At Chaudeyrolles, we love slow-cooked meals, hand-picked herbs… and honesty.
That’s why today, we’re taking a moment to reflect on a disappointed customer review we received recently. Not to defend ourselves — but to acknowledge it. Because a restaurant is not a stage set. It’s a living kitchen, a real team… and sometimes, a day that simply gets away from us.
So, what happened?
That lunchtime, our daily menu featured two dishes:
- Truite fario, pan-seared with thyme and lemon sauce,
- Chef’s lasagna, lovingly prepared ahead of time to handle a busy shift.
By 12:15, the first guests were seated. Everything seemed on track. And then… it wasn’t.
A cooking error. The lasagna didn’t heat properly. Too long to fix, too risky to serve. By 1:15, we had to face the facts: the lasagna wouldn’t make it out of the kitchen.
The mistake
That day, we:
- Waited too long to communicate,
- Failed to offer any alternatives or sincere explanation,
- And above all, forgot to make a goodwill gesture to compensate for the long wait.
That’s not how we usually do things — but it happened. And the customer’s honest feedback helped open our eyes.
What we’ve learned
In a small restaurant like ours, everything is homemade — and sometimes… that means things go sideways.
But that’s no excuse. So we’re improving:
- Better communication with guests,
- Smarter kitchen prep and anticipation,
- And above all, knowing when to apologize and take responsibility in the moment.
What now?
We keep cooking with love, and greeting our guests with joy — but we carry this episode with us. Because we don’t want that kind of disappointment to happen again.
To the customer who spoke up — thank you.
Your honesty is helping us grow.
