Pride, Pastry Chefs and the Perfect Negroni
What a farm-to-table lunch revealed about culture, care and building unforgettable businesses Some experiences stay with you longer than
What a farm-to-table lunch revealed about culture, care and building unforgettable businesses
Some experiences stay with you longer than the moment itself. For me, it was a birthday lunch my partner organised at a small farm-to-table restaurant. It already meant something special before I’d even walked through the door, but what unfolded that afternoon left me thinking about more than just food.
Everything about the day felt intentional. Every plate, every detail, every gesture from the staff was placed with care. The room carried a quiet hum of people enjoying themselves without distraction. And then there was the Negroni. The best I’ve ever had, and I’ve tried more than a few. (Its mention will make more sense, I promise)
It wasn’t just a meal. It was a masterclass in how pride, patience, and presence can transform the ordinary into the unforgettable.
No Titles, Just Tarts
The moment that surprised me most wasn’t on the menu. It was when I learned that our waitress was also the restaurant’s pastry chef.
In many kitchens, that would never happen. Some chefs protect their status so fiercely that they’d see serving tables as beneath them. When we asked if she’d watched The Bear, she smiled and said she couldn’t. It was too traumatic, too close to the kinds of toxic kitchen environments she had worked in overseas.
But here, it was different. Pride without ego. Everyone was equal. If it meant stepping onto the floor to serve, you did it with the same care you’d pour into a tart. And because she had literally helped make what we were eating, her energy was electric. She believed in the food, and you could feel it.
That’s the kind of culture businesses dream of: when people don’t just do their job, they carry the pride of the whole organisation into every interaction.
The Anchor Effect
We often tell leaders to focus only on the big picture. But this birthday lunch reminded me that sometimes a single detail becomes the anchor that makes everything else memorable.
The food was inventive. The garden walk afterwards was beautiful. The staff were attentive without being overbearing. But what I keep talking about? The Negroni.
It became my anchor for the day. I’ve been talking about it all week, to the point where my partner is probably tired of hearing about it. That single drink didn’t just complete the lunch; it etched the entire experience into memory.
Psychology explains why. We don’t remember experiences evenly. Our brains “chunk” memories around standout moments. Behavioural economists call this the peak-end rule: we recall the emotional high points and the final impression, and use those to judge the entire experience.
That’s what the Negroni did for me. It wasn’t the only great part of lunch, but it became the anchor around which everything else – the food, the service, the garden walk – attached itself.
For businesses, this is more than an anecdote. It’s a reminder that you don’t have to be world-class at everything to be unforgettable. You need to create one anchor moment: a signature product, a flawless interaction, a distinctive detail that customers will hold onto and use to retell your story.
In a crowded market, that kind of anchor isn’t just nice to have. It’s differentiation. It’s the reason people remember you when competitors blur together.
Culture You Can Feel
Another realisation from that lunch: culture can be felt long before it’s written down.
It wasn’t just the pastry chef doubling as a waitress. Another member of the team stood out too. She carried a French intensity, the kind of commitment where you notice how she places the plates down, aligns the cutlery, speaks to the table. She wasn’t the owner, but she might as well have been. Her presence told you she was all in.
That commitment added to the experience in a way that couldn’t be faked.
And in business, your customers can feel the same. They know when your team believes in what they’re building. They sense when energy is aligned and pride is shared. Culture is not the mission statement on your wall. It’s how your people show up, day after day, in the smallest of interactions.
Consistency Creates Trust
The other thing that struck me was how consistent everything was, from the greeting at the door to the final sip of coffee. There were no weak links, no moments that jarred or broke the flow.
You know how some places leave you feeling rushed, or worse, invisible, even in otherwise ‘nice’ restaurants? This was the opposite.
That consistency built trust. By the time we left, I didn’t just think, that was a good lunch. I thought, I’d trust this place to deliver again, and again.
In business, consistency is often underrated. But it’s what turns first-time customers into long-term loyalists. People don’t just want excellence once. They want to know they can rely on it every time.
Effort Without Desperation
What made it even more remarkable is that the restaurant was brand new, only a few months old.
You could feel that they were still working hard to get everything right. The attention to detail, the energy of the staff, the pride in every interaction. It all had the freshness of a team intent on proving themselves.
But here’s the important distinction: it never came off as desperate or inexperienced. Instead, it felt like being part of a place still shaping itself, still hungry to refine and improve, but already confident enough to make the experience seamless.
New businesses walk a fine line when it comes to effort. Show too little and you look uncommitted. Show too much, and you risk coming across as frantic or needy.
This restaurant got the balance exactly right. You could sense the energy of a team still refining, still putting in the extra effort to get every detail right. But it never tipped into desperation. Instead, it felt like hunger paired with control.
That balance matters in business too. Customers and investors don’t just buy your product; they buy into your energy.
- Desperation makes people nervous: if you seem unstable, they worry you’ll burn out or fold.
- Indifference makes people dismiss you: if you don’t care deeply, why should they?
- But when you project steady and intentional effort that says we’re still improving, but you can trust us already, people lean in. They want to join you, and sometimes even become curious about where you are heading.
For founders, the takeaway is simple: your energy sets the tone. Put in the visible work, but frame it with calm confidence. People don’t just want to see you hustling; they want to believe you can deliver, again and again.
The Business Lesson on the Plate
Founders and leaders often chase scale, speed, and strategy. But sometimes the real growth driver is simpler: Care.
When you:
- Build pride without ego
- Create a strong anchor for your customer experience
- Foster a culture that can be felt, not just spoken
- Deliver consistency that builds trust
- Strike the balance of effort without desperation
You don’t just win business. You create loyalty. The kind of loyalty that has people talking about you for weeks, long after the experience is over.
Takeaway
That birthday lunch reminded me that true sustainability in business isn’t only about environmental choices. It is also about the culture you build, the pride you show, and the care you pour into the details. Those are the things that make businesses unforgettable and impactful, long after the moment has passed.
And maybe that’s why it struck me so deeply. The day itself was already special, a birthday lunch organised by my partner, but what made it unforgettable were the details, the pride, and the care poured into every moment. Care is not an add-on. It is the difference between being remembered and being forgotten. When you weave that care into the anchors people talk about, the consistency they trust, and the effort they can feel, you create the kind of impact that lasts, long after the moment is over.
