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Revered Chef Daniel Patterson Will Refuse Tips at His Next Restaurant

Patterson says it's
Patterson says it’s “the beginning of the professionalization of the industry.” Photo: Venturelli/Getty Images

Daniel Patterson, the two-Michelin-star chef/owner of Coi, has previously said he was motivated by the idea of failure and also the growing number of alternatives to tipping, so it makes sense that he will try something altogether new and untested when his new restaurant opens in a few months. He says Aster won’t accept gratuities, as probably expected, but it will also do away with service charges. (There will be no health-care-related charges, either.)

It’s a big move, and Patterson explains the logic, which he also wants to enact on the 20 percent surcharge at his crown jewel, Coi. People hate service charges, he explains — “with a vengeance you think would be reserved for mass murderers and people who steal babies or something” is how he describes it. So the smartest fix is to raise prices menu-wide — in this case, by 15 percent — and pay everyone hourly. “At the end of the day, it will create a very clean, respectful, and transparent relationship,” he says. “That thing on the menu costs $25. That’s all it costs. You don’t have four other costs on top of it. It’s either worth $25 or not worth $25.”

Related: How Service Charges Could Fix America’s Tipping Problem
[Inside Scoop SF]

Revered Chef Daniel Patterson Will Refuse Tips at His Next Restaurant