Personally, no matter how much work I have to do, the single most difficult thing I ever have to do is to get fed. Whether it's shopping, packing, cooking, traveling to a restaurant, waiting in line, etc., etc., etc., nothing is a bigger pain in the ass. And that's just for mediocre food, not good stuff like this. If I had something like this, my productivity would probably double. Multiply that by x employees and suddenly, these chefs are the bargain of the century.
That said, I agree with the original comment: this is not a good way to get your company in the black. Maybe I have a terribly uneducated palette, but the sandwiches I can make work for me. In fact, I've never heard anyone at work complain "I wish we had a cafeteria with a sous chef." Maybe that's because we're in downtown San Francisco, and there's a lot of stuff around. But seeing as how we -all- go to Mehfil 3x a week, I don't think the variety is helping.
Also, once you learn to eat fresh and healthy, sometimes it's better to eat nothing than Wendy's or shit like that. I shop 2 or 3 times per week and pack breakfast and lunch everywhere I go. And I'm sick of it. Really sick of it.
AFAIC, a cafeteria or dining room with real food is more important than just about anything else.
That said, my bosses are of the opinion that providing food for their engineers is a waste of money, so we have to pay 100 yen a cup for coffee, and the tea is free but the cups were eliminated to save on expenses. (Because why pay for a paper cup when you could pay a senior engineer to wash out his reusable mug.)
Would your productivity double? (This is a serious question btw). Perhaps some fb employees are thinking about their next world class meal and overlooking a new idea, and employees at a facebook successor are grinding away while eating rice and beans for 2n.
Did Ion Storm ultimately end up beating out their competition due to their luxurious office space [1]? There is a difference between a perk and an indicator of success.
Absolutely. (This is a serious answer).
Yesterday was a typical day. In the middle of 3 hot tasks that needed complete focus. A user wanted to grab a "quick bite" and discuss her project. "No problem," I thought, "I have to eat anyway."
Despite cell phone calls, it still took 15 minutes to meet out front. 10 minute drive to restaurant. 10 minutes in line. Eat. Wait for check. Massive traffic jam because of road work. (If we had known, we would have come back a different way.) 2 hours for lunch of which 10 minutes was spent talking about the project. Then, after returning emails, voicemails, and taking Pepto Bismol, I just didn't feel like getting back to what I was doing all morning. I lost half a day because management doesn't have enough fucking vision to provide some kind of "eating resources". (Sorry, such a disruptive problem with such an easy solution that I hardly ever see.) BTW, this facility employs 1600 people with the same problem every single day.
If you ever have kids you are in for a real shock if the most difficult thing you ever have to do is get fed:)