When You Think No One Notices…
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Have you ever wondered if anyone ever notices the things you do?
The good things that somehow seem lost in the crazy world around us?
Have you ever worked tirelessly to build a business, event, or bring attention to a worthy cause?
Only to have little recognition and reward for hard work?
Most of us have.
But sometimes things turn out a bit differently.
Sometimes… you do get noticed.
I recently read a story about a pub in the middle of nowhere.
A restaurant was named last week by Trip Advisor as the best in the world.
A surprise to the culinary world… but most especially to chef and owner Tommy Banks.
Bloomberg food writer Richard Vines says, “I’ve eaten at six establishments that have held that title. My travels have taken me to glorious locations, from a hillside villa overlooking the sea in Catalonia to the back streets of Modena, Italy. I never expected to journey to a village pub deep in the countryside of northern England—reached by a narrow and winding road—where the first thing you see when you finally arrive is a group of locals enjoying a pint of beer on a bench outside.”
The Black Swan at Oldstead is a family-run inn in North Yorkshire, England. An area the Banks family has farmed for generations.
“If I’m honest, when someone told me, I thought it sounds like a bit of a spoof, someone pulling our leg or some sort of scam,” Tommy Banks said in an interview in the stone-paved bar, with a log fire, paneled walls and a blackboard listing cocktails. “We never imagined quite how big it would become. Things just went crazy. The phone rang off the hook, and e-mails, e-mails, e-mails. We took 1,200 bookings in four hours, and that has filled us up for the rest of the year. There were reporters outside when I came in the next morning to cook breakfast and we had TV trucks all day. We had 90,000 people on our website in one afternoon.”
He also told Cambridge News, “It’s a huge honour to win this award, but what makes it really special is that it’s been awarded because of feedback from our customers.”
One such customer said of The Black Swan at Oldstead, ““A tantalizing trip for the taste buds. This restaurant is truly a box of delights. The flavours, combinations of ingredients and skill in putting together the menu are joyous.”
My takeaway?
1. Perfect your craft and deliver consistently.
2. Surround yourself with great, trustworthy people (his family).
3. Don’t worry about the things you cannot change (like a location in the middle of nowhere).
When You Think No One Notices…
When you think no one notices… when you’re tempted to stop trying… when you want to throw in the towel and take a break… remember this…
Someone indeed may be watching and noticing… and even reviewing.
Miracles do happen.
Restaurants in the middle of nowhere sometimes become the greatest in the world.
Take heart, keep going, pursuing, learning, serving, working… hoping.
Miracles really do happen.
Hug your loved ones’ extra tight and–
Have a beautiful week!
Stephanie
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