Will Harper receives his Virgin Rising Star award at the 2011 AFWS Annual Awards
My name is Will Harper, I am the Brasserie manager at Malmaison Liverpool and in October 2011 I was named “Virgin Rising Star”. The prize for winning this great accolade was to visit and take part in a ‘Stage’ at the Roof Gardens, South Kensington. In particular I would be spending a lot of time in the award winning restaurant – Babylon.
I arrived on the Tuesday at around 10.30am. I had not been told exactly what I would be doing during my week but I was determined to get the most out of it that I could. I was equipped with my trusty notebook in order to make as many notes as possible during my week, I might even steal some pearls of wisdom to bring back up north. When I first arrived I was greeted warmly by Peter Avis Babylon’s restaurant manager. We quickly sat down and went through my plan for the week. Peter said he was happy to change bits and pieces as we went along in order for me to gain experience where I wanted to. After the briefing we joined the staff lunch with all the members of staff on shift for the Tuesday lunch service. This is an idea Peter has brought back from his ‘Stage’ in New York with Danny Meyer.
“We don’t talk about work here” Peter said “It’s an excellent bonding session”. I could see how it worked. Many restaurants and hotels have now cut their staff meals due to the recession. This maybe necessary but you could definitely see the positive effects right here and I had only been in the building 30 minutes. Different departments bonded and were having a laugh. This was defiantly having a positive effect on staff morale.
After the staff meal I attended the lunch briefing. These are very similar to the ones we have at Malmaison. VIP’s were discussed and menu knowledge tested. Peter explained to all the staff about the sustainable restaurant association award which had been awarded to Babylon, this was to enable staff members to relate this to the guests. We also tried a fabulous cocktail. The Red Edition (see below).
This was made up of cherry liqueur, cranberry juice and topped up with champagne it was finished with some dry ice nested on top of the glass and laying inside was a garnish of red berries. £1 of every one of these cocktails would also go to help Virgin’s charities in the UK and abroad.
After the briefing Peter gave me a tour of the whole building. I saw the gardens and the famous flamingos. I also saw the function space and was introduced to many different members of staff. After the quick tour myself, Peter and Head Chef Ian Howard sat and had lunch. This was my chance to see first hand the type of service at Babylon. We had a great lunch. I was very impressed with Peter and Ian’s relationship. It is very different from many restaurant managers and head chefs in the industry. It is obvious they truly care about each others opinions, it is not just for show and this is obviously one of the reasons for the success of Babylon. I was also impressed with what Peter calls “Topping up Intelligently”. My glass was always full. I must have gone through three bottles of water myself but this is something I will be implementing in Liverpool, ensuring topping up happens more regularly and therefore this will create an increase in up selling opportunities.
After lunch I joined a meeting to discuss any issues within different departments with the human resources manager. It was very much like a Your Voice meeting. But this was a good way for staff to voice any issues in their departments such as changing facilities to the quality of staff food.
I then joined Max the bar manager and spent a couple of hours with him to discuss some of the products used at Babylon. We talked a lot about the cocktails and the new ideas being introduced such as using nitrous oxide (dry ice) as garnishes for cocktails and creating foams. I made one myself which was a mixture of frangelico, amaretto, lime and chilled water. It was just like eating marzipan and I thought this would be fantastic on top of cherry bakewell cocktail which we do at Malmaison. I then talked to Matt about different infusions, these include mixing Woodford reserve with chocolate and raisins and we also discussed bottle ageing martinis. All great ideas and I will be speaking with the bar manager here at Malmaison about implementing a few ideas.
On the Wednesday I was working with Lucia, Peter’s assistant. I arrived at 9.30am. First thing we did was go through the reservations for the day. We had a meeting at 10 and needed to know this information for Sam, the general manager. The morning meeting at 10am is again something we do at Malmaison. All the departments meet and discuss their day, any VIP’s, maintenance issues and revenue from yesterday.
After the meeting Lucia had to prepare for lunch service. We only had 30 booked but we were hoping for some pick up. We went to see the chef to confirm any changes on the menu. We also checked with pastry chef to which cheeses were on the board today as well ice cream and sorbets and the type of petit fours being sold.
We then had the staff meal followed by the lunch briefing, we tried a hot buttered rum cocktail. Some people didn’t like it, I however thought it was lovely. A great warming cocktail on a cold rainy day.
I then observed the lunch service. In order to get the best I could out of the few hours I moved around between waiters, bar and reception. I spent a bit of time on the pass and watched the kitchen work as well as the process of relaying checks to waiters. Watching the waiters and their service it is very similar to Malmaison and this reassured me that we are on the right track and have a great project in Liverpool. I then moved into reservations. We also use the Quadranet booking system so it was interesting to see how they used it. I then moved to the Bar. Max was creating some Easter cocktails and I got to try one.
This was made up of chocolate liqueur, vanilla vodka, chocolate powder and cream. It was then served in a chocolate cup which the kitchen had made and therefore could be eaten once the cocktail had been finished. Max also made a margarita sorbet using dry-ice. This would make a great palate cleanser.
I finished the day by helping a member of staff with mis-en-place for the evening. It is always good to talk to the waiters as I find this is where I discover a great deal about the type of establishment and how well it is run.
For the third day I was to oversee an evening service. When I arrived the team was getting ready for some wine training. We tried five wines from the Journeys End collection, a South African producer of some great wines. Malmaison works closely with Journeys End as well so it was nice to try wines again which we have on our list. I then got to shadow Catherine one of the restaurant supervisor and responsible for the wine in the restaurant.
I then attended the managers meeting followed by the evening staff meal and briefing. Lucia and Catherine use very similar techniques to my team in terms of menu quizzes to constantly test knowledge. For dinner we had over 100 booked so I was to see Babylon in full flow tonight.
I worked very similar as I had in the previous two services. I got stuck in without disrupting anybodies duties or roles. I helped with reservations and the bar, I even managed to sell a Red Edition. It was great to see the restaurant in full flow. Waiters are kept busy but not given too many tables, this allows them appropriate time to converse with the guest and ensure they are giving great customer service.
On my final day with Babylon I was able to sit in on a meeting about the renovations being made to the terrace and bar. Babylon now has such great cocktails being produced they have decided to extend the area to allow for more drinkers and I can’t think of anywhere better to drink in London, with those views it is a delight night and day.
I then spent a little bit more time with the reservations team taking the bookings. Babylon use quadranet in a really effective way than . I will be taking ideas such as email confirmation and template emails back to Liverpool.
During the afternoon myself and Peter visited Virgin Limited Editions head quarters I managed to meet some great people including Janet Hoolohan the Marketing Director. She told me a lot more about the brand and the exciting future and it certainly seems to be one to look forward to. After the meeting we headed back to the Roof Gardens where Peter gave a training session on guest expectations, the art of up-selling and anticipating guest needs. A lot which was spoken about is implemented to some degree at Malmaison but over the coming weeks I will strive to make sure we try and step up to the high standards which are constantly on display at Babylon.
I really enjoyed my week in London. I learnt quite a lot from simple things such as enhancing briefings to more technical aspects in terms of creating great cocktails. They have a very special team at the Roof Gardens and you can see that loyalty is high because they are well looked after. It was Raymond Blanc who recently commented on the long hours the industry requires of its employers and the importance of trying to lower these. At Babylon they have it right. Not many staff do over 48 hours a week. This means when they are at work they are highly efficient, motivated and personable due to not being overworked. This enhances the customer experience.
The Academy has now launched its 2012 Annual Awards for Front-of-House Excellence. Log on to www.annualawards.co.uk to enter on-line. Entries must be received by
21 September 2012.
