Restaurateur and author Will Guidara, whose work and writing have influenced several aspects of the award-winning FX series “The Bear”, recently visited The Entrepreneur’s Studio, a podcast produced and sponsored by Heartland, to discuss his commitment to unreasonable hospitality and the importance of creating magical experiences customers will never forget. 

The three-time James Beard Award winner is the national bestselling author of the book, “Unreasonable Hospitality” and the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, which received four stars from The New York Times, three Michelin stars and was named number one on the list of the world’s top 50 restaurants under his leadership. Chris Allen, Heartland’s SVP of Marketing and host of The Entrepreneur's Studio sat down with Guidara as he gave listeners further insight into his unique approach to the customer experience. 

“When you go to a restaurant, your server has the most influence over whether you have a good meal or not,” said Guidara. “And yet, in almost every restaurant, that person is just serving you plates of food that someone else created. If you double down on hospitality, you’re giving that person agency empowerment.” 

This mindset led to the creation of the Dreamweaver, a staff member responsible for implementing ideas from the frontline workers to make every customer’s experience unforgettable. 

The Dreamweavers “are there to execute the ideas of those on the frontline and make the ideas better,” said Guidara. And though anyone from busboys to food runners can come up with this idea, the Dreamweaver “is there to help everyone else in the team bring their ideas to life.” 

This unique approach to personalized hospitality inspired a scene in a season two episode of “The Bear”, a comedy-drama that stars Jeremy Allen White as an award-winning chef running the kitchen at a sandwich shop in Chicago. In another scene from that episode, a character played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach is seen reading Guidara’s book “Unreasonable Hospitality.” 

As part of his visit to The Entrepreneur’s Studio, Guidara was joined by his wife and two-time James Beard Award-winning chef, Christina Tosi, for a special-edition, spouse vs. spouse, rapid-fire segment, which can be seen on Youtube and Instagram (@theentrepreneurs.studio). 

To hear more insights from the conversation with Guidara and many others, download and listen to episodes for free on any major podcast platform, or head over to theentrepreneurs.studio.