The Taste of Excellence
Banking and cooking might seem like very different businesses, but there are important lessons that apply to both, as shown by Alexander Ziehl, CEO of VP Bank Luxembourg, and Louis Linster, Gault & Millau’s Chef of the Year 2024. Interview.
How do you create and sustain a culture of excellence?
Whether in cooking or in banking, that starts with looking for the best products, tasting ingredients or scrutinising investments. It means always looking for the finest quality, being willing to change if you find a better option. Even small details are important, and not everyone understands that. In cooking, it means carefully selecting every ingredient that goes into a dish. In banking, it means serving clients all the way down the value chain, having experienced and educated relationship managers. And in both businesses, it means putting a menu together for individual clients so that they have a very positive experience.
How does ownership over the process shape this?
You need people who listen to the demands of clients, who understand their needs and can put all the ingredients together to make our menu. And you have to make sure that staff understand why people are coming to you, because there are a lot of restaurants, there are a lot of banks, and something makes you stand out. If staff don’t understand the magic in your work, then you’re going to lose that magic, and then you’re going to lose your clients. The difference comes from the people, so it’s very important for us to have the right people in our business, ones who understand their responsibility to do the work right, who aren’t just here to work but for something special. That way, we can offer the service clients want.
“Whether in cooking or in banking, excellence starts with looking for the best products.”
What can these two very different industries learn from each other?
From restaurants, we can learn the value of taking your time, not always being in a hurry, just enjoying the moment. Making everything right for clients, so that they can enjoy it too. From banking, we see the value of taking care to deliver an excellent solution at the end of the day. Something that makes you different from others is very well received by the clients, because a restaurant is a restaurant but a unique experience stands out. If you have very special details, something that they’ll remember better than the rest, then you stand out. It’s the feeling that you’re getting a very good service with very good ingredients, where the details are taken care of. It’s about making dreams come true.
