How To Deliver Perfect Ambience

And A Memorable Customer Experience For Your Restaurant
(And Why 83% Of Your Prospects Will Choose Your Restaurant Over Others)

I know I’m talking to many different types of restaurateur, many different producers of fine cuisine, talk one-to-one but I hope that all of you have something in common; that you are passionate about what you do. Also, that you are always looking to improve your customers experience, and create that magic unique selling point.

Your USP is more important than your food in many ways, because everyone will be saying they do the best food, so it’s up to you to make yourself stand out in the crowd.

So now, I want to tell you about an often over-looked way to create/enhance the wonderful/magical ambience in your restaurant, and therefore how to create a more memorable experience for your customers. Of course it then follows , that your customers become ambassadors for your business, and as you know, word of mouth is the most powerful way of increasing our trade.

And the magic word is…Candlelight. Most people love it, very few dislike it. When given a choice between two similar restaurants, eighty three people out of a hundred would prefer the one with candlelight to the one without. (Clearcraft survey 2006), and if you don’t have it, then eighty three out of a hundred people may walk by. They may never get the chance to taste your fantastic food, because they weren’t drawn in by the magic of candlelight. And they’ll never be out there telling everyone how wonderful your restaurant is.

So it seems like a pretty simple concept doesn’t it. You stick some candles in the restaurant and you’ve got instant ambience, instant romance, instant success. Well maybe so, for one night. But then, if you’ve chosen the wrong ones, you may have saddled yourself with a whole load more work, and expense, that you hadn’t counted on.

Worse still, your staff may get fed up with them, stop using them, and suddenly you’re back to square one and out of pocket. Remember, the aim of the exercise is to get more people in, and keep them coming in.

So take some time and make the right decision, because not all candles are the same.

Candles come in three main guises.

They may be either large pillar candles like those you get in a church, or the classic dinner taper, for which you will need an elegant candle stick. These tend to suit classic dining rooms and old country inns. They are fantastically atmospheric and work really well if you have large tables and plenty of space. Be careful when buying these sorts of candles, that you are buying a good quality candle. Generally, you are better off paying more for a good candle than trying to get the cheapest.

Many Chinese manufactured candles, particularly some of those that you buy cheaply in supermarkets, are made of whipped wax, which means that the centre of the candle, hidden inside a smooth, solid outer wax wall, is like whipped egg white. This means that the centre burns away very quickly, and in next to no time you have an ugly, large smoky flame that is almost invisible inside a wax pillar, until the whole thing collapses. You can tell a whipped wax candle from a solid candle by comparing the weight of each one in your hand. The whipped one will be much lighter.

Test the manufacturers claimed burning time. If a 120 hour burn time is stated on the candle, but after 60 hours it looks rubbish, the candle flame has disappeared inside the candle or it has simply turned to mush, then you only get half the claimed value.

There can be an issue with mess when using pillar candles. You will need some sort of base, and depending on the quality of the candle this may still not be enough to prevent the cascade of molten wax that can fall from the caldera. This can look very atmospheric and attractive, but also, if you do get wax on table tops or linen, it can be a real problem to clean off

The second type, and probably the most commonly used type of candle is the humble tea light. These miniature candles appear, on first impressions to be the cheapest and simplest option, but this may not be the case!

You must again be sure you buy a quality item. Many tea lights say they burn for four hours when they quite often don’t last. And even if they did, four hours is barely enough for an evening service, particularly in winter.

Again, test the manufacturer’s claims before you buy a large amount. And if three to four hours burning time is not enough to get you through an evening, don’t buy them!

The cheapest tea lights available are actually from supermarkets or IKEA! However, you now have to weigh up the cost of someone actually going to get them. A tea light that only costs two pence may cost £5 to collect. See if your catering wholesaler will deliver. This will save you money in the long run.

A t-light can look rather cheap as well which doesn’t send out the right message to your customers. If you put tea lights on your tables, your valuable customers, the ones that really count (that’s all of them by the way), the sole source of your success and your livelihood, will know that you think they’re worth about four pence. Put something rather better than that in front of them and they will feel a whole lot more valued.

They can be a lot more expensive than they seem, because you end up throwing so many away, half used, or worse still, half spilled over your table, or linen or caking up the inside of your candle holder.

This is one of the biggest banes of any restaurateur’s life, and even worse for their staff. I hear it over and over again. People that use them regularly quite simply say “I hate tea lights! Surely there must be an alternative!”

And of course, there is. The oil candle.

Oil candles come in two forms – the refillable type, or the disposable pre-filled plastic type.

Firstly, pre-filled fuel cells.

These are the most convenient of all candles, can be easily moved around, and have a nice consistent burn, but as with anything, there are drawbacks.

The fuel cells are ugly and plastic so have to be covered by an opaque or semi translucent shade.

They are more expensive to run than t-lights or refillable oil candles (up to twice as expensive).

To use all the fuel in the container, they have to run out during service.

Sometimes the wicks fall into the container and cannot be retrieved so the whole fuel container is wasted.

There is a lot of wastage – the plastic container and metal wick structure are thrown away every time

Generally they consist of a glass body, and a wick. When filled with a very high quality, sootless paraffin (Ordinary paraffin or kerosene simply will not do), they provide a clean, long lasting and very economical candle light.

As there is no wax involved, there is no mess, and also no waste. They tend to come in many different varieties, and because the fuel is available in many colours, you will always find one that matches your style and décor.

The main maintenance required is refilling, which, dependent on the model, may need to be done daily, weekly or maybe as little as fortnightly. If you choose a good supplier, then filling should be easy as they should provide a filling bottle and nozzle which will fit right inside the candle so you just gently squeeze the bottle and it takes a few seconds.

The running costs are typically around one and a half pence an hour.

Some simple ones can cost as little as a couple of pounds, so your initial investment need not be large. And once you consider the costs saved on wax removal, wastage of half used candles and the variable costs of wax, an oil candle is often more efficient, more economical and more pleasing on the eye.

On the down side for an oil candle, the wicks can be a little fiddly to set up the first time to get just the flame you want, but on the other hand, you can get just the flame you want, where wax candles cannot be adjusted.

As with pre filled fuel cells, there is no fire hazard as the fuel will not burn without a wick, but you shouldn’t drink the fuel! It’s particularly important to keep the fuel away from children under three as it can be very harmful to them.

Oil Candles can be easily moved around, particularly if you opt for one with a shade. This may seem an insignificant point, but if you have a family with young children, you do not want them playing with fire so you want to move any candles away. A lit wax candle will quickly deposit a trail of wax behind it at the slightest touch.

It also means you can light candles in your window area, to draw people in, and then move them to other tables as and when required.

So now you know how to choose the right candles for your restaurant, there are a few things you need to remember, to get the most benefit from them.

They are simple common sense things to do that are easily forgotten.

Number one. Remember to light them! You don’t have to light all of them, but get a member of staff to go outside and tell you which ones look best from outside, and are likely to do the best job at attracting people inside.

If you don’t have a large window, where people can see diners, put them on window ledges and in your entrance area.

Secondly, if you don’t want to light all the candles, always light the candle when someone takes a table. Ensure that your staff are on the ball. Never wait to be asked by your customer to light the candle as this will quickly become a point of annoyance.

Similarly, if a candle blows out, or runs out, relight or replace it immediately.

Finally, light a few candles in areas of the restaurant that do not have diners in as this will make the whole of your restaurant more inviting.

Ambience is right up there in peoples mind as what makes a restaurant or particular meal memorable and if your restaurant doesn’t have it, in spades, you could lose out in today’s challenging market. Choose the right candles and follow these simple rules and you will be in the best position to grab those customers.

Mike Winterbotham has been managing director at Clearcraft since he founded the company 25 years ago. In that time he has been responsible for all the design and oil candle product development, as well as drinking a lot of wine! He pioneered the introduction of glass candles into the UK, which really didn’t exist in Britain before 1990.

Initially, Clearcraft imported the candles, but soon realized that local manufacturing was the best way to proceed. In the 1990’s, retail outlets were the main destination for the candles, but in 2005 he turned his attention to the restaurant market and now concentrates on nothing else.

In terms of product knowledge, Mike probably knows more than anyone else in the world. Having said that, there is always something to learn about the seemingly simple but endlessly fascinating subject of oil candles and the natural flame, and he continues to experiment with new designs and burn patterns. Recently, he has developed a spill resistant wick for small candles, mainly for use in the home and is constantly listening to restaurateurs to bring the perfect oil candle to the table.