7 minute read
Feature: Floral arrangements
In full bloom
More than something pretty to look at, bespoke floral arrangements offer a host of perks for restaurateurs.
WORDS Annabelle Cloros
DINERS LOOK FOR a number of elements to quantify a positive dining experience — good service, an exquisite menu, a modern fit out and even a stellar playlist. You may not have given much thought to the topic, but floral arrangements follow the same vein. Whether it’s a few small vases, a centerpiece or en masse, flowers can take your venue to the next level. Hospitality speaks to florists Joost Bakker and Nadene Sachinidis about durability and piquing customer interest and discusses the key benefits with food writer Melissa Leong, Stokehouse’s Hugh van Haandel and The Boathouse Group’s Andrew Goldsmith.
Joost Bakker wears many hats. You may know him as the man behind Greenhouse Perth and Melbourne’s Silo or as a passionate eco warrior, but he’s also worked as a florist for more than 25 years. Bakker has close ties with some of Melbourne’s leading venues including The European, Gin Palace and Stokehouse, to name a few. In the ’90s and early 2000s, he worked with a staggering 150 venues, and says differentiation was, and still is, key. “It is really important each restaurant has a different theme or look,” he says. “The flowers at Stokehouse are different to what I do at Gin Palace. I try to make them complementary to the people who own the venues and the style of the venues.”
Chroma Studio’s Nadene Sachinidis agrees with Bakker’s sentiment, and says flowers help define a brand and nudge it in front of the competition. “You can tell the difference when you walk into a restaurant without artificial flowers,” says the Melbourne-based florist. “My primary consideration is [determining] the essence of the space and the aesthetic of the business and then looking at how flowers can enhance the overall experience. Once we get a clear picture, I delve into the logistics such as the type of flowers, how often they might need to be refreshed and where they should be placed.”
The Boathouse Group is one such business that has used flowers to shape their brand. The waterfront venues in Sydney and the Central Coast are synonymous with generous arrangements that usually follow a coastal/tropical aesthetic. For co-founder Andrew Goldsmith, the benefit of flowers is fourfold. “Flowers and plants always add an element of freshness, which is important to the feel of the café and the whole experience,” he says. “Boathouse cafés can be quite chaotic, and the flowers have a calming effect and show our guests we have a lot of love and care for what we do. We’ve also always had older, imperfect buildings or boatsheds, and they add a lot of life to those structures.”
Whether you realise it or not, floral arrangements can help set the tone for a stellar experience. Bakker recalls an installation at the now-shuttered Hairy Canary that showcased discarded jumper cables and green tomatoes that gradually turned red, encouraging customers to pluck them from the arrangement. “As the week went on, they ripened, and people would pick them as they walked up and down the stairs. Surprising people with odd combinations is really good.”
Developing new skills Relying on a professional florist has a host of benefits, but looking at floral arrangements as an educational opportunity can help individuals develop new skills in the workplace by observing a florist at work or even having a go themselves. TV presenter and journalist Melissa Leong embraced the opportunity to learn more about floristry when she was asked to create arrangements for The Mayfair in Melbourne (closed late 2018). “Learning how to arrange was an awesome process for me,” says Leong. “I am by no means a professional, but learning something new helps you gain an appreciation for the real talent. Where a space calls for it, flowers can be integral to transforming the atmosphere of a venue. In terms of art, as ephemeral as the food is, so, too, are flowers.”
Stokehouse in Melbourne may be revered for its waterfront views, but the restaurantoffers so much more, and is committedto offering customers the completepackage. “When you think about a total dining experience, you have to consider service, setting, customer engagement and interaction,” says manager Hugh van Haandel. “Interior, food and furniture are all ‘constructed’ in a way and lose naturality. Joost’s installations are living, transformative experiences which generally evolve over the duration of the display.”Van Haandel likens Bakker’s installations to pieces of art that generate curiosity and a sense of wonder from the viewer. “His installation for the Australian Open was created out of leeks with a beautiful floral stem and top which I hadn’t known about until I saw it myself,” says van Haandel. “He even had a bunch of carrots that were borderline half a metre and overflowing. The installations encourage customers to engage with the environment, staff and their dining companion, ultimately creating a learning curve.”
A Nadene Sachinidis arrangement
There’s no doubt floral arrangements are a costly venture for restaurateurs, but it’s important to look at the core benefits instead of seeing flashing dollar signs. Goldsmith jokes he tried to persuade the Boathouse’s accountants that floral arrangements were classified as marketing spend. “In the first eight years, we never spent money on marketing — I always felt the flowers were our marketing budget,” he says. The group currently operates four Boathouse cafés in Sydney along with Barrenjoey House, and established a team of full-time florists once the business started scaling up. “We’ve got three full-time florists and three casuals,” says Goldsmith. “We needed a team who were going to improve the offering. You have to invest the money to attract customers — there’s so much competition and it’s important to make sure you’re venue of choice for people’s day-to-day lives.”
The amount of money invested all depends on the size and theme of a venue. Your venue could need larger arrangements throughout or one statement piece at the bar — it’s all relative. “A hole-in-the-wall café may want to change weekly, but they might just need one simple vase at the front,” says Sachinidis. “A restaurant with several areas might need different arrangements.” The florist also says selecting lower-cost flowerssuch as natives are a good option for thosewith tight budgets.
Signature tropical arrangement at a Boathouse café
Restaurant environments rank highly on the wear and tear scale, and not every plant or flower can cope with the setting. Bakker says there are plenty of flowers he can’t use due to lifespan, size or simply because some venues are just too hot. “Neil [Perry] is adamant Rosetta has a vase of garden roses, but they need to be done twice a week because they only last a few days,” he says. When quizzed on the most durable plants, Bakker names eucalyptus as one of the top picks. “It drinks a lot of water, but as long as the water is up, it’s really resilient,” he says. “Foliage has also begun trending. Before, it was difficult to charge a restaurant for a vase of foliage because it was understood you needed to have a floral component. Now, people are totally fine with paying the same amount for a beautiful vase of foliage.” As for a clever solution for small or awkward venues? “I use suspension a lot, which means restaurants don’t lose space,” says Bakker.
Too much air con or not enough air con can also wreak havoc with arrangements, and the same goes for a venue that’s chock-full of people. Like Bakker, Sachinidis recommends Aussie natives which are generally long-lasting and says tropical flowers are also a good option. “Combinations of natives and tropicals work well and you can get a week or two out of them,” she says. “Anything does best when you care for it, and simple things like changing the water and giving them a fresh cut means people can get a few extra days out of an arrangement.”
A Joost Bakker installation at Stokehouse
The concept of seasonality is rampant in theculinary industry, and the notion is applied toeverything from food and wine to furnitureand the plates you eat your food off. Yet,imported flowers are still found in manyrestaurants, which has Bakker perplexed.“I’ve always thought it was strange peoplewere obsessed with seasonality on a platebut could care less about using orchids fromSingapore,” he says. “I find that people whoreally care about presentation also careabout what goes in a vase.”
But things seem to be heading in the right direction. Bakker and Sachinidis have both noticed a movement of operators adopting a ‘local’ mindset across their venue. “Businesses are thinking more about sustainability and people are starting to see the beauty in foliage and locally grown stuff that’s easier to access,” says Sachinidis.
The next time you think about updating your menu, changing your furniture or even taking on a renovation, don’t forget to add floral arrangements to the equation. As the saying goes, a little goes a long way. ■
