Sure, Gordon Ramsay is too good looking, seems to bask in celebrity, acts like a rude sod, and teaches management by intimidation. But, if, as one suspects, his eponymous London showpiece reflects the man, you gotta like him.

Ramsay runs a terrific restaurant. No, we’re not talking French Laundry or Joel Robuchon here, my standards for best ever meals. But: GRs at Claridges food has focus, integrity, and textural balance; every meal is a good experience, if not a life long memory.

My most recent lunch began with a nice Bollinger, followed, in turn, by a beautifully composed tomato consomme, a worthwhile crab spring roll, a brilliant plaice & mushroom combo, a decent hazelnut panna cotta, all crescendoed by some totally delicious chocolate-enwrapped cherry truffles. The plaice truly sparkled, the tomato soup zapped taste buds into life, the rest merely achieved full marks.

As the course progression unfolded, it hit me that here’s a man who truly understands his crunchy, meaty, creamy. Good chefs say that texture and visual impact are vital to eating enjoyment. The way a morsel feels in the mouth unlocks flavor and manufactures interest. Master Chef Ronin Henin claims the essential formula for good eats requires crunchy, meaty, and creamy textures. Crème brulee is one classic example: a burnt sugar lid for crunch, fruit delivering meaty body and a creamy custard foundation.

Ramsey’s Tomato consommé:  the ultra-creamy broth is leavened by peas and asparagus for crunch, and uplifted by langoustine and tomato chunks for meaty heft.

Or, take everyone’s childhood favorite:  the grilled cheese sandwich. Here the crunch comes from the butter-fried exterior of the concotion, the layer where bread and butter fuse on the grill. Meaty: the slightly cooked and warm interior of the bread. Creamy: the gooey cheese. Consider most favorite foods: they are defined by the crunchy, meaty, creamy/gooey combo. Pizza has crust (crunchy), tomato & sausage (meaty), cheese (the goo). Hamburgers are toasted buns holding beef smothered in cheese & sauce.

As shown above, each Ramsey course plumbed the textural formula flawlessly, every dish a near perfect balance of the three desired mouth-feels.

Ok: that’s our detour into good eats. What the heck has this got to do with good service experiences? No surprise that delivering successful experiences generally follows a pattern, whether the experience provider is a restaurant or a mobile telco provider or a City 311 center. In their own way, effective customer service experiences tend to follow an abstraction of the crunchy, meaty, creamy pattern.

First,  comes structure (the crunchy), then the resolution process (the meaty), held together by personalization (the creamy).

Layer one - The starting point for any good service experience, is tight structure. We often call this “guided navigation”. Just as the crunch delivers the structure and skin of a culinary treat, guided navigation provides the wrapper for a successful touch point.

Layer 2 – is knowledge-infused process. This is the meat of the experience. Knowledge-infused process is the resolution machine. If it works, the experience works.

Layer 3 - is personalization. This is the creamy,gooey, soft core of experiences that delivers gratification. Personalizing the experience takes many forms, but enriching an interaction with special touches, recognizing the uniqueness of this customer, makes all the difference.

When constructing an experience, ask, in turn:  “Do we have a clear and intuitive navigational structure?”, then “Are we delivering a well-defined resolution process?, and finally, “What have we done to personalize this interaction?”.

Formulas are guideposts. Not every culinary success employs crunchy, meaty, creamy. But, best practices amount to tried and true formulas, best ignored only when well understood. Try applying the navigation, process, and personalization formula to your experience design (and crunchy, meaty, creamy to your cooking).

Fact is: these formulas work.

(Mark Angel is EVP and CTO, KANA)

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1. That Was The Week That Was – My Customer Service Experience Hell