Playbooks
Remembering Wine Regions Without Taking a Course
Guests ask six questions, none of which need a certification. The fact that unlocks European labels, and the twenty anchors that cover most restaurant lists.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Playbooks
How to Learn a Menu in a Second Language
Three problems stacked on each other, and each needs a different fix. The fifty phrases to learn first, and which words are worth real pronunciation effort.
Lawrence Arya··11 min
Playbooks
How Managers Should Test Menu Knowledge
The written quiz tests recognition, in the wrong direction, silently, once. Here is the spoken thirty-second version that fits in a meeting you already hold.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Playbooks
The Pre-Shift Meeting That Actually Teaches
Half an hour of paid time a week, teaching nothing. The one change that turns a briefing into retrieval practice, and the three things worth covering.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Playbooks
How to Describe a Dish in One Sentence
The four-part formula that answers what guests actually ask, the two optional clauses that prevent complaints, and how to describe a dish you have never tasted.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Playbooks
How to Run a Menu Tasting That Staff Remember
Everyone tastes, everyone nods, and by Friday the floor is reading the menu to guests again. The one change to the format, and the six fields to capture.
Lawrence Arya··11 min
Playbooks
Upselling Without Being Pushy: What Works
Good upselling is information delivered when it is useful, not a script. The four moments that work, the language that does not sell, and when to sell less.
Lawrence Arya··11 min
Playbooks
How to Answer What Do You Recommend
The highest-leverage question at any table, and almost nobody is trained for it. The four things guests mean, and a ten-second answer for all of them.
Lawrence Arya··11 min
Playbooks
What to Say About a Dish You Have Never Tasted
Bluffing and freezing are both worse than the third option. Describe, attribute, offer: the eight-second answer, and where guessing is never acceptable.
Lawrence Arya··11 min