Finesse in dining

Virginia Woolf famously said that ‘one cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well’. Many food lovers stand true to that statement as it’s becoming more common to go out to a restaurant and not just enjoy the food but also have a great experience.

Many college students can probably relate to this — finding a restaurant that fits their budget. The cleanliness, the quality and the story behind the food probably didn’t matter as much. But once the person has graduated to the real world, the importance they give to their surrounding, the places they visit, and the quality they receive is more. That’s where the ‘experience of eating’ becomes more prominent and how one would like their dining experience to change.

Sezel Lalwani, an employee at LinkedIn, often visits her favourite restaurants for good food. Over the years, she’s grown to understand the kind of food that she enjoys having and how she would like it to be.

She says, “It’s always better if the dish is presented well — it helps increase your appetite. For example, you can’t go to a ‘dhaba’ and expect to get fancy plates, but the aroma the food brings is what makes it very appetising.” Food colouring is also something that she doesn’t agree with these days. “Food colour these days is a huge turn-off. You can easily make out what is fresh and not by just looking at it, so why ruin it by adding more colour to it?,” she questions.

There are many restaurants that open up in the city on a weekly basis which promises to give the diner an experience of a lifetime — with authentic food and drinks, ambience and great service. Some even experiment with various cooking techniques like modernist cooking and creating something with seasonal produce. Even in the case of drinks, mixologists are experimenting with flavours to please their crowd. While it works most of the time, it doesn’t seem to impress many.

Sher Dewan, a self-employed chocolatier, says, “I don’t understand how French wine can be paired with local Indian dishes. The trend should go back to the local drinks and not mess with the diners’ minds.” He also finds it annoying that some restaurants are over staffed. “Having grown up in Europe, I think the serving staff here need to be trained properly. A lot of places are overstaffed and it’s very disturbing when they hover around your table while you’re eating,” he adds.

The blogger at ‘Little Miss Know It All’, Soumya Abraham, echoes this and says, “I’m not someone who is fussy about the taste because it’s a very subjective opinion and you can never judge a restaurant based on one’s palate. But I do think that a good service is crucial. Most of the time, the waiters are clueless when you ask them about the dish. Even if a meal is unsatisfactory, the way the management handles the situation with a displeased customer makes a lot of difference.”

With standards rising and the demands of ‘foodies’ also rising along with it, the overall food experience a person expects is also becoming crucial.

And as Soumya explains, “It’s about how you treat your diners in return that gives you a great experience. We come in to eat not just because we are hungry but to build a relationship with the restaurant so that we can keep coming back here next time. It’s all about the love for food after all!”