Back of the House

Inovasi Nixes Lunch Service, Plans Intensive Daily Staff Training

John des Rosiers
John des Rosiers Photo: courtesy of Facebook

When John des Rosiers, the executive chef of Inovasi, says he is going to do something, it usually gets done. Just check out his Wisma project if you need to be convinced. So, we’re taking him at his word when he claims that in late August Inovasi will no longer be open for lunch. Instead, he writes on his blog that the acclaimed restaurant will “embark on what I believe to be the single greatest front of house training and education ever attempted in a restaurant. Period.”

What does this epic house training entail? According to Des Rosiers, members of the staff will attend “1 to 1 1/2 hour sessions” four days a week, where they’ll learn about every detail of restaurant, from “food, to beer, to wine, to farms and how they work, to spirits, to every single aspect even a smidge related to what we do at Inovasi and who we do it with.” He admits that they’ll miss out on revenue from lunch, but that it is needed because the “long term growth of our restaurant necessitates this.”

This all certainly sounds intense, but we were more interested to learn that he also hopes to have every staff member certified as both a sommelier and cicerone in 16 months. We’re not aware of any other restaurant in town with such a requirement. Are you?

We’ll have to see how it all pays off, but it’s fascinating for a chef pay such attention to the front of the house.

The Future of Inovasi [The Inovasi Thought]

Inovasi Nixes Lunch Service, Plans Intensive Daily Staff Training