We all speak about expectations, customer expectations. They can be reasonable or extreme, and sometimes achievable or bizarre. But usually, they are appropriate. As a customer, I expect a basic minimum such as:
On one hand the critical goal of the operation is to promote alcohol sales so the business can be as profitable as possible. Operators also want to promote a good time so guests will feel happy being there and continue to consume alcohol and spend money.
My first restaurant opened in Hoi An three decades ago. At the time, Hoi An was an old trading village and Vietnam was cut off from the western world thanks to a trade embargo designed to invert the result of what we call the American War. But us Hoianese persevered, and shortly after I served my first meals, a small group of New Zealanders trickled in for dinner. Australians and Europeans soon followed. By 1995, the United States was allowing trade between our countries to resume and our “Ancient Town” began to blossom into the major tourist destination that it is now.
When Muslims from India and Pakistan began arriving in the United Kingdom in large numbers in the 1960s, they imported two anxieties common to immigrants: what to eat, and where to pray. The new foreigners, usually men, sought places of worship and a dependable supply of nutrition associated with their homelands. This included ‘halal’ food – meat and poultry killed in accordance with Quranic guidelines derived from the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. In cities such as Leeds and Manchester, where mosques weren’t available, Muslims prayed on factory floors or worshipped in converted flats. Halal food was harder to come by. Many urbanised Muslims sought out the services of agricultural workers who had resettled in the UK after the convulsions of empire. Men would buy chickens from farmers, former Asian farmhands or imams, who would render the food halal.
Opening a restaurant, especially in the current pandemic context, can be a very daunting task. Not only does it become more difficult to raise money due to the dependency on customers going out, but more importantly, because food and beverage operations have a great complexity to deal with compared to any other business in the retail sector.
Besides helping a hotel restaurant become profitable, the broader, less quantifiable goal, for is to satisfy hotel guests in such a manner as to halo positively back onto the guestroom product. People want to stay at hotels that are known for their food or having a fun spot to dine at.
One of the many changes to everyday living brought along by Covid-19 has been the meteoric ascension of food delivery, not only to homes and offices, but increasingly also to hotel guests. The trend really took off during the early stages of lockdown de-escalation, when a lot of hotels couldn’t feed their guests due to staffing shortages.
Before the pandemic, it was quite customary in restaurants to whet the appetite with the tableside delivery of a breadbasket, or some variation of a small loaf of bread, as a welcome to the establishment. There has always been a positive symbolism with this act, as breaking bread not only increases meal satisfaction by alleviating any hunger pangs but also implies a deeper sense of trust and camaraderie.
Truffle. A true love it or hate it delicacy, with its pungent flavour and heady scent, the truffle is not a flavour which takes a back seat in any dish and can easily overwhelm the palate if overdone. The truffle is an edible fungus belonging to the mushroom family, but it’s not a mushroom like any other; many describe the taste as earthy, gamey even. Those on the other side of the fence might describe it as ‘musky’ or ‘funky’. Whatever the taste, there’s no denying for those who love it, it’s a unique, rich and luxurious ingredient that when found on a menu is extremely difficult to pass up the opportunity to taste once more.
Food trends change every few years. The 2010s brought us quinoa, the Millennial-staple avocado toast, imitation meat products, and keto became a lifestyle for some people.
Michel Magada, lecturer in Practical Arts at EHL Campus Lausanne, specializes in food science research and development. He explores new cooking technologies and how to teach them. After years of teaching, he put himself in the students' shoes and attended a remote online course on Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science (chemistry). Thanks to this experience, he reflects on how the practical arts should be taught in the immediate future.
In 2020, the global consumption of tea amounted to about 6.3 billion kilograms! As a result, tea has quickly grown to become the second most popular beverage in the world after water. But how much do we know about the ceremonies and proper brewing methods behind this delicious beverage?
Lately, much is written about veganism and vegan food and how it can improve our life and the environment. Having been one of those individuals that gave this a good try (I lived a 100 % vegetarian life for six months) here are my observations and thoughts.
When it comes to culinary trends, vegan is one that has seen a dramatic increase over the past decade and even more so over the past few years. Health-conscious consumers and animal rights supporters from all around the world are dedicated to following vegan guidelines, cooking vegan food, and dining in vegan restaurants more than ever.
As we emerge from a tumultuous year of lockdowns and traveler uncertainty, hotels have in many ways been given a carte blanche to relaunch their rooms product, their restaurants, their spas and any their revenue generating services. To focus solely on F&B, a minimalist approach will ultimately be profitable as guests continue to realign their shopping habits.
You never know what really is just a fad or what is signaling a change in the industry. But the rise in non-alcoholic (NA) spirits available on the market and the buzz around them is taking on a whole new momentum.
In recent years, the esthetics involved in drinking wine have become increasingly important. Wine is not drunk for its taste alone but also for what it represents financially, socially and culturally. Wine reflects a certain status for its drinker or buyer. Consuming wine goes above and beyond mere pleasure. Certain wines are considered works of art and winemakers are seen as artists. The extravagant prices fetched in auction houses has had the effect of breaking down barriers between wine and art.
Nutrition and Diet are complicated subjects. First, we will speak of well-known research for Hoteliers. While it is important to appeal to restaurant clients, hotel guests and dining room patrons, it is crucial that the food and beverages are tasty as well as nutritious.
Local and state mandates regarding the operation of restaurants during the pandemic hit the hotel industry hard. Was the hit hard enough to force permanent changes to how hotels deliver food and beverage service? Could such changes fundamentally alter the hotel industry as currently segmented? How will hotel guests react to these changes?
While most oenophiles can recite a litany of grape varietals and their traits off the cuff, most consumers aren’t nearly as informed. They’ve likely heard of the top international grapes that have been transplanted around the globe as well as one or two that characterize a specific region, but beyond that getting into esoteric vintages can be both intimidating as well as alluring.