- Danny Meyer
- Restaurateur, author
- Posted: 04/14/09 | Recorded at Gel 2007
Hospitality is the key element of success, argues New York restaurateur Danny Meyer. He should know: his restaurants are consistently the highest-ranked in Zagat's New York survey. Go to Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack, or any of Danny's other restaurants and you'll have an opportunity to see how hospitality forms a good experience.
After watching this Gel video, take a look at Danny's book Setting the Table, where he explains his thoughts on hospitality in more detail. Recommended.
See also: Two very different types of good experience (and Cipriani)
- John Williams
- Founder, Frog's Leap winery
- Posted: 02/24/09 | Recorded at Gel 2007
Frog's Leap creates outstanding wines - but that's just the beginning. For almost 30 years, John Williams has built an organization that creates good outcomes for customers, employees, and the earth. (Frog's Leap was organic from the beginning, well before it became trendy.) Case study in "creating good" in many ways simultaneously.
See also:
• Video of Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery (from Gel 2008)
• In Napa, Some Wineries Choose the Old Route (NYTimes Aug '08)
- ES
- Sister, The Order of St. Helena
- Posted: 02/10/09 | Recorded at Gel 2007
- 3 comments
Sister Ellen Stephen, or ES as she's also known, talks about "food and spirit" from her perspective as an Anglican nun. Her wide-ranging exploration of community (also shown in her books Vessel of Peace and Together and Apart) make this a talk well worth watching.
- Andrew
- Composer, performer
- Posted: 01/21/09 | Recorded at Gel 2007
- 2 comments
Andrew is a composer with a twist: he creates songs by request. Readers of his website (songstowearpantsto.com) email him ideas - often silly, random, or ridiculous - which he dutifully turns into full-fledged songs. They're often surprisingly catchy and witty, and Andrew's range of musical styles is amazing. He's an outstanding Gel presenter who, like others we've seen, takes "throwaway" material and creates something great.
See also - Sam Brown from Gel 2008, who draws cartoons from reader-submitted ideas
- Chris Jordan
- Photographer
- Posted: 01/13/09 | Recorded at Gel 2007
America's scale of consumption is beyond the reach of any camera... unless Chris Jordan is standing behind it. His work combines photography, information visualization, and wry commentary on the culture and environment. One of the all-time most popular Gel talks.
See more at Chris Jordan's website, or via the Seadragon iPhone app.
- Marie Lorenz
- Sculptor, boat builder, Tide and Current Taxi
- Posted: 12/16/08 | Recorded at Gel 2007
- 1 comment
Marie runs the Tide and Current Taxi, which takes passengers on a boat (that she hand-built) on voyages on New York City's East River ... with no planned destination. Her work touches on design, art, and community, which helped make it one of the most popular presentations at Gel '07.
See also the Tide and Current Taxi website.
- Henning Rübsam
- Choreographer, dancer, Sensedance
- Posted: 11/20/08 | Recorded at Gel 2007
Henning describes the important place that dance occupies in culture today, and shows some of the elements that go into creating a choreographed dance - both for ballet and modern dancers.
See also Henning's interview in Good Experience.
- Jim Bumgardner
- Hacker, krazydad.com
- Posted: 11/19/08 | Recorded at Gel 2007
- 1 comment
- Jim discusses screensavers, information theory, and (with crowd participation) the Whitney music box, which sets an algorithm to music. Blending visual, musical, technical, mathematical, and intentionally useless elements, Jim gives a notable Gel talk.
A few months later, Jim posted a recap of his Gel experience.
