2010 was a year of celebrations, changes, challenges and satisfactions.
After Independence Day, all the big challenges seemed little now.
The celebrations of the Centennial of the Mexican Revolution weren't as huge as Independence Day ones, however we were expecting a never-seen-before multimedia show, everyday for 2 weeks. That meant, we would be totally booked everyday for 2 weeks, and of course the boss decided to adequate ALL the levels in the building, therefore we'd expect more than 200pax per night, distributed in 5 floors plus another available floor for private reservations.
7th floor - terrace for up to 40pax. Serving premium buffet
6th floor - terrace for up to 60pax. Serving premium buffet
5th floor - room for up to 30 pax. Serving standard buffet
4th floor - room for up to 45 pax. Serving standard buffet
3rd floor - room for up to 50 pax. Drinks only
2nd floor- room for up to 30 pax. Available for group reservations.
The Cathedral and National Palace during the projection testing before the show
As part of my strategy, I left my Sous Chef in charge of the daily events and I became responsible for taking reservations, designing a layout for each floor, assignation of tables, and during the event, I acted as the main host; greeting the guests, checking their reservation, and then giving them access to the elevators.
Damn, having around 3 hours to let 220 people in, was a real challenge.
Why does people has to be so impatient?
They get mad, they tell you your job sucks, that you dont know how to do your job, that this or that is mistaken, that is my fault for not having their reservations...
The problem with most of us chefs, is that we're used to a kind of discipline, and to give orders and expect others to obey. To be our word the last word for everything, and well, everything is different when interacting with people, but I have to confess there were moments where I said:
"enough, from now on, you stand outside and I will call you to let you in, if you don't have a reservation then dont waste your time, we are fully booked since last week, and do not insist"
Of course there were many other understanding, educated and well-mannered people, they waited, they thanked for the attention, and left with a smile after the show was over.
At 9:00 pm the show starts, it's like a story, from the ancient civilizations, the conquer, the independence, the war, the invasions, the revolution, the earthquake of 1985, the reconstruction of the nation, until the mexico of today.
The show lasted for an hour and a half, but everyone stayed until the last firework had explosed in the air. As you can see, the final was impressive, i will leave you a video as well, so you can see how great it was. Enjoy
The video was shot at the restaurant by my cousin, great video!
