Bringing Emotion and creativity to the hospitality industry with Dimitri Bellos
Welcome back to our “Redefining Luxury” interview series, where we challenge the traditional idea of luxury and explore what it means to people we admire. Through open conversations with creators, entrepreneurs, and passionate individuals we talk about the process behind designing luxurious, pleasurable, yet thoughtful creations or services and their importance in the modern world. In search of joy, marvel, and inspiration.
This time we talked to Dimitri Bellos, the founder of creative consultancy The Emagineers. We met a few years ago at the Fat Duck, where he was working as restaurant manager, when I visited to present my tableware. We found each other in a love for details, quality and the Mediterranean life.
We talk about his upbringing; born in London and raised in Corfu by a Greek father and an Irish mother who met whilst working in the tourism industry.
We talked about his over two decades long journey in the hospitality industry from serving at his family’s restaurant that opened in 1997 to becoming the Head of Emotionalisation at The Fat Duck Group, establishing his own consultancy and much more.
With experience rooted deeply in the service industry, Dimitri brings a refreshing wealth of diverse knowledge, enthusiasm, and amazing stories. His ultimate aim is to develop true human connections through storytelling and creativity, believing that every experience and interaction should be a moment to remember.
Dimitri was 14 years old when his parents opened the restaurant and at the time he had already worked as waiter the two previous summers. Between the age of 12 and 18 Dimitri worked every summer and during holidays, and although sometimes it felt tough, he loved it.
“Working with my family taught me a lot, but it was tricky at times. Looking back now, I really enjoyed it. It gave me a lot of space to grow as an individual, and it taught me how to observe. I was the only waiter in the restaurant, so I’d have to take care of 40-45 guests in the summer, in the winter it was about 35, and all that I had was my previous experience of two summers. Most importantly, though, I had the “human superpower” of observation.”
Dimitri finished school when he was 18, moved to Dublin to do a course in computer programming, which turned out not to be the right thing for him. His whole mindset changed after he realised that the hospitality industry has something special to him and he kept pursuing what he enjoyed the most. When he became a restaurant manager within a boutique hotel in Dublin he realized there were a lot of things that he knew instinctively. But he wanted to be as good as possible, working with the best people, which at the time for him meant Michelin star restaurants. He had the chance to work at another 5 star boutique hotel where most of the people had already worked at a Michelin star level, so the overall experience, the quality of the food, the glassware, the cutlery, the crockery, the winelist, was now on a whole different level. In the summer of 2008, Dimitri moved to London, and started working for chef Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley hotel.
“The Berkeley is a 5-star hotel and it’s in the same group as the Connaught and Claridges. I joined the team the first day the restaurant opened as Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley (2 Michelin stars). And that was a completely different ballgame for which I was totally not prepared. It was tougher, more competitive, the level was so much higher, I had to push myself further on a daily basis, it was really grueling. I started as a head waiter, became the restaurant manager within two years, and remained in that position for three and half years. I wouldn’t change a thing although I realise now that there are moments when I made things unnecessarily harder for myself and the people around me. Perhaps I’d probably just tell my younger self “try being a bit more present, aware of where you are and what is happening around and embrace it with awareness. When it’s good, love it and celebrate it. When it’s bad, learn from it and become better. It’s never as bad as it feels or as good as it looks.”
THE FAT DUCK GROUP & CREATIVITY
From there, Dimitri went on to become a restaurant manager at The Fat Duck in Bray from 2014 til the end of 2019. This was a fantastically mindblowing change for him on both personal and professional level, and he is still actively involved with them to this day.
“They gave me an opportunity to put things that I’ve learned into play, but most importantly allowed me to be creative. I think as an industry, we are collectively a creative group, and the more we acknowledge that, the richer we can make our own experience as individuals, collectively as teams, but also for our guests. I think sometimes in the industry, we have this disconnect of the doing and the being. I believe if we could just make it all more connected... the front of house, the server interaction, what they’re saying, how they do it, the kitchen staff, how they create, how they feel when they create, how that feeling or emotion feeds into their creativity, to the delivery to how it all translates to the guests, I think we’d be able to connect with our guests and ourselves deeper and more meaningfully; as one.
Perhaps one of the things missing is connection. Or perhaps it’s a relationship with all of these small parts and what is our relation or connection to it. If I do start looking around when I go out, I’m thinking how does this concept really stand out? It’s all in the details. The way it looks, the way it smells, the way it feels, the cutlery, the plates, the tables, the staff members, what they said, what they didn’t say, what they thought they said, what they thought they didn’t say (laughs), you know, all these little things can have a massive impact on the experience. Details are paramount. Perhaps one detail on its own, may not make a massive difference, but if you put all of the details together, the picture changes completely.”
EMOTIONALISATION
Toward the end of 2019, Dimitri thought it was time to move on from managing the restaurant and started looking for a way to take all of the ideas that they created, used or nourished at The Fat Duck and sprinkle them in the other restaurants of the group. He became the Head of Emotionalisation and started working on incorporating emotions into their products, and services. Something that people could actually tap into.
At the same time Heston who lives in a sleepy village in Provence, and was looking for someone to help him out with creating a space for him to work, think, and play around, asked him to move to France. Dimitri ended up going to Provence for 8 weeks in November 2019. They started setting up the space, together with a chef from The Fat Duck, with no particular direction.
“The direction was “let’s make a space where we can play around and let’s call it The Sandpit”. And with that playing, being human, using our imagination, having fun, we created something new. We learned something new on our journey. I love Heston, I see him as a family member. Early 2020 I moved to France. Obviously, the pandemic hit, and for us, like for everyone else we were presented with a set of obstacles and a totally unexpected situation. However, it really gave us the opportunity to focus on the things that we were talking about. Which was mindfulness, awareness, being imaginative when in a confined space, area, or playfield. Also looking at our relationship with food and seeing how we can change that. So all of the stuff that we were talking about in theory, we now had the opportunity to actually focus on. All of this had a massive effect on how I live now. It helped me reflect deeper on the past and brought clarity to the now.”
Dimitri stayed in Provence until August 2020 after which he went home, spent the second lockdown in beautiful Corfu with his family, and decided to set up a consultancy. To use past experiences and knowledge, not as the defining pathway but merely as tools to shape a pathway. To be in a space where he can be creative, with people that are interested in turning things around. His first client actually became The Fat Duck Group.
“Which is great, because it allows me to work with people that I know and like and there’s mutual trust. We’re currently working on The Perfectionist Cafe, and I’ve only been here 3 days, but I’ve already sent a long list of new product ideas we can bring in and how to change our messaging. It’s gonna be quite interesting, because it’s not a Michelin star place, so this can be a good project to help me translate the message that I’ve learned during all these years to a very different crowd.”
BRINGING EMOTIONAL CREATIVITY INTO HOSPITALITY
“The name of my company is “The Emagineers” and it’s with an E, which stands for Emotion. What if hospitality was rethought, redesigned, redeveloped, through imagination, but with emotions at the very base of that. What if every time we created a dish, a drink, a service, a menu, a chair, a fork, or a knife, we ask “What do we want people to feel when they interact with it?” I think that would create a very different set of establishments. And it would create a very different set of services altogether. Emotion and imagination redeveloping hospitality.”
Dimitri plans to work with clients in the hospitality industry and beyond. The most important thing is for the people he’s working with to be open to being human, using their imagination, having fun, being creative and honouring the relationship with the people that they care for.
“The decisions that I took were always based on a triangle. If it’s good for the staff, if it’s good for the guests and if it’s good for the business.
If those three things are equally satisfied, that’s perfect. If it’s skewed, you have to see how skewed this triangle really is. Because let’s say for example we need new plates and we buy these gold plates, people are gonna love it. But if it’s going to cost us 2 million pounds and the company goes under, that’s not a good decision. So I think deciding based on that triangle to a certain degree has always served me right and it’s one of the things that I always put into consideration. And within that triangle, you can find even smaller triangles. Just like in nature, from atoms, to molecules, to quarks and so on. Things get infinitely smaller and they can get bigger as well. So if it’s good for the staff, is it good for them in terms of efficiency? Is it good for their mental health, or is it good for their physical health? Is it good for their creativity? Will it help everyone grow, improve, and learn? When you’re making decisions, there’s a lot of things to take into consideration.”
Of course certain businesses have different needs, different styles and so on, but what Dimitri is saying is that sometimes, you can turn a disadvantage into an advantage. After looking at what you have and being real and mindful about it, it might be possible to get the guests to interact with it even more and immerse themselves in a world you’re creating.
“Ask yourself: Can I build it into the concept? Can I build it into the experience? Can I make it fun? Can I do something with it? And it’s not for everyone, but I think building concepts or building things into concepts is something that I really love and I really like the idea of being a part of that conversation. Nowadays, people want to feel like they’re part of something that’s a bit deeper, more meaningful, with more layers, and a multilayered structure.”
YOGA, HOSPITALITY & FUTURE PLANS
Dimitri has a dream to open up his own restaurant at some point. There’s an idea of a space where the community can truly come together. A romantic idea most likely taking place in Corfu, where he grew up. Within that idea there’s a wish to try and accentuate the importance of the waiter as an ambassador (of the country, the culture, the restaurant). As a career and a honourable craft that, if you do it in a professional, dedicated, caring, and loving way, can really take you places.
“A space, where I could cook and offer some really good food, practice yoga, and meditation, practice art, host pottery lessons, connect with people that are artistically creatively driven, and hopefully create a space that whatever community I’m in, the people in the community are served and can find something that nourishes either their stomach, or their mind, or their spirit, their being, collectively.
The practice of yoga is also key to how I work and think today. Yoga became a big part of what I do, initially because I wanted to stretch, but then I realised yoga is not just about stretching your body but more importantly stretching your mind and finding your centre. At the same time I was discussing with friends and colleagues about different philosophies, perspectives, and how to learn from other cultures, religions, and schools of thought. Then I started thinking about what I can learn from my yoga practice and how to put that to use in hospitality. Through yoga, I was able to bring new ideas for some of the staff to tap into and use these approaches and ideas to enhance what they do with guests. Build better, more long-lasting, and stronger relationships. I’m working on putting together a short sequence of poses and breathing techniques and a manual with ideas, suggestions, and advice for people in the service industry to use during the day when they’re working, to help them navigate through the day better, to help the team connect better with what they do, who they are, and the people they take care of.”
TRUE LUXURY
“When I think of luxury, I think of something very specific. For me, the key thing is what are you actually buying into. Whether it’s a watch, a room, or a meal. Do you, can you connect with it? And does it bring fulfilment? Does that become a part of you? Do you become a part of it? I think some of the most luxurious moments are those where there’s a connection between what you’re buying into and a feeling of that item or service becoming a part of you and vice versa.