How well do customers detect good food and wine pairings?
As with many activities in life, some people savor their food and drink mindfully, some just eat and imbibe automatically without thinking, and the rest of the world is in between.
If you ask a guest “how was that wine” or “how was that food” you may get answers running from “ok”, to “fine”, to “great!” or “wonderful”. But many guests simply don’t want to get into the discussion of how the food or wine was not really great for them or to be honest, they just ate and drank without paying much attention to the tastes, but rather to the social conversation they were having.
In general:
“OK” means “no way”, I won’t order that again.
“Fine” means it was just “ok” but not likely to be ordered again.
“Great” or “wonderful” usually means the guest did enjoy it and you may want to recommend it to other guests
If you get negative comments or even the “ok” comment, you should pass that on to the kitchen or bar, but first, ask “what could have made that taste better to you?” The kitchen or beverage area needs specific directions as to how to adjust and you will want to know how to make a different recommendation to the next guest.