Columnists
Hospitality book review
One of the things that makes any restaurant great is service. There’s an old saying that you can overlook average food and still give a place another try if the service is excellent. But no matter how extraordinary the food may be, if the service is lacking, most people won’t go back.
A few of my favourite reads this year focus on that very idea: not just restaurant service, but hospitality in all the places we touch each day. A haircut, a shop visit, buying a house—all of it is an opportunity to surprise someone, to earn trust, and to build real loyalty through hospitality.
WINE GIRL — VICTORIA JAMES
This book is a raw and inspiring memoir that follows Victoria James from a difficult, often traumatic childhood to becoming America’s youngest sommelier at a Michelinstarred restaurant at just 21. It’s an unflinching look at the dark underbelly of high-end dining and the wine world—an industry James rightly calls an “old boys’ club.”
But at its heart, the story is also about hospitality: how, when it’s done well, it can transform the people around you and the business you run. Through grit, determination, and a deep love of wine, James climbs her way into leadership, eventually becoming partner and beverage director at Cote Korean Steakhouse in New York.
It’s a powerful reminder that even in a flawed industry, generosity, care, and true hospitality can open doors that talent alone never will.
SETTING THE TABLE — DANNY MEYER
If there were a single handbook for great hospitality, this would be it. Danny Meyer tells the story of his rise in the New York restaurant world, but more importantly, he explains the philosophy that shaped it: the “virtuous cycle.” Employees first, then Guests, followed by Community, Suppliers, and finally Investors. His belief in “Enlightened Hospitality”—that taking care of people leads naturally to profit—is something any business in PEC could put to work.
UNREASONABLE HOSPITALITY — WILL GUIDARA
Will Guidara, one of Meyer’s protégés, later became the co-owner of Eleven Madison Park. His message is simple: extraordinary hospitality can transform absolutely anything. If you’ve seen the 7 Days Out episode on the restaurant’s reopening, you’ll know the energy he brings. His TED Talk, where he tells the now-famous hot-dog story, is the basis for one of the strongest episodes of The Bear (Season 2, Episode 7, Forks). Guidara makes you rethink what’s possible when you go above and beyond.
I HEAR SHE’S A REAL BITCH — JEN AGG
Jen Agg remains one of Toronto’s most outspoken— and sharpest—restaurateurs. In a male-dominated industry, she carved out her own space and her own voice. This book tracks the beginning of her restaurant empire with the opening of The Black Hoof. She doesn’t hold back when it comes to calling out the bro culture that dominates so many kitchens. And in a local twist, one of the central figures in that turbulent period is Grant van Gameren—yes, the same one now behind Harry’s Charbroiled at the roundabout. Too many people shrug and say, “That’s just kitchen culture,” but Agg refuses to let that slide, and the industry is better for it
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