308 Chapter 14 The Customer Experience: Product, Service, and Training Issues
INTRODUCTION
Up to this point, the discussions and exercises in this text
have armed you with (1) depth of experience in tasting and
evaluating food and wine combinations, (2) the basics of wine
evaluation and differences between varietals characteristics,
(3) an understanding of gastronomic identity and its relation-
ship with wine and food marriages, and (4) knowledge of how
food and wine elements interact and transform each other.
These methods provide you with a tool kit of ideas, concepts,
and knowledge for quickly identifying key wine and food ele-
ments that impact the effectiveness of food and wine pairings.
This process combines techniques and ideas from both the art
and science of sensory evaluation. The heart of this process
relies heavily upon the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and
hearing.
As pointed out throughout the text, it is important toconsider the impact of a region’s gastronomic identity on
food, wine, and the pairing of the two when considering var-
ious matches. A variety of environmental and cultural ele-
ments impact preferences and prevailing components,
textures, and flavors in wine and food. The Aperitifs in each
chapter demonstrate that many business and educational en-
deavors have found taking the gastronomic identity perspec-
tive to food and wine pairing to be rewarding and profitable.
This perspective helps to provide unique experiences for lo-
cals and visitors alike while preserving (and in many cases
exposing) a part of history.
The previous three chapters have focused on the use of
the Wine and Food Pairing Instrument and explained how the
profile it creates can be used to predict levels of match. The
decision tree and scoring sheet help to create a structure to
evaluate the impact of various elements on the potential
match.
The concept of food and wine pairing is an exciting,
challenging, and rapidly evolving topic area and industry.
Many issues impact the experience your guests will have in
your establishment, including the quality and extent of your
food menu and accompanying wine list. Many questions have
not been fully explored up to this point: How, specifically, can
the food and wine pairing process be used to create a positive
experience for my guests or customers? Will these food and
wine pairing skills be useful in allowing my business to be
more successful and competitive in the marketplace? Will this
process ultimately provide greater gastronomic satisfaction
for my guests and positively impact the bottom line of my
business? The answers to these questions depend on how you
implement your particular food and wine program. Successful
implementation has to do with your customers’ perception of
service quality. The key criteria customers use to evaluate ser-
vice quality include the reliability, responsiveness, compe-
tence, courtesy, and communication demonstrated by those
providing the service as well as their understanding of the
consumer.^1Aperitif
!
Product-Service Considerations for a Food and Wine Program
How large should the portion be in our wine-by-the-glass program? Or, what are the correct food and
wine portion sizes in a multi-course tasting menu? Before these and many other questions can be answered,
you will need to consider customer needs, seating capacity, the number of meals served, equipment needs,
staff skills, and training capabilities.
Product presentation refers to every aspect associated with how the product is presented to the final
customer. For food items, the concept of presentation includes the layout and combination of food items
on the plate as well as the china, glass, silver, and other non-traditional service pieces that may be used.
For wine, the presentation may include the storage unit (a visible cellar), wine buckets (Sterling silver? Or,
plastic?), and the glassware.
The table setting plays a large part in the presentation factor of a food and wine product. How formal
or informal should the setting be? What is the correct set-up for a multi-course tasting menu? If I am
invited to a multi-course, formal dinner will I use the proper etiquette? These and other questions point
out some of the issues of creating the right experience for guests attending a multi-course food and wine