Top Chef had a special guest judge tonight and although I don’t usually pay any attention to the judges, Rick Tramonto really imprressed me. He owns several restaurants around Chicago, including the one in tonights show, Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood.
What’s interesting about Rick Tramonto is that his 25 year career started out at Wendy’s. Not some fancy restaurant called Wendys, but Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers. A native of Rochester, New York, he went to school to learn to be a cook and then, after graduation, took a job as a fry cook to help support his family. After a couple years he moved on to The Scotch and Sirloin and from there his career bloomed.
Tramonto now owns Cenitare Restaurants, a restaurant management company that has opened several upscale restaurants in the Chicago area, including TRU and Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood. Pat Bruno of the Chicago Sun-Times once wrote that “Tramonto is a blend of mad scientist and magician in the kitchen. He is innovative, creative and somewhat an illusionist.”
So what is it about Rick Tramonto that everyone should emulate? It’s his philosophy. Just as he understands what it takes to keep his customers happy and coming back, all of us, whether we in business or our personal life should do the same.
Here’s Rick’s Philosophy:
Pursue excellence every day, all day.
Never compromise on quality.
Aim high, think big and do whatever it takes to exceed expectations….blow away our audience every time.
Surpass what was accomplished yesterday.
Put on the show of our lives, there’s no room for mediocrity!
Ensure that guests are happiest right before they leave rather than when they arrive.
Lead by example but don’t ask team members to do anything you haven’t done or wouldn’t do.
Push each other beyond perceived limits.
Talk daily about what we do right and what we didn’t.
Remember that every task, every job is of equal importance: from sweeping & mopping, cleaning bathrooms, making stocks & soup, to service and valet parking. Avoid assigning different levels of worth to different tasksor we will lose our magic formula.
Very special people have come together to make a very special restaurant. Continue to surround Tru with exceptional people.
Stimulating the palate stimulates the mind.
Some people eat to live, some live to eat but we’re living to COOK.
Bring together an audience that thinks big, are positive, professional and fun!
If you can’t fix it, feature it.
Dream it then do it!
This is not simply a job; it’s a way of life!
While some of those sound specific to the restaurant business, with a little thought, you can easily modify them to your life. And when you do, whether it’s at work or at home, you’ll find that life just seems a little bit better.
