Discovering the Unattainable: is exclusivity only available to the wealthy?
My brother in law owns a restaurant in Fuerteventura. I wonder what you think when you read these words?
Do you imagine a deeply traditional oak beamed tavern replete with fresh white linen tables, the aroma of ‘chuleton’ beef sizzling from the kitchen, and a buzz of Spanish as staff patrol the aisles with Rioja?
Or do you imagine a terrace of white plastic chairs, piped Regaton music and sports tv in the corner?
It all depends on your experiences, your preconceived ideas of hospitality in Spanish resorts. It could be any of those things.
When I imagine another sort of dining experience, an exclusive restaurant where you need to book long in advance, where mobile phones are frowned on, where there is a dress code; I imagine a high class joint in New York or Dubai, a stern staff member on the door checking you are the right kind of customer, and a sense of not belonging.
What if exclusivity could mean something else? That is what my brother in law provides his customers by following a few simple rules:
You must book ahead. And when you do, the table is yours for however long you need it.
No WiFi. He prefers guests talk to each other
No football - colours or on tv
His restaurant never gets bigger. He doesn’t want to expand, it’s big enough to let him and his team give every guest their attention, un-rushed.
He doesn’t over book, preferring to turn down custom so his guests have a better experience.
And he enjoys the company of his customers. He is not serving you, he is welcoming you to his home.
This recent customer summed it up:
“So what makes this place so enviably impossible to experience for so many? Dining is limited here by the domineering swagger of Ramon the owner. Yet that swagger is tempered by an obvious desire to delight the lucky diner with an experience that is not built on greed. I think this man is so rare in this world that he cannot be bought by any means. The prize winner who is lucky enough to land a table here did so not by a measure of his position or social standing and certainly not by a measure if his bank account. The food at this restaurant is of the very highest standard known in the catering world, yet is so modest of price.”
Here is exclusivity but without the pomp, the show off, the hype. He isn’t chasing Michelin stars, and he doesn’t want you to treat his restaurant as a social accomplishment.
I think it’s important we all think more about the experiences that matter. And whether the value is measured in the cost.
Ramon is creating a desire not just for the food but for the experience. It's a reminder that the best things in life are not always the most accessible, but perhaps that's what makes them all the more desirable.
If you are involved in the service sector, hospitality or not, stop and ask yourself if you are creating a sense of exclusivity by means of offering a great experience, unique and unparalleled. And do you offer your customers the chance to abandon their preconceived ideas and enjoy something new, simple, worthy?
Next time you visit Fuerteventura, travel south to Morro Jable and ask the first person you meet where you can find La Bodega de Jandia