Hawksmoor co-founder reveals £4,500 wine mistake
The co-founder of steakhouse chain Hawksmoor has shared details of what happened when two diners were accidentally given a bottle of Bordeaux worth 20 times more than what they had ordered. The post Hawksmoor co-founder reveals £4,500 wine mistake appeared first on The Drinks Business.
The co-founder of steakhouse chain Hawksmoor has shared details of what happened when two diners were accidentally given a bottle of Bordeaux worth around 20 times more than what they had ordered.
The incident, which took place at the Manchester branch of Hawksmoor back in May 2019, received widespread media coverage.
Speaking on The Go To Food Podcast with hosts Freddy Clode and Benjamin Benton, Will Beckett shed light on what happened.
"In the bar, two guys, ordered a Pomerol, it’s like a spendy bottle of Bordeaux, 200-something quid," shared Beckett. "She [the server] trots off to a wine room, has a quick look around, grabs a bottle, comes back, opens it, says is this the bottle: 'Yep, yep, yep’."
"[The server] pours the wine, goes about her business," Beckett continued. "About an hour, they're like: 'can we have another bottle of that?' She's like: 'yeah, yeah, yeah,' goes back, it's weird, there isn't another bottle of that. That doesn't usually happen."
It then transpired that the pair had been served a bottle of 2001 Château Le Pin, a Merlot-forward (88%) Pomerol which famed wine critic Robert Parker described as "flamboyant, opulently textured, rich, [and] concentrated".
According to Beckett, the server's reaction to the mishap was initially "oh my f*cking god". However, she was more composed when speaking with the customers, telling them that they had run out of the bottle they had enjoyed so heartily, prompting them to order an alternative.
Shortly after the incident, the Hawksmoor Manchester Twitter account made light of the costly mistake: "To the customer who accidentally got given a bottle of Chateau le Pin Pomerol 2001, which is £4,500 on our menu, last night – hope you enjoyed your evening! To the member of staff who accidentally gave it away, chin up! One-off mistakes happen and we love you anyway."
Speaking on the podcast, Beckett said that footfall after the incident was "mental": "Hawksmoor Manchester got a massive blip for a couple of weeks – we made way more money with that than we lost by giving away that thing."
Indeed, Hawksmoor Manchester clearly saw the publicity value of the error, promoting the unfortunate server to the role of general manager just a few months later.
The incident, which took place at the Manchester branch of Hawksmoor back in May 2019, received widespread media coverage.
Speaking on The Go To Food Podcast with hosts Freddy Clode and Benjamin Benton, Will Beckett shed light on what happened.
"In the bar, two guys, ordered a Pomerol, it’s like a spendy bottle of Bordeaux, 200-something quid," shared Beckett. "She [the server] trots off to a wine room, has a quick look around, grabs a bottle, comes back, opens it, says is this the bottle: 'Yep, yep, yep’."
"[The server] pours the wine, goes about her business," Beckett continued. "About an hour, they're like: 'can we have another bottle of that?' She's like: 'yeah, yeah, yeah,' goes back, it's weird, there isn't another bottle of that. That doesn't usually happen."
It then transpired that the pair had been served a bottle of 2001 Château Le Pin, a Merlot-forward (88%) Pomerol which famed wine critic Robert Parker described as "flamboyant, opulently textured, rich, [and] concentrated".
According to Beckett, the server's reaction to the mishap was initially "oh my f*cking god". However, she was more composed when speaking with the customers, telling them that they had run out of the bottle they had enjoyed so heartily, prompting them to order an alternative.
Shortly after the incident, the Hawksmoor Manchester Twitter account made light of the costly mistake: "To the customer who accidentally got given a bottle of Chateau le Pin Pomerol 2001, which is £4,500 on our menu, last night – hope you enjoyed your evening! To the member of staff who accidentally gave it away, chin up! One-off mistakes happen and we love you anyway."
Speaking on the podcast, Beckett said that footfall after the incident was "mental": "Hawksmoor Manchester got a massive blip for a couple of weeks – we made way more money with that than we lost by giving away that thing."
Indeed, Hawksmoor Manchester clearly saw the publicity value of the error, promoting the unfortunate server to the role of general manager just a few months later. 
