Comfort Food #17: Andrea Grudda – Is the crisis paving the way for ” New Work” in gastronomy?

“There is not one way out of the Corona crisis, but many individual ways. We will continue to need everybody, but in different roles.”
Andrea Grudda, 12.05.20 

Andrea Grudda is strategy Consultant, Trend Expert and Coach. Andrea advises gastronomes with workshops and creative concepts. She has noticed with many of her clients that the Corona crisis has unleashed a great creative potential: thorough changes are taking place, hierarchies suddenly seem flatter. We wanted to know from Andrea whether this difficult time for many restaurateurs is an opportunity to implement new working methods, and to establish a better, healthier and more sustainable work culture in the future.

“New Work” stands for meaningful work, a new understanding of roles within a team and a healthier work culture. For Andrea Grudda, now is exactly the moment where these principles also have a chance to be established in gastronomy. “Because many people have learned in the past few weeks that you can have excellent food delivered to your home. The biggest challenge in the coming months will be to create atmospheres that make people really want to come back to restaurants.” The decisive factor is not so much the wine and the food, but the experience and the symbolism that are conveyed during the visit. It’s about getting across the heartbeat and identity that define a restaurant. And this is easier for open, creative teams evolving in inspiring environments. At the same time, New Work is able to create a new self-understanding for the entire industry and makes it possible to master complex tasks through the shared input of every team member. How exactly does this work? By “asking, requesting and challenging. Understanding fears, trusting and encouraging people. Mistakes will happen, but that’s OK too. ”  

Das Gespräch moderierte B-EAT Magazin Editor-at-Large Loraine Haist.

Andrea Grudda: Instagram | Facebook | Website