"Nicholas Lander is such a fluent writer in this fascinating book, The Art of the Restaurateur. His system of completing each profile with a salient restaurant point applicable to all is brilliant."—Danny Meyer
"Nobu wasn't built in a day. In Nicholas Lander's gorgeous illustrated book... Drew Nieporent and 19 other proprietors reveal what it takes (pluck, creativity, Clintonian people skills) to run a top dining establishment. A must-read for restaurant lovers."—Details
"...Serves as an excellent primer to the world of running a restaurant. In a world where chefs get all the attention, it's nice to see the incredibly difficult work of restaurateur get its due."—Eater National
"In an age of celebrity chefs, this book turns its eye on the unsung heroes of the restaurant industry. In retelling stories of the rise of our era's most famous restaurants and the owners behind them, the book studies successes and failures of each, as well as their decisions behind such as aspects as location, design, menus, and more."—La Cucina Italiana
"Most [Restaurant Hospitality] readers who read this one will likely deliver the same verdict: Finally, a book about us!"—Restaurant Hospitality
"If you've ever wondered what goes into running a single stalwart or growing empire, now's your chance to learn."—The Wall Street Journal
"...The book also offers food for thought on the restaurateur's art... Lander does not resort to the waspish prose that makes some other restaurant critics fun to read. But in these splendid establishments perhaps there was simply nothing to sneer at."—The Economist
"So many people fantasize about starting their own restaurant and few have the slightest idea of what it takes. Meet 20 of the greats including Danny Meter and Joe Bastianich to learn the elements that make for an establishment's success and staying power. (Love the illustrations, too!)"—GOOP
"...Lander offers a globe-trotting tour of gastronomic proportions. The culinary writing is restrained... Without a hint of snobbery, and an absence of interest in all things trendy... Look for valuable lessons and sound advice."—Macleans
"By far one of the best books to do with food and restaurants ever... At once fascinating and entertaining." —LondonLampost.com
If you are planning, or even dreaming of, opening a restaurant of your own, then this will be more use to you than any cookbook. A good read too.
An incisively written and elegantly designed volume that presents a corrective, or at least a counterargument, to the ascent of the celebrity chef. As a former restaurateur and now as the well-respected dining critic for Britain's Financial Times, Lander is uniquely qualified to illuminate the business of running a world-class restaurant. He offers a perspective on the relationship between successful restaurateurs and the chefs they employ that challenges the supremacy of the latter. In what he calls "a golden era for restaurants," he maintains that chefs "have been elevated to an overly lofty position" and that "while chefs may use plates for their art, restaurateurs' imaginations work on much bigger canvases." Yet the relationship is symbiotic, even with occasional creative tension, and the book doesn't devalue the former so much as elevate the latter. Where the chef rules the kitchen, the owner must attend to every last detail of the experience, from the location, setting and design to the atmosphere, hospitality and staff morale, to the dealings with suppliers and landlords, and, ultimately, the bottom line. Lander includes 20 profiles of leading restaurateurs around the globe, including Danny Meyer, "New York's--and possibly the world's--most respected restaurateur," and they read more like inspirational vignettes than bios or how-to pieces. Each is accompanied by a sidebar, a shorter piece illuminating some facet of the restaurant life. Most readers won't have eaten in most of these restaurants, or perhaps even heard of many, but the writing reinforces the restorative value of the fine dining experience as being more than a meal. As for the occasionally prickly relationship between the owners and chefs they employ, one of the former describes his role as mentoring, while another explains, "If we do our job well, when a chef comes along and says…it's time to move on, then we're delighted. It means that there'll be another good place to have lunch in." The line-drawn illustrations complement the prose in a book that will help diners appreciate the whole restaurant experience.
