Gastronomic Revolution – When Strategy Meets Taste
How do you combine project management, innovation and culinary arts? A renowned shopping center developer faced the challenge of getting a grip on the performance and turnover of his food service operations. But instead of conventional analyses, he chose a radically different path together with HBS Berlin and Teatro del Gusto: learning through experience.
Inside an empty hall, 15 event kitchens were set up, a marketplace full of fresh ingredients was created – and an experiment between strategy and sensory delight began. Over 300 participants were divided into teams of 20. Their task: develop a restaurant concept, design it, calculate it – and ultimately cook it live.
Over 300 participants were divided into teams of 20. Their task: develop a restaurant concept, design it, calculate it – and ultimately cook it live.
Every decision became measurable.
The custom-developed business simulation “The Restaurant Manager” translated every decision into key performance indicators. Purchasing, staffing, marketing and pricing became immediately tangible – both economically and culinarily. The jury evaluated the menus, and the results fed directly back into the simulation. This created an intensive cycle of learning, acting and reflecting.
A lesson in collaboration.
What started as a cooking event became a masterclass in strategy, collaboration and customer centricity. Participants experienced how success emerges when numbers, people and purpose come together – and how networks, even between competitors, can unlock new strengths.
Strategy meets taste.
Value for organizations and leadership.
- Illustrates the connection between project management, financial control and customer value
- Promotes agile thinking and action in dynamic markets
- Strengthens networking skills and cross-departmental collaboration
- Shows how innovation emerges from a willingness to experiment
- Combines profitability, creativity and emotion – as the foundation for successful leadership
Learning you can taste.
The result: an event that was far more than a workshop. It was a gastronomic revolution that showed how learning can taste – practical, inspiring and with a measurable effect on business success.