What a joy to spend an hour or so listening to Diego. Watching and listening filled me with so many great memories. When we lived in London, we spent every Valentine's day at the Waterside. That always coincided with the release of Michellin France, and we would chat about the ups and downs of Paris. Mary and I were lucky enough to have eaten at all the Paris 3 stars so it was like revisiting them. To one of Diego's points, at any of these great restaurants, you may not recall the food or wine but you will always remember how they made you feel. We had a friend ask Mary how we could spend $400 dollars for a meal. She pointed out that this person would spend $400 to play golf at a great course. At the end they were tired, frustrated and very likely disappointed. She on the other hand was made to feel like the most special person on earth and for 3 or 4 hours, she would only hear, "Of course you can." We once spent two nights at the Waterside. Diego had booked us in for lunch at the Fat duck. We finished late and went for a walk. We had no plan for dinner and as we walked back to the Waterside, Diego was outside. He insisted taking us inside and setting a table outside overlooking the river with champagne and snacks. When we were leaving the following day, the porter brought our bags to the front. Diego was just arriving, not in a suit, and gave us each a hug. Then with the porter there and some staff outside on a smoke break, Diego loaded out luggage int he car. Inspired by Diego, the whiskey guy helped him. Leading by example. Later we were at Gleneagles and I was telling Dale Dewsbury that as much as I liked him, Diego was number one in the world. Dale just nodded and said, "I would be honored to be Diego's commis." Back here in the US, I have actually had occasion to use Diego's book in a talk to front of house students at our local college. Would love to see him again.
What a joy to spend an hour or so listening to Diego. Watching and listening filled me with so many great memories. When we lived in London, we spent every Valentine's day at the Waterside. That always coincided with the release of Michellin France, and we would chat about the ups and downs of Paris. Mary and I were lucky enough to have eaten at all the Paris 3 stars so it was like revisiting them.
To one of Diego's points, at any of these great restaurants, you may not recall the food or wine but you will always remember how they made you feel. We had a friend ask Mary how we could spend $400 dollars for a meal. She pointed out that this person would spend $400 to play golf at a great course. At the end they were tired, frustrated and very likely disappointed. She on the other hand was made to feel like the most special person on earth and for 3 or 4 hours, she would only hear, "Of course you can."
We once spent two nights at the Waterside. Diego had booked us in for lunch at the Fat duck. We finished late and went for a walk. We had no plan for dinner and as we walked back to the Waterside, Diego was outside. He insisted taking us inside and setting a table outside overlooking the river with champagne and snacks. When we were leaving the following day, the porter brought our bags to the front. Diego was just arriving, not in a suit, and gave us each a hug. Then with the porter there and some staff outside on a smoke break, Diego loaded out luggage int he car. Inspired by Diego, the whiskey guy helped him. Leading by example. Later we were at Gleneagles and I was telling Dale Dewsbury that as much as I liked him, Diego was number one in the world. Dale just nodded and said, "I would be honored to be Diego's commis."
Back here in the US, I have actually had occasion to use Diego's book in a talk to front of house students at our local college. Would love to see him again.