"I remember the days when food was served on round, white plates and waiters didn't have sleeve tattoos....." That's a conversation I envisage having with my daughter, over dinner in ten years time. It will be delivered with the same misty eyed nostalgia I'll feel when explaining to her what size my first mobile phone was.
There is a global movement away from traditional fine dining (I hate the term but can't think of another right now). Starched linen tablecloths are out, matte finish blonde wood tabletops are in. Armani suits have been hung up, tee shirts and leather aprons donned in their place. Traditional plates have been replaced by pretty much anything from a lump of tree bark, to a hollowed out squirrel head! I jest of course, but you get the point.
Since I first worked in the business 27 years ago, I've seen a lot of trends and fads come and go. I believe that this one however, is different. I think that there is a generation of diners who want great food, wine & service, but in a different setting than the generation before them. This point has not gone unnoticed by top chefs and restaurateurs world wide, and a definite trend has emerged.
Many top restaurateurs have turned away from the stuffy, formal dining offering in response to a global shift in consumer demand. The innovative and energetic Jason Atherton has created a new market for "informal fine dining". His world wide group of "social" restaurants have been a phenomenal success since Pollen Street opened in 2011. Others such as Gordon Ramsay have held onto their traditional flagship, but opened multiple casual dining restaurants.
Pollen Street Social
Heddon Street Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay
Chef Oliver Dunne, from Bon Appetit in Malahide, was on the radio recently talking about giving Michelin back their star, because of the burden of expectation it has created. I personally don't believe that the star is at the root of Bon Appetit's problems, I think it's the shift away from more traditional fine dining. This is especially true in suburban areas. Mr. Dunne's more recent venture, Cleaver East delivers similar standards in a more informal setting, and has proved very successful since opening in 2013.
There are exceptions of course. The great bastions of 3* fine dining in Paris still bathe their guests in unapologetic luxury. The experience is so prohibitively expensive for most ordinary people however, that many of their deeply cushioned seats remain sans bums, much of the time. Closer to home, the iconic Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud continues to buck trends and go from strength to strength. Long may it continue to do so.
One unfortunate side effect of the rise in informal fine dining, is that many of the key kitchen skills which were thought in classical kitchens, are being lost. There are two principal reasons for this. Firstly, the number of covers in newer restaurants tends to be higher, and so modern equipment is required for ease of service. Secondly, a lot of chefs work their way up from scratch, without any formal training, due to the major skills shortage in the industry. The result is that many young chefs would struggle in a kitchen without a Thermomix, Water Bath and Vac Pac. Tune into an episode of Professional Master Chef if you don't believe me.
As a diner, I love the way that great food has become so accessible. I also hope however, that modern restaurants don't completely forget where they came from.
I'd like to think that someday, I will once again be served a dish on the increasingly elusive round white plate.