On the last day of their vacation in New York, four friends decide to eat at one of the city's best restaurants, Eleven Madison Park, a gem of Art Deco architecture, with elegant ceilings over 10 meters high and huge windows overlooking Madison Square. The group reviews all the gastronomic venues they have tried: the exclusive Per Se, the exotic Momofuku, the French-inspired Daniel... But they regret one thing: not having eaten the typical street hot dog. The restaurant's general manager, Will Guidara,, who is clearing tables as if he were just another waiter's assistant, overhears the conversation by chance. Quickly, he goes out to the street to the hot dog stand on the corner. He returns to the kitchen and stands in front of his partner, Swiss chef Daniel Humm,, with a hot dog to plate. "He looked at me as if I had gone crazy," Guidara recalls.
But the chef cut the sausage into four perfect pieces, added a touch of ketchup and mustard, some sauerkraut quenelles and pickle sauce on each bite. "The customers went crazy! His face was...," Guidara recounts with a broad smile, as if he still saw the surprise and excitement on the diners' faces. It is one of the anecdotes that has already made history (also on television) at Eleven Madison Park, the three Michelin-starred restaurant that was named the best restaurant in the world in 2017, and that Guidara recounts in his book Irrational Hospitality (Peninsula), a bestseller in the United States, with over half a million copies sold and now arriving in Spain supported by the success of the series The Bear, starring Jeremy Allen White (Rosalía's ex) and where Guidara serves as a consultant.
In the second season (episode Forks), like a cameo, the book with its striking New York taxi yellow cover appears: the head waiter in the series, Richie, reads it as if it were his Bible. And when in the fiction a family on vacation in Chicago regrets not having eaten the city's emblematic pizza, Richie goes out to buy some slices at the legendary Pequod's, which the chef artistically plates with a touch of basil. Sound familiar?
"Hospitality is the most selfish pleasure, a precious addiction because once you start, you don't want to stop. In the history of pizza, Richie was discouraged, he didn't feel like continuing at the restaurant but when he sees that look on someone who receives an unexpected gift and goes home listening to Taylor Swift, he realizes that something has changed... Television communicates it better, with more force than I can capture in the book," explains Guidara, who already serves as a co-producer in the third season.
The fact that the irrational appears in fiction simply seems like fiction. But what happened for over a decade at Eleven Madison Park surpasses any Hollywood movie scene. And it happened thanks to the power couple, as the New York press dubbed them: a 28-year-old chef (who won his first Michelin at 24) and a 26-year-old general manager who wanted to transform a historic restaurant into a modern legend. "We wanted to be the Beatles, Nirvana, the Rolling Stones, we wanted to be eternal," laughs Guidara.
"We wanted to create a luxury restaurant for our generation, where you feel comfortable, that was fun"
In 2006, luxury restaurants, especially in the United States, were still very rigid, with a strict dress code. "They were places where parents went to eat, not young people. And that was one of our first missions: to create a luxury restaurant for our generation, where you feel comfortable, that was fun," says Guidara, who started working in the restaurant industry at the age of 14, first selling ice cream at the Baskin-Robbins franchise. He did everything: washing dishes, peeling thousands of shrimp (a scene reproduced in The Bear, but with peas), waiter's assistant, receptionist, head waiter...
There was always a memory that motivated him to work in hospitality: on his 12th birthday, wearing a blue blazer with gold buttons, his father took him to dinner at Four Seasons ("it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen") and when a napkin fell to the floor, a waiter picked it up and brought him a clean one, calling him "sir." The experience at the Four Seasons enchanted him: magic in the eyes of a child.
"There is a beautiful quote from Maya Angelou: 'People will forget what you did and what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.' Meals in luxury restaurants are ephemeral, the only thing you can take away is a copy of the menu and photos of the dishes. In the end, you don't remember what you ate, but you do remember how you felt. That's why we have the responsibility to create experiences, what we call legends."
The theoretical definition of irrational hospitality seems common sense: putting people at the center with personalized treatment. But here comes a practical example of irrationality, of what they call creating a legend: a Spanish family was dining at Eleven Madison Park in winter and it started snowing, the children had never seen snow before and... what did Guidara do? He bought four sleds and called a four-wheel-drive car to take them to Central Park.
This ended up creating a new and radical position: the Dreamweaver (dream weaver), whose job was to invent tailor-made experiences for each customer. But there were certain details that were repeated: when customers entered, they were greeted by name (after a Google search); if someone went out to smoke, they were given a shot in a disposable cup; if a couple got engaged at the restaurant, they were offered two glasses of champagne, like everywhere else, except these were from Tiffany and then given to them in a box of the iconic jewelry color, that robin's egg blue; if diners joked about the hangover they would have the next day, they were offered a rescue kit with a bag of coffee, Alka-Seltzer, and a muffin; travelers with luggage were given a box of snacks for the plane; movie buffs were left a DVD (it was another time) along with the bill; complimentary details were sent to customers' hotels... Once, a couple had their tropical vacation flight canceled and found solace in a gourmet dinner: they set up a beach set, with hammocks, a kiddie pool for them to wet their feet, and daiquiris with umbrellas. Another: a father who had forgotten to buy a stuffed animal for his daughter, the Dreamweaver - who would end up being an artist - improvised a perfect teddy bear with kitchen rags. And there are more, many more...
"We all carry hospitality within us. But in our current culture of hyper-rational and hyper-efficient work, it is valued less than ever"
"It's about putting the same passion and energy into customer service as into the food. Human connection is what matters most. And it's something that applies to all sectors, from real estate to medical or automotive," defends Guidara. This explains the boom of his book in the United States, a true editorial phenomenon praised by people like Alan Mulally, former CEO of Boeing and Ford, who defined it as follows: "It shows us how to lead and serve at the next level by building a foundation of hospitality and creating a culture of working together where people come first. It's an inspiring book."
In ancient Greece and in the most archaic Arab cultures, hospitality was sacred, just read the Odyssey: all the kings sheltered Odysseus, showered him with wine and food before even knowing who he was, such is the duty imposed by the gods. "It is something that has been lost over the centuries.
We all carry hospitality within us. But in our current hyper-rational and hyper-efficient work culture, it is valued less than ever. Companies are so focused on their products that they forget about people.
However, I have hope to create a movement that leads to a new era where we all are more hospitable." But is that irrational hospitality economically sustainable? "I firmly believe there is a return, although it cannot be measured in a traditional and quantifiable way.
Companies that truly invest in people are the ones that thrive, the ones that succeed in the long term. Because someone will always come along at some point who will create a better product than yours, a better experience...
The only competitive advantage comes through hospitality. If done correctly, the loyalty you gain from the customer pays off handsomely," defends Guidara, who also devised the 95/5 rule to limit that irrationality. It's simple: control every last cent of 95% of the business to spend that last 5% recklessly. As if 11 were their lucky number, in addition to the location on Madison Avenue, in 2011 Humm and Guidara bought Eleven Madison Park from its owner, entrepreneur Danny Meyer.
Their irrational philosophy inside and outside the kitchen led them to the number one spot in The World's 50 Best Restaurants ranking and to open five other restaurants, such as the NoMad, another New York reference. But in 2019, The New York Times reported: "The most powerful hospitality couple in New York has come to an end." Daniel and Will separated. "We fell out of love. People evolve in different ways," admits in the book.
After a business partner divorce, Humm kept Eleven Madison Park. In 2021, after being closed for 15 months due to the pandemic, the restaurant reopened with an unusual decision: it banished meat and fish to only serve vegetarian menus following a plant-based philosophy of consuming plant-based products. "We are not against meat, but in favor of the planet," said Humm, who shortly after made headlines for his brief liaison with Demi Moore.
Today, he maintains his three Michelin stars and the simplest menu costs between $225-285 (five-six courses) up to $365 for the full tasting menu of eight-nine courses, plus drinks. But in 2024, the best restaurant in the world is in Barcelona: Disfrutar. The second in the Basque town of Axpe: the grill Etxebarri. And the fourth in Madrid: DiverXO.