MONITOR:I HATE TIPPING. I never know what to give and feel awkward doing it. Too much is as bad as too little. Expected on one side, grudgingly given on the other, for what at times can seem like nothing in return. And when it comes to restaurants, there is the question of exactly what happens to the tip.
In the US, it is expected and can add substantially to the bill, but the culture is well established; the tips are part of a waiter’s pay. Here things are not so clear and while the authorities have attempted to legislate for this murky area, things remain confusing. In some instances, staff get everything, pooled together. In other establishments, there is a ranking of merit depending on how much customer-facing activity you are involved in. In still others, the money is administered either by an elected member of staff or by management, who can and do take a cut.
When you add a tip to your bill at MacNean House and Restaurant in Co Cavan, it goes, quite literally, to feeding the staff. Not, mind you, towards a weekly grocery bill, but rather to regular trips to eat in some of the world’s best restaurants. Rather than have tips added to their salary, Neven Maguire’s team opt for staff outings or, as senior chef Glen Wheeler likes to put it, “brainstorming sessions”.
Top of Wheeler’s list is Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London, an establishment in which he has eaten several times – he even did a stint in the kitchen there. But it doesn’t stop there. Sixteen courses in Per Se in New York is next on the list; followed by the Fat Duck in the UK; La Pergola, the only three-Michelin starred restaurant in Rome; the Vineyard, Maze and Tom Aikens, again in the UK; and the Hotel Lancaster in Paris under Maison Troisgros. Oliver Dunne at Bon Appétit in Malahide also gets a mention.
Wheeler is quietly laid back about all of this, but he is razor sharp about what he has eaten, what works and doesn’t and more importantly why. He focuses on front of house as much as what is happening on the plate. Tastes and flavours are obviously key, but he is also looking at presentation, cutlery, technical routes and, interestingly, the use of vegetables.
At a seminar in Madrid some years ago, Charlie Trotter took the audience through a number of dishes on his menu comparing their construction now with how they had been cooked 10 years ago. The difference was phenomenal. Where a piece of meat or fish was appearing on the plate in its unadorned state it was, in the later version, far more likely to be fashioned into a foam, froth, essence or mere slick.
Wheeler is quick to point out that the MacNean kitchen remains firmly traditional, but these trips are constantly challenging what and how they do things. Which makes the whole team think not just about what they cook but also about being a customer.
While the MacNean practice of brainstorming outings is not unique it is not nearly as prevalent in the industry as you might expect. There are lots of reasons for this, time and money chief among them. But it’s more about attitude. Eight courses later it is time to tip generously after a stunning meal. harnold@irishtimes.com