The restaurant has a new booking — a corporate dinner for twelve people from a Japanese technology company visiting London for a conference. Lorenzo asks Isabella to lead the service for the evening, with Marco assisting.
"This is a great opportunity for you," says Lorenzo. "Corporate clients are important, and this company has used us before. But I want you to be aware — there are some cultural differences in how Japanese business guests prefer to be treated."
Lorenzo explains: in Japanese business culture, hierarchy matters. The most senior person should be greeted first and seated in the position of honour, usually facing the door. Business cards, if exchanged, should be received with both hands and treated with respect. Guests may be more reserved than European clients and might not voice complaints directly — so Isabella needs to be especially attentive to non-verbal cues.
Isabella listens carefully and does some research of her own before the evening. She learns a few words of Japanese — just enough to offer a small gesture of welcome.
When the guests arrive, Isabella greets the group and immediately identifies the most senior figure — an older gentleman who the others defer to — and addresses him first. She shows them to their table, ensuring he has the best seat.
When she presents the menu, she explains each dish clearly and patiently, checking for any dietary requirements. One guest is vegetarian; another has a shellfish allergy. Isabella notes everything carefully and coordinates with the kitchen.
During the meal she is attentive without being intrusive. She notices when glasses need refilling before guests have to ask. She spots one guest looking uncertain about a dish and quietly approaches to ask if everything is to his liking — he admits, with some embarrassment, that he finds the portion too large. Isabella immediately offers to bring something lighter, and he looks visibly relieved.
At the end of the evening the senior gentleman calls Isabella over. Through a colleague who translates, he says that the service was exceptional — attentive, respectful and professional.
"He says it reminded him of the best restaurants in Tokyo," the colleague translates.
Isabella bows slightly — a gesture she had read about — and thanks him sincerely.
After the guests leave, Lorenzo finds her in the kitchen. "I heard what Mr. Tanaka said. That is the highest compliment he could give. Well done, Isabella."
Later, talking with Carmen over the phone, Isabella reflects on the evening.
"It made me think about how much we assume," she says. "We think our way of doing things is just normal — the right way. But every culture has its own logic, its own values. Good service is not one fixed thing. It is about reading the person in front of you."
"That is something you have learned from being an immigrant," says Carmen. "You have had to read people your whole time here. You have had to adapt constantly."
Isabella had not thought of it that way before. But Carmen is right. The skills she has developed — observation, flexibility, empathy, the ability to make people feel comfortable across a cultural gap — these are not just hospitality skills. They are life skills, hard-won from the experience of building a life somewhere new.
"I think London has made me a better designer too," she says. "And a better person."
"Definitely," says Carmen. "And a better friend."
Isabella laughs. "You are biased."
"Completely," says Carmen. "But I am also right."