There is one lesson in particular I will never forget. I was executive chef at the company's Dallas hotel. We had always had hot oatmeal on the menu, because Mr. Marriott insisted on it. Well, I took it off the menu. When he visited us not long afterward, he ordered oatmeal, and the waitress had to tell him that it wasn't available. He immediately came into the kitchen to ask me why. I said, “We don't sell any. We've got to watch our food costs.” He replied, “When I was a sheep herder as a boy, that's what we ate for breakfast. It lasted us all day. And it's wholesome. It has to be on the menu.” I tried to make some excuses, but he looked me straight in the eye and said slowly but firmly, “Karl, oatmeal is not negotiable.”