Several restaurant chefs reveal which dishes catch their attention and which ones they categorically reject when they themselves decide to order from another establishment. Their opinion could surprise you and… inspire you!
The first assessments for the year 2023 demonstrated that the restaurants have been somewhat shunned in recent months, due in particular to the high inflation suffered by households. What’s more, many restaurateurs are struggling to recruit employees in the kitchen and service areas. Obviously, consumers are becoming more demanding in this particular post-Covid context.
This is why we cannot ignore the opinions left on the different applications and reservation sites which provide information on the quality of a restaurant. Our colleagues from Huffington Post for their part referred to theopinion of several chefs and asked them what dishes they refused to order when they decided to eat at a restaurant. The results are rather convincing and highlight certain recipes rather than others, visibly too expensive for what they are, taking into account the raw material and the technical expertise required.
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Salads, pastas and fish to watch out for
Our colleagues interviewed several chefs and, clearly, they are quite unanimous in rejecting the idea of ordering pasta dishes, soup, saladand to a certain extent fish. “Pasta dishes with a basic sauce are surprisingly expensive for an inexpensive recipe to cook“, is surprised Nina Swasdikiati, the owner of the Ping Pong Thai restaurant in Las Vegas. For her and for her colleague Ryan Jones, co-founder and executive chef of Free Reign Restaurants in Charleston (South Carolina), “the ingredients used to accompany the pasta are not worth the price of the bill”. Especially since, according to him, many restaurants work with “dry pasta” rather than “fresh”. “I am often hesitant to order this in a restaurant due to the relatively high prices“he insists to our colleagues.
Same story for salads ! “You just want vegetables they charge you $14-$16, for a bunch of tasteless pre-cut carrots and pre-cooked chicken, it’s ridiculous”, according to Evan Hennessey, chef in New Hampshire. For Nina Swasdikiati, particularly interested in Caesar salad, it is difficult to be “impressed with restaurant salads” because she leaves “often while thinking” : “I paid $15 for this, I could have made it in two seconds for a lot less than that”. Michael DeLone of New Jersey recommends avoiding soups because they would be the fruit of vegetable mixtures which restaurateurs would seek to get rid of.
Finally, on the side of fish and shellfish, we regret the use of canned goods and the attraction to lobster which, ultimately, would not be worth the price displayed on the menu. That’s what it says!
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