Staff Who Eat the Guests’ Dishes

I have been a guest of 7 Mehmet Restaurant for many years, and from time to time I still encounter things that surprise even me. There are days when, in a restaurant, you completely trust the service team and say, “What’s good today, what would you recommend?” You usually ask this of a dining room manager or head waiter you know well, trust, and perhaps even consider yourself a regular with. Mehmet summarises the secret behind this approach as follows: “My grandfather believed in — and practised — one simple rule: never serve a dish you wouldn’t eat yourself, neither to your staff nor to your guests. If he didn’t like a dish, he wouldn’t offer it to customers, nor would he allow it to be eaten by the staff. This became an institutional culture for us. It is also why the flavours of our classic dishes you already know have never changed, apart from newly developed recipes. Because in this restaurant, from the chef to the commis, from the head waiter to the bartender, everyone has eaten, tasted and tested those dishes many times, and has memorised their flawless version. For this reason, it is entirely possible to see fish steamed in parchment, kid goat stew or clarified-butter rice pilaf among the staff meals at 7 Mehmet Restaurant. Unlike many other restaurants, the staff at 7 Mehmet have tasted the dishes on the menu. When needed, they know them well enough to describe their flavours, textures and aromas in detail.”