Tasting Dinners —
Sip, Chew and Learn

By Robert Plotkin

ARE YOU LOOKING to succeed in this century conducting business in the same manner as you did in the last? Now before you answer, here’s a clue how you should respond…don’t say yes. It’s not the passage of time that’s troublesome; it’s the changing attitudes of the American public that requires addressing.

Welcome the era of the tasting dinner. “People want to attend events, special occasions where they have an opportunity to be entertained, wined and dined with other similarly minded people,” contends Claire Marlin, owner of Beverage Design and Marketing, a restaurant and product consulting firm in Dallas. “Tasting dinners create the ideal blend of entertainment and the food and beverage experience. Throw in a little education and you have a wonderful event for both the guests and the host establishment.”

From coast to coast, tasting dinners are growing in popularity. Whether these events feature wine, beer, cocktails or spirits, the concept remains essentially the same. Beginning with cocktails and appetizers and concluding with dessert, each course is paired with a complementary beverage. An expert is typically employed as the moderator for the evening, speaking to the assembled guests about the featured beverages before, during and after the dinner.

These events are gaining popularity with operators as well. According to Evan Goldstein, master sommelier and president of Full Circle Wine Solutions, there are two powerful reasons for conducting tasting dinners. “The first reason is that these events, if executed properly, are capable of being quite profitable. But there’s a more profound, long-lasting benefit, and that is these events can solidify the establishment’s reputation as a destination venue.

According to Goldstein, “If the tasting dinners are presented on a consistent basis, the wine-, beer- or spirits-minded public will begin to anticipate the events and attendance at the dinners will increase. The local media will give the events and host establishment greater coverage. This will attract more like-minded individuals to frequent the establishment. The key, of course, is to ensure that the events are executed properly.”

Proper planning, promotion and execution is critically important; without which, you could be looking at throwing a party and no one showing, plus holding the tab at the end. So here’s some advice from the pros on how to avoid the pitfalls and lessen the learning curve.

One of the keys to being successful is to schedule events three- to six-months in advance. It’s important that your clientele hear about the events with sufficient lead time to be in the position to plan on attending. Three weeks advance notice seems to work the best.

“I’d go as far to say that if the notices or invitations aren’t in your guests hands a minimum of three weeks before the scheduled tasting dinner, cancel the event,” states Doug Frost, Kansas City wine and spirits consultant and veteran host of over a thousand such events. “It’s far more prudent to reschedule an event than to run the risk of putting on a bad show.”

Goldstein recommends scheduling a series of tasting dinners up to a year in advance. “Once the schedule is set, it’s imperative to begin sending out a stream of regular correspondence regarding the upcoming events. You want people to see that you’re serious and committed. This perceived level of commitment will increase the likelihood that your calendars will find their way onto peoples’ refrigerators, instead of being crumpled and tossed out.”

“One of the most effective forms of promotion I’ve found is to personally hand invitations out to your regular guests,” says Frost. “I suggest having the invitations at the front stand, so when guests are being shown their table, the host or hostess can personally present them with an invitation. It’s the personal touch that gets the results.”

 

 

 

Taking Care of the Details

 

WHEN RENDERED DOWN to its essence, a tasting dinner is a performance. As such, details play a crucial role. Take care of the details and the rest will likely fall into place.

One of the first details to be dealt with is where to conduct the event. “Holding the dinner amidst the clamor and activity of a bustling dining room won’t work. The speaker won’t be heard and your guests will be continually distracted,” claims Harding.

“These types of dinners are best held in a private dining room. It offers the necessary acoustics and provides an intimate and convivial setting.”

Frost has held events in which the entire restaurant was utilized. “We’ve hosted dinners on nights when the establishment was normally closed and used the whole facility. It creates a buzz and a sense of excitement among the guests that is difficult to generate in a confined setting. The stakes are raised, of course, in that you need more people to attend the event to make it profitable.”

Care should be given to limiting the seating at the dinner. Exclusivity works to your advantage, as well as help avoid overcrowding. While seating will be largely determined by the size of the room, Marlin likes to host groups up to around 65 people. Frost considers 60-80 people an ideal turnout for a tasting dinner. John Harding expands that number to 100-200 people for outdoor events.

This begs the question of how to establish a per person charge for the dinner. After determining your hard costs, including food, beverage, labor and marketing, you’ll be faced with the challenge of deciding your mark-up for the dinner.

Evan Goldstein advises factoring into your decision the all-important price to value relationship. “If you’re new to the market with no track record and you’re looking to get good exposure, you’ll need to price the dinner aggressively, giving your guests a great deal for the evening. The exceptional value will generate their continued trade and good word-of-mouth advertising.”

While the event should minimally break-even, Doug Frost recommends that realizing an immediate profit not be the primary objective. “The promotional value of the event has an enormous long-term effect. The dinner promotes the capabilities of your kitchen and the skills of the staff, all of which has a high value to your business. Try enlisting the assistance of your vendors to help off-set some of the costs.”

The experts agreed on the need to pre-sell the event. When guests call to reserve their seats for the dinner, the price of admission should be immediately charged to their credit card. This will drastically reduce the number of “no-shows,” a vexing problem for limited seating events.

Through experience Goldstein has learned to make registration as simple as possible, and to establish a clear, easily understood cancellation policy. The policy should be explained to guests over the phone after they have made their reservations. “It’s equally important that the policy be flexible. If a guest had something unforeseen happen and couldn’t make the dinner, extend the person the courtesy of a credit toward another upcoming event.”

“The all-important detail not to lose sight of,” according to Claire Marlin, “is to remember to make the evening fun. It’s an invaluable commodity in short supply these days.”