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APR. MAY 2016
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the rationalization on excess
consumerism. A wind is along the
restaurant from Paris to New York,
and he sees the gradual departure
of the à la carte menu, that bulky
and gargantuan “book” that was
proudly handed over to each diner
in the restaurants of our childhood.
And that, actually, over the years
has narrowed more and more.
Accomplice, in the first place, the
containment of the costs derived from
having to keep in the pantry a large
amount of fresh raw materials which
then, at the end of the day, maybe
not in use. And they risk ending up
in the trash.
IN THE NAME OF SUSTAINABILITY.
In fact the economic sustainability
that comes from a good resource
management, essential in any
restaurant, in this case even more
than in other intersects with issues
of environmental sustainability and
the fight against waste, more relevant
today than ever. At the bottom
are also customers who look to
companies an ecological and the most
environmentally friendly manner
possible.
Anyway, it’s not just that. Many of
the restaurant owners who have
chosen to “simplify”, even drastically,
the menu explains the choice with a
(simple?) Equation: less dishes and
ingredients to buy give the possibility
to have higher-quality raw materials,
and contain prices to the client.
It was this after all the “excuse”
that led, in France, to the birth of
the movement “Bistronomique”,
around 2008 when, at the beginning
of the economic crisis that hit
Europe, starred chefs have decided
to lower claims (and prices) by
opening alternative “light” to their
restaurants
haute cuisine
: simple
decor, almost Spartan, no choice
for the customer at a fixed price
menu, and often he had to “take
it or leave it.” That’s an approach
that in Paris, London and New York
has numerous representatives, with
fairly different formulas (see box).
In difficult times, however, already
the Alciati brothers, pluristellati of
Serraluga d’Alba, already proposed
a “basket of cheese” restaurant with
Guido, indeed, a unique cheese,
to be rotated every 15 days, but
presented as it should be. Therefore,
at the highest levels the imposition
of non-choosing itself as advice
and guidance is gastronomic. The
simplification of the proposal,
however, is a trend that is taking the
main restaurant, high and low.
“Many hotel restaurants have already
embraced the philosophy of the fight
against waste and offering a limited
choice. Today more than ever it is
true that Less is More, less is more,
it is best to bring a few things but
done well - says Mauro Santinato,
catering consultant and president
of Teamwork -. But we still want
the customer to choose what to eat
when going to the restaurant, while
in London a dinner from one star
is seen as experience, is a bit ‘like
going to an art exhibition. Of course,
the trend here too is to propose
simplified and annotated menu.”
EASY AND CREATIVE.
They are not
just economic and ecological actually