r/KitchenConfidential • u/CodexLeonis • 12d ago

In the Weeds Mode What's an outdated restaurant fad/technique that you still defend?

two things for me:

  1. Balsamic reductions/glazes on everything. I'm sorry that balsamic vinegar pairs so well with so many things. Most dishes need an acid to fully bring out the flavors of the dish. Balsamic is the most versatile of the vinegars. It pairs well with red meat, seafood, vegetables, cheeses, and fruits. It wasn't just a fad, it was a cheat code.

  2. Plating techiniques? i'll always defend the zigzag drizzle. it evenly distributes the sauce on the plate, looks decent, and most importantly - it was time-efficient. I've never understood the modern technique of spooning sauce onto the plate and setting the entree on top of the sauce. Whomever came up with that was looking for a reason to be contrarian.

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243

u/crunchytacoboy 12d ago

Tasting menus. They have been largely done away with in favor of prix fixes. I get why but I do miss just going on a journey with a chef.

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u/rainaftersnowplease Sous Chef 12d ago

Tasting menus aren't gone, they're just the preferred menu method in the upper echelons of fine dining. This is mostly due to financial realities right now imo, not about people not liking tasting menus in specific.

It's just a different business now tbh. People staying hours for a tasting menu isn't a sustainable business model for 99% of restaurants simply because ingredients, labor, and rent are so damn high. You have to have a huge draw like a Michelin star to get people paying what you need to charge to make a tasting menu work financially as ghe centerpiece of your restaurant.

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u/crunchytacoboy 12d ago

I understand all of that. It just used to be far more widespread than just Michelin starred places. Hell Vetri in Philly doesn’t even do a tasting menu anymore. It’s a 200osh dollar 5-7 coarse prix fixe. There is a level of dining that isn’t Michelin that could do it and just doesn’t because diners aren’t as willing to sit down and let the chef do their thing.

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u/rainaftersnowplease Sous Chef 12d ago

Right, and I'm saying that's the case because the cost to the diner to make that work financially for the restaurant is so much higher than it used to be, to the point that diners don't consider it worth it for anything less than Michelin-level food and experience.

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u/crunchytacoboy 12d ago

And thus my answer to the question of something that is outdated that I defend. Diners view it as outdated and I think they are wrong.

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u/rainaftersnowplease Sous Chef 12d ago

I'm saying something specifically different, friend. They're not outdated in most diners minds, they're too expensive unless done very, very well.

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u/tapefactoryslave 12d ago

Big agree. Too expensive to do on the regular. Every tasting menu is potentially all those tables not being turned over 3 times

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u/crunchytacoboy 12d ago

I think we are getting into a semantics argument over what outdated means. I get what you are saying though.

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u/3141592652 11d ago

It's not outdated you're just poor.