Can I have the beer battered fish please... but make it low-carb beer and can I have only 4% fat content in the cooking process with only one shake of the salt, not two... in fact scrap the batter all together. What is the nutritional content of the salad that goes with the fish? Does it have my daily requirements of vitamin c? Does the side dish have two-thirds of my daily fibre requirement as I have already consumed one-third today already. And can I please have a seat outside in the sun as I need my Vitamin D consumption for the day.
As ridiculous as this request may sound, this is where the world of dining is heading.
Unilever Food Solutions have recently released a World Menu Report revealing that the majority of consumers would like to know a numerous amount of information about their food choices. Such information as where the food was sourced, how it was prepared, its nutritional value and the safety of the food.
- 76% think there should be more information about the nutritional content of their meal
- 50% believe that they would choose healthier options
- 64% want to know the fat content
Across all surveyed countries; fat, calories, preservatives and food additives top the charts for the nutrients and ingredients that people are most interested to know about when eating out. In the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand, salt is seen as an important topic for information. Australia and New Zealand want to know about sugar in their meals and in China, people would like to know about the vitamins and proteins served to them.
These kind of requests are starting to go way too far. We dine out to relax, impress, or even to just splurge. We go to nice restaurants to try new and interesting things and to maybe even forget about the extra weight on your hips after that excessive slice of double-choc cake with whipped cream.
We do not dine out to analyse every aspect of the steak on your plate and go to all means to find out the grade of grass from which specific paddock it chose to eat. We do not dine out and refuse to eat the truffle mash because it was finished with a dollop of butter. We do not go to a fine-dining restaurant and request the chef cooks the dish with olive oil and no salt. Restaurants and cafes are not health stores.
If you have such serious concerns for your food consumption, there are many competitive weight-loss companies that would be more than keen to supply you with fat and salt free, tasteless food.
Is it really expected that underneath every menu item there is to be a full diagnosis of everything within the dish? The menu would begin to represent a small newspaper. Is it really expected that restaurants and cafes have every dish analysed before being presented to customers? This would restrict the possibility to serve specials and alter menu items. In fact, this would result in every establishment requiring their own on-site dietician!
People are forgetting why we go out to eat. It's to let our hair down a little, have a good time and also have a nice fat piece of that chocolate cake.
Matt Clark Catering, Food Photography and Freelance Writing
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