Consulting · from a working kitchen
Consulting.
Nicolai P. Wiedmer consults out of an active kitchen — concept, F&B strategy, repositioning, kitchen leadership. Shaped by the daily rhythm of a Michelin-starred restaurant, not by a slide deck. For hotel groups, independent houses, and houses in transition.
Approach · from the kitchen out
Concepts here
aren’t pitched.
They run every day.
What I pass on as consulting comes out of a working operation — Eckert, Michelin-starred since 2017, alongside several houses and brands under the roof of WIO — Hotels & Restaurants. Which means: every word about service, the menu, the pass, the team was tested under real conditions as recently as yesterday.
Consulting here isn’t a lecture tour. It’s thinking alongside — sometimes in a single first conversation, sometimes over months, always close to the daily rhythm of the house.
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Areas of work · selected
Five areas.
Not the whole list.
These are the areas clients most often come for. Anything not listed here may still be a fit, or may not — that becomes clear in the first conversation.
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Concept & menu
Restaurant and menu development from the ground up — direction, structure, sequence, price architecture.
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F&B strategy
Positioning for hotel groups and independent houses — from breakfast service to the signature restaurant.
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Repositioning
Turning around existing restaurants — taking stock, setting direction, rebuilding the menu and the team. Grounded in reality, not drawn up on paper.
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Team & kitchen
Onboarding head chefs, building teams, sharpening the line. The pass, mise en place, the service handover.
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Guest-chef residency
Multi-week residencies for houses, brands and events — as part of a repositioning or on their own.
Fit · where the limits are
Who fits,
and who doesn’t.
Consulting is a longer relationship. It’s fairer to say early on when it makes sense and when it doesn’t. Both sides save time and energy that way.
Where I can be useful.
- Hotel groups working through an F&B realignment
- Houses with experienced owners but an unclear direction
- Turnaround and repositioning situations
- Sparring on equal footing, without time pressure
- Teams looking for a second opinion, not a script
Where I’m the wrong person.
- Quick answers with no groundwork
- Name-on-the-door consulting (‘Michelin chef on the masthead’)
- Off-the-shelf packages and hour quotas
- Engagements driven by concept rather than execution
- Standing in for day-to-day operations
How it begins · four steps
From the first call
to working together.
A collaboration starts with an honest read on both sides. Only then does a proposal follow. No packages, no standard hour quotas — and no pressure to decide quickly.
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Inquiry
A short email or form message: the occasion, the house, rough scale, timing.
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First conversation
Thirty minutes by phone or on site — introductions on both sides, a chance to clarify expectations and fit.
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Fit assessment
In writing, short: does it fit, or not? With reasoning — and, where it makes sense, a referral elsewhere.
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Proposal
If there is a fit, a concrete proposal — scope, format, timing. Nothing off the shelf.
Inquiry
In conversation.
A short email — the occasion, the house, the timing, and one question that’s on your mind — is the best way in. A reply usually follows within two working days.
For confidential inquiries, write directly to management@nicolai-wiedmer.de.
Frequently asked questions
Which areas does a consulting engagement typically cover?
The focus areas are concept and menu, F&B strategy for hotels and independent houses, repositioning existing restaurants, building and onboarding kitchen teams, and guest-chef residencies as part of a realignment. The situation in front of us sets the agenda, not a template.
What does a first conversation look like?
Usually a thirty-minute call or a meeting on site. The aim is to get to know one another and to make an honest call on whether the situation and this approach to consulting are a match. The first conversation is not a sales meeting.
Does Nicolai also advise on hotel F&B?
Yes — hotel F&B is one of the most common reasons clients reach out. Breakfast service, bar, room service, signature restaurant: the full F&B picture of a house. Eckert (restaurant plus a 46-room hotel) is the day-to-day reference point.
Does Nicolai work with fixed packages?
No. Every situation is different, and a pre-packaged offer would hollow out the very thing that makes consulting useful. Fit is settled in the first conversation; scope is set out in the proposal — tailored, not off the shelf.
What are typical reasons clients commission consulting?
Opening or reopening a restaurant; realigning a hotel F&B operation after a change in ownership or generation; repositioning after several stable but quietly faded years; building or restructuring a kitchen team; menu development for a specific format.
Is consulting also available in Switzerland and Austria?
Yes — the DACH region is the natural reach. Swiss houses and Austrian hotel groups are obvious conversation partners, not least because of the tri-border region and the JRE network.
Further