The fast-rising 28-year-old discusses her empathetic management style, tailoring approaches for each guest, and the lessons she has learned from an unlikely source: Mario Kart.
In hospitality, service rarely starts at the door anymore. For Louise Bourgeois, General Manager of Chef’s Table, the two MICHELIN Star restaurant in the MICHELIN Guide Thailand 2024 edition at Lebua at State Tower, her efforts to enhance the dining experience commence days, weeks, and even months before guests ride the silvery elevator to the 61st floor and enter the restaurant.
“When I arrive at work each day, I really put myself into our bookings,” says Bourgeois.
First, she says, she will check if any returning guests will be dining at the restaurant. If so, she will look up notes about what they liked or disliked, or subtle cues she noticed during service, and adjust. If they’re new, she spends time visualising their experience before they arrive.
“I want to see if I can anticipate our guests’ needs. For service to be at its best, you have to be very well prepared,” she says, likening the work she does to the mise-en-place that chefs perform.
Bourgeois is only 28, but thanks to her intuitive service and dedication to her craft, she has already rocketed up the ladder in her career. In just five and a half years at Lebua, she has advanced from intern to general manager. It’s an incredible measure of success, and one she bears with humility.
“I just focus on the guest. You’re not thinking of anything else in the restaurant,” she admits.
Diners, however, have noticed. At the 2024 MICHELIN Award Ceremony, Bourgeois received the Thailand Service Award Presented by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
We sat down with Bourgeois to discuss pressure, success, and creating the perfect guest experiences.”
“When you realise that some guests might come here for the first and last time, you want to give it your all to make sure it will be an amazing experience. I want them to feel something special.”
What led you to pursue a career in hospitality?
“I grew up in Orléans, in the Loire Valley of France. No one in my family worked in hotels or restaurants or anything like that. After I finished my baccalaureate, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I took intensive literature and drama classes. I often tell myself today that working in this industry reminds me of the theater: if you want to be good at what you are doing, you need to know your lines and be prepared to improvise at any moment."I knew at some point I wanted to do something linked with service. Maybe journalism or tourism. It clicked a bit late for me [while studying at Vatel Hotel School in Nîmes, France].”
When did you come to Thailand? How did that happen?
“I watched a documentary about Loy Krathong, and it got me interested in Thai culture, but I didn’t know much about the country. It just made me feel like I wanted to do my internship here."I went through so many adventures before even getting here. Right before my internship in [2018], three days before my flight, I broke my knee. I thought my internship was canceled. But I managed to recover faster than expected, so I asked Lebua if they would still be willing to take me. They said yes. Ultimately, I lost two months from my internship, so it was only four months instead of six. But at the end of it, Lebua offered me an opportunity to return as a management trainee.
"It’s still hard for me to explain why I wanted to come here so much. Maybe I had a feeling that good things were waiting for me in Thailand. I believe that life has a lot of good surprises for you.”
How did your family react when they heard about your award?
“When you make the choice to leave as an expat, it’s for a reason, right? You are saying yes to one experience while saying no to others. You’re missing birthdays, you can see that your family members are aging. It’s hard for me, but it’s also hard for my family because I’m so far away. They were proud when they heard [that I won the Thailand Service Award] and I think they were happy to get confirmation [I’m doing well for myself]. They have always encouraged me.”How would you describe your management style?
“I try to understand all the people I work with and adapt to them. By that I mean you have to realize that the same management style doesn’t suit every employee. You can’t just be super strict or easygoing with everyone. To get the most out of your team, you have to remember they are human."At Chef’s Table, it’s important for everyone to be able to multitask. However, some people are better at certain things than others. I have to figure out how to [unlock their potential] so we can all succeed.
"For what we are doing here, for the standards and expectations we have, we can’t compromise. We all know clearly what we need to achieve each day. But you can’t really force yourself to work in this industry if it doesn’t come from the heart. I don’t have to push too hard. I’m just helping everyone develop their skills.”
“I like to play Mario Kart. I’ll do the same race 10 times in a row. I know the precise moment a banana will fall on me. That’s exactly how our service is now.”
How do you manage crises or surprises?
“I have a lot of empathy. It’s something I didn’t consider to be an advantage for a lot of years, but now I understand it’s a skill. [Empathy] helps me not just see what’s happening, but feel it, too. If it’s a direct talk with a guest, for example, I put myself in their shoes. I’m very balanced and try to give myself a few seconds to analyse [the situation]. Then I can react in the right way.”What keeps you motivated?
“When you realise that some guests might come here for the first and last time, you want to give it your all to make sure it will be an amazing experience. I want them to feel something special.”How do you do that?
“I try to form connections with each guest. But everyone is different. They could be solo diners or couples, talkative or quiet. From one table to another, one night to another, the experience can be completely different. I think it makes this job interesting. It would be boring to [work] the same way every night. I want to create an experience for the guests, but I also want to create an experience for me.”How do you hope to build on your success next year?
“I think it’s about perfecting the experience for the guests before they come to Chef’s Table. It starts from the arrival downstairs in the lobby. We’ve always been doing this, but we are trying to make sure the experience is seamless by being more consistent. Consistency is so important to what we are doing.“I was just telling my team this, actually. I like to play Mario Kart. I’ll do the same race 10 times in a row. After I had raced that circuit 10 times, I knew it by heart. I know the precise moment a banana will fall on me. That’s exactly how our service is now. We have four employees who were here when we opened, and everyone is on the same page. When new people join, they quickly learn the way we want to work. At this point, we already know how to complete the circuit. Now we want to master it.”
Illustration image: © MICHELIN Guide Thailand
