“Taste, taste, taste,” was the advice of Chef Jody Adams from the Rialto Restaurant in Cambridge, MA. And “know who your customers are”. When was the last time you did the e-learning equivalent and sampled one of your own courses or checked in with your students?
Jody and Chef Jason Santos, Gargoyles Restaurant, were the two renowned chefs on the panel What Can User Experience Learn from Food Design at CHI 2009 organized by Patanjali Venkatacharya, Oracle Corporation.
What impressed me most about Jody and Jason’s descriptions of what they do is the attention to detail and the incredible project management skills needed to run a successful restaurant. They both spoke of the endless sources for their inspiration and how they keep pads of paper everyplace to jot down ideas. Having eaten at both restaurants, I can attest to the success of their creativity, the attention to detail, and the delicious results.
I was interested in the discussion about ratings and reviews, especially when Jody described telling her mother and her mother’s friends about the anonymous reviews they receive online. Their reaction: “Why that’s rude”.
As press, I spoke to both following the panel and asked, of course, if it is possible to learn to cook online. Jason’s immediate response was that it was “impossible” and “the silliest thing he had heard in his life.” In the ensuing discussion, Jody said that cooking shows can help provide an affinity for food and cooking and are entertaining as well. Jason clarified that knowledge can be acquired online but not techniques, but went on to say that Julia Child inspired him. As he warmed to the topic, Jason amended his earlier statements to say that learning to cook is multi-sensory and, even with a webcam, one needs an instructor to taste and adjust the salt, to which Jody agreed. We concluded the interview with a discussion of the impact of food scares and recalls on their menus and about cities that require restaurants to provide calorie or nutritional information. Jody and Jason talked about how some chefs are cream- and butter-driven and Jody concluded the interview with, “I love butter.” Maybe we can all take a lesson from them and make our next courses richer.