On the menu of the day: these robots which are taking up more and more space in the field of catering, inflation which forces restaurateurs to innovate and the environment which remains a priority for certain leaders.
First, we have talked about it several times over the past few months, but we have to come back to it. After Foodrix server robots and delivery robots trying to find a place in big cities, now technology experts want to connect your kitchen to these beings endowed with artificial intelligence.
For example, Samsung has unveiled the Bespoke range which offers, among other things, an oven that can detect what you are preparing and thus adjust the cooking time. An application that could perfectly be integrated into a large restaurant.
Also, Israeli companies offer 3D printers that can prepare you a synthetic steak, made of soybeans, legumes, coconut and sunflower oil and in a realistic way: a texture of the flesh to fall in love with and also fat and even blood…
In a few months, great restaurants south of the border will probably not be bragging about it, but will no doubt be using one of these recent inventions!
Second, the famous buzzword during the pandemic is kind of back. The fact of having to "reinvent" was on everyone's lips in 2020, in several areas, but especially in catering. The expression has been making a strong comeback since the end of 2022. This time, it is to face inflation!
Indeed, how do you manage in this period of rising costs and interest rates? By being creative!
Chefs must modify their menu in order to offer a dish that lives up to their reputation while respecting the consumer's budget. They practice new ways to prepare the same dishes but in a different way.
It is therefore possible to find different cuts and pieces of meat than what our favorite restaurant has accustomed us to. Also, the chef could opt for substitute products. In the last scenario, the price on the menu could increase.
However, the consumer remains on the lookout for prices and cannot continually accept increases.
This is why restaurateurs must also be creative with their opening hours! By controlling traffic, they ensure a minimum and a maximum of entries and can more easily order the exact quantities of food.
Finally, another fashionable trend is now affecting the restaurant sector: eco-responsibility and everything that encompasses sustainable development, the environment and ecology.
In fact, the "green" restaurant has been present for a few years in Quebec and is more specifically in "sustainable gastronomy". It offers more local cuisine from ingredients produced within a radius of 150 km, for example, and only offering seasonal fruits or vegetables… unless you have prepared preserves at harvest time to serve them later.
In some places, you will not even find pepper or even olive oil, or very little, because no local farm produces it in Quebec!
There is also a concern for waste reduction where the chefs put all their efforts into using everything that is available, without putting anything in the trash. Otherwise, unused food goes to compost or bears the brunt of the many preservation methods.
