinner before the break. Every year, we have an extended Christmas dinner, and we cut lunch reservations short to do so.  You should also cut reservations on your last shift so people aren’t there until the very early hours (unless it’s of their own volition :D) . We do secret Santa and thank everyone for their efforts over the year, and Chefs Rob and Olly cook up an absolute feast. We even give the team a little glass of wine, although after last year we had a bit of a wobbly service, so we’re probably going to limit the amount this year! Haha.

About Daniel:

Daniel Willis grew up in Manchester with a love of food, music and photography, which have always informed his unusual and creative approach to restaurants.  After moving to London in 2008, Daniel worked for Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver for three years at St John Bread and Wine. In 2010, he and business partner Johnny Smith created The Clove Club supper club and with the help of Isaac McHale and James Lowe (Lyle’s), turned it into one of the most talked about supper clubs in the world, fusing great food with great music. After numerous pop up events and dinners in increasingly interesting spaces, the renamed Young Turks undertook a six month residency at The Ten Bells pub to critical acclaim. In 2013, Daniel launched The Clove Club as a permanent restaurant with Johnny Smith and Head Chef Isaac McHale, with £250,000 raised through crowdfunding. The restaurant quickly became known as one of London’s most exciting restaurants serving thoughtful, precise and elegant food in a relaxed informal setting, with a sound track curated by Daniel. It has achieved worldwide acclaim, reaching No 2 in the National Restaurant Awards, No 55 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and achieving a Michelin Star in 2014.

In 2016 Daniel, Johnny and Isaac launched Luca in Clerkenwell, an Italian inspired restaurant with a menu focused around the best of British seasonal ingredients. Since opening, Luca has received much critical acclaim and was this year awarded a Michelin Star.