Whatever the occasion, always be ready and bring your A-Game
As Instagram and Facebook sent me timeline photos from this time last year, I’m reminded of the lighting speed of time! It has been almost a year since Singapore’s 10-week COVID-19 circuit breaker implementation, which started on 7 April 2020. It still felt as vivid as yesterday. Fast forward to 2021 and how things have turned around and rebounded for the F&B industry! Today, not only are restaurants booked months ahead (especially for popular Japanese sushi restaurants), there are also new restaurant openings almost every month! This is definitely good news for aspiring restaurateurs and diners who are still unable to travel and will have to make do with spending more time (or rather all our time) on this tiny island.
One of my main takeaways, from those 10 weeks of takeaways (pun unintended!) is the appreciation for establishments who still made an effort to ensure the level of professionalism and quality that they are known (and awarded Michelin stars) for, were not compromised, as it’s a reflection of their commitment towards their business and creative ethos. Even if it was done remotely, the end user experience still matters because it is still an extension of the brand values and image.
However, not everything was perfect since I was disappointed when a relatively new and (back then) recently minted 1- Michelin star fine dining restaurant,forgot to pack the sauce for the main course. Despite a phone call to highlight the oversight, they failed to send over the sauce (considering they were just a 5-minute car ride away). The sauce was the key component in reheating so as to not overcook the beef. Hence, the instruction was to reheat the sauce instead. Without it, the takeaway fine dining meal was not consumed the way it was intended to. That, to me, should be a priority: The experience of the diner, even if it’s just a takeaway.
As a fine dining establishment of that calibre, I would have thought their food will be viewed (by them) as a reflection of their professionalism and commitment to their craft. If you take pride in your work, which is to be expected at that level, you will do your best to ensure your work is well presented as it’s an extension of your “brand”; of what you stand for, no matter what the task is. This was exactly why I even made the effort to set my table with Hermes chinaware and Baccarat glasses — even though it was just a takeaway meal for two! You could say that it was my way of showing respect to the work that went into the food. I wanted to accord a level of finesse that was deemed appropriate for what the product was meant to represent. I brought my A-game, by doing my part to complement the Michelin star takeaway meal. Thus, it was disappointing to witness and experience a lackluster effort and an undeniable realization that we clearly had different views on what it means to “bring your A game”.
Oscar Wilde famously said, “Everything in moderation, including moderation”, a quote or in my case, a motto, which absolutely resonates with me. I believe in doing anything and everything with gusto. It’s all or nothing. What matters is that you have tried your best and given your best effort; the results are secondary, for sometimes we may not achieve the results that we want, but we should always give it our best shot in trying to get what we want. So even if you do not achieve it, you cannot be faulted for not trying hard enough. For why should we not give our best? What is holding you back from giving your best effort? What are you saving all your energy for? If you only try at 50 percent, then you will never achieve 100 percent results, so why even bother?
This applies to anything we do. It can be as simple as instilling an exercise regime. Yes, we may not be lifting the heaviest weights or running at the fastest speed or winning all the tennis games, but every time you made the effort to even get started, do it with the intention of giving it 100 percent of your effort. You know you have brought your A game and there will never be a loss in that.
In the pursuit for perfection, it’s not perfection itself that is the goal — it’s the journey to perfection that matters. Salvador Dali said, “Have no fear of perfection, for you’ll never achieve it” and I truly believe in it. For once you think you have achieved your “perfection”, your ultimate goal, then what is left to achieve? What will drive you to keep going? What will make you “bring your A game”? That’s the mentality of a winner. It’s the philosophy of always trying to achieve more, for the best is yet to be.