4 Walls

Jay Ashton, Canada's Restaurant Guy

Get Out of the Four Walls

There’s something about the hum of a kitchen in motion. The rhythm of knives on the board, the low hiss of something caramelizing in a pan, the crackle of fryers, the calls of the pass, the laughter from the dining room, the quiet curse from a cook who just burnt a finger, all of it paints the portrait of what makes this industry what it is. And yet, somehow, in a world more obsessed with likes and views than listening and learning, we’ve forgotten the power of presence. We’ve started to believe that we can build something lasting from behind a screen, behind a desk, behind four walls. But here’s the truth: the real work? The kind that matters? That work happens in the field.

I’ve spent the last 19 years working side by side with operators, real people who open their doors every morning not knowing if it’ll be a win or a war. I’ve coached them, cried with them, fought beside them during brutal service nights, and helped them celebrate wins that no one else even sees. And if there’s one thing I know without a doubt, it’s that no amount of content, no polished deck or viral post or shiny new software will ever replace the power of showing up.

This is for anyone creating content for restaurants, speaking on stages, making decisions in boardrooms, or selling to this industry. If you really care, if you really want to make a difference, you’ve got to do more than just talk the talk. You’ve got to walk the floor. You’ve got to do the reps in the field. That’s where truth lives. That’s where impact is born.

It’s easy to get caught up in strategy sessions, in curated posts, in making something “look” right. But if you haven’t stood in a back alley watching a chef smoke a cigarette with trembling hands after a 14-hour day, if you haven’t sat in the corner of a nearly empty restaurant with a GM wondering how they’ll make payroll, if you haven’t bent down to pick up a napkin that slipped under a table just to feel the heartbeat of the room—you haven’t really been in it.

Doing the work in the field is the most honest form of research and relationship building there is. It’s marketing that doesn’t need a slogan. It’s leadership that doesn’t need a title. It’s strategy built on sweat and experience instead of assumptions. You can’t design a solution if you haven’t lived the problem. You can’t create a message that resonates if you haven’t heard the pain behind it. You can’t speak to a chef if you’ve never heard them curse under their breath while calculating food cost margins at 2 AM.

When I say get out of the four walls, I mean more than just physically leaving your office or studio or corner booth. I mean mentally, emotionally, and professionally stepping into someone else’s space with humility and curiosity. You want to be a better coach? Go spend a week on the line. You want to build a product for restaurants? Work a double on a long weekend. You want to make content that actually hits? Talk to the dishwasher. Talk to the 17-year-old hostess trying to juggle high school and the dinner rush. Talk to the chef who hasn’t taken a vacation in five years.

And for those working in restaurants—this goes both ways. Don’t do your marketing from a corner office. Don’t design a menu without watching what your guests leave behind on their plates. Walk the floor. Sit with your regulars. Go next door and ask your barista what people are saying. Your community is your compass, and your marketing is most powerful when it reflects what your guests already feel.

Field work isn’t glamorous. It’s messy and exhausting and often thankless. But it’s the kind of work that transforms. It builds relationships that can’t be broken and insights that can’t be Googled. The field teaches you nuance. It teaches you to speak the language of the operator and not just the language of business. It teaches you that while data is useful, stories are what move people to action.

And here's a secret: when you spend enough time in the field, you stop guessing. You stop making decisions based on assumptions. You stop wasting money on ideas that were never grounded in reality. Because you’ve heard the truth with your own ears. You’ve seen the tension in someone’s shoulders. You’ve felt the energy of a room that’s struggling or soaring. That’s the kind of knowledge no course or campaign can give you.

So if you're hitting events this year—whether it’s trade shows, panels, pop-ups, or anything in between—don’t just show up, speak, and bounce. Stick around. Ask questions. Listen with intention. Don’t just network—connect. Walk the floor like it’s your job. Because it is. If you're going to serve this industry, you have to understand it at its rawest level.

There are chefs, operators, and frontline workers out there who are burning out while you read this. They’re incredible at what they do, but they don’t always have the time or tools to tell their story or ask for help. They need champions. Not just cheerleaders. They need partners. Not just posts. And the only way to truly become one is to step into their world and see it for yourself.

Get out of the four walls. Do the work that doesn’t get posted. Have the conversations that don’t make the highlight reel. Be the person who shows up—not just when it’s convenient or when the camera is rolling, but when it’s hard, when it’s quiet, when it’s real.

Because the restaurant industry doesn’t run on hashtags or hype. It runs on humans. And the best way to honour that is to walk alongside them—not just speak at them.

That’s the field work.

That’s where the reps count