He owns a string of award-winning restaurants in New York City and last night, the King of Hospitality, Danny Meyer was Guest of Honour at the latest Creative Minds event in the US Ambassador’s Residence in Ireland.
Ambassador Kevin F O’Malley invited him over to talk to a group of two hundred people about the golden rules of hospitality.
Irish Taste Club was there too.
Here’s what Danny Meyer had to say about his newest idea- abolishing tipping.
- “The average wage for Front of House in NYC is just $2.13 per hour. Without tips, they can’t survive.”
- “Kitchen staff don’t get a share of tips and their wages are so low, I am worried that fewer and fewer people will go to college to learn the chef’s trade because they simply can’t afford to live on the wages.”
- “The average diner in NYC tips 23 per cent.”
- “From November 19th, I will get rid of tips in my restaurants. The bill will go up by 21 per cent which means just an extra 2 per cent cost to diners.”
- “I want happy waiters and happy cooks. I think getting rid of tipping will achieve that and it will also make for better service because staff won’t feel they’re only doing a good job to get a tip.”