Storytelling in Hospitality

We are stories telling stories.

Humans are storytellers by nature and there is no greater stage for the exchange of story than at a table sharing food. And while your guests are sitting in your restaurant, it is your turn to tell a story with your food, your beverages, your service, and every other detail in your restaurant.

We’ll discuss the importance of crafting a vision; empowering staff with tools to share your story; and create a lasting DNA that will endure multiple staff changes.

Michael Ziff, The Restaurant at Poplar Grove

After working in storied restaurants in Toronto and New York City, Michael Ziff moved west and landed at a seminal time in Vancouver’s restaurant evolution by opening Chambar Restaurant in 2004, and the second iteration in 2014. He was then restaurant manager at Hawksworth before opening St. Lawrence Restaurant where he was able to celebrate his Québécois roots in food and wine. In 2018, he made the move to the Okanagan to open Home Block Restaurant at CedarCreek and finally settled at Poplar Grove Winery in Penticton to re-imagine the culinary and hospitality program. Michael is fluent in French and English and believes food and language are the foundations of culture.