Watch Per Se's Designer on Creating Stages for Chefs

CBS This Morning host Charlie Rose got an in depth look at the design process behind chef Thomas Keller's acclaimed New York City restaurant Per Se, interviewing both the chef and the restaurant's designer Adam Tihany. Tihany emphasizes the importance of consistency and defines his guiding principal when thinking about what a restaurant should look and feel like: "When you're hungry, you don't really go to a restaurant, you go to your refrigerator ... When you go to a restaurant, you're hungry for an experience."

Tihany also likens designing a restaurant creating a custom suit in that the restaurant design needs to be a reflection of the chef's personality and cuisine and be the right "fit." "If I create a restaurant for a famous chef ... it's a stage where he has to perform best," he says. (In Per Se, for example, a lamp with laundry symbols is a subtle reminder of The French Laundry and Keller's sense of humor). Keller explains how this design process works from the chef's point of view: "[Tihany] expects you to make an extraordinary effort in helping him design your restaurant ... he wants that participation, he wants that focus." Go, watch:

Video: Per Se Designer Adam Tihany on Creating High-End Dining Experiences

· Per Se Designer Adam Tihany on Creating High-End Dining Experiences [YouTube]
· All Per Se Coverage on Eater [-E-]