D&D and the rising pandemic

[Dannyalcatraz]

If your entire cuisine is such that it doesn't travel well, first, I think maybe your view of your cuisine is a bit narrow. Second, you may have to get creative.

I know of one restaurant in downtown Boston that has a challenge - they are down in the business district, with only a very small population of people actually living anywhere nearby them. Their cuisine isn't delicate, but few assembled dishes will fare well after a half hour car ride.

So, they aren't selling their dishes. They are selling kits to assemble their dishes at home - elements fully cooked, with instructions on how to revive them not just right after arrival, but up to days afterwards.

Viewing your food, or pretty much any aspect of your business, in the same old way does not cut it right now.

I’ve been cooking a variety of cuisines for 40 years, some at a pretty high level.

There’s very few classic French dishes I actually cook because many French recipes are either complex and time consuming, or because they require precision I don’t have the time or skill for. Sometimes all of the above. There are dishes in French cuisine that require days* of work.

So the idea that you’d sell kits for some of this stuff is...stretching things.

There is simpler fare in French cuisine, no doubt. Julia Child did a couple hundred episodes of her show, mostly centered on teaching French cooking recipes and techniques to average home cooks.

...but that’s typically NOT the stuff you’re finding in the restaurants.

Keeping it simpler, consider sushi or hibachi places, Brazilian churrascarias, or even the great American steakhouses serving things like tomahawk chops and marrow.

Sushi isn’t just fish on Uncle Bens. And takeout cannot in any way mimic the churrascaria experience,

Hell, just looking at my native cuisine, how many people have the equipment (and skill) to safely fry a turkey or do a cajun seafood boil at home? I certainly don’t- I leave that to a couple of particular relatives.**

Some of these may not survive in a commercially viable form. At least, not for Joe Middle Class.


* ditto some of the creole recipes I know,,,and generally don’t mess with anymore.

** who all moved back to Louisiana, the bastiches!

 

[Zardnaar]

I’ve been cooking a variety of cuisines for 40 years, some at a pretty high level.

There’s very few classic French dishes I actually cook because many French recipes are either complex and time consuming, or because they require precision I don’t have the time or skill for. Sometimes all of the above. There are dishes in French cuisine that require days* of work.

So the idea that you’d sell kits for some of this stuff is...stretching things.

There is simpler fare in French cuisine, no doubt. Julia Child did a couple hundred episodes of her show, mostly centered on teaching French cooking recipes and techniques to average home cooks.

...but that’s typically NOT the stuff you’re finding in the restaurants.

Keeping it simpler, consider sushi or hibachi places, Brazilian churrascarias, or even the great American steakhouses serving things like tomahawk chops and marrow.

Sushi isn’t just fish on Uncle Bens. And takeout cannot in any way mimic the churrascaria experience,

Hell, just looking at my native cuisine, how many people have the equipment (and skill) to safely fry a turkey or do a cajun seafood boil at home? I certainly don’t- I leave that to a couple of particular relatives.**

Some of these may not survive in a commercially viable form. At least, not for Joe Middle Class.


* ditto some of the creole recipes I know,,,and generally don’t mess with anymore.

** who all moved back to Louisiana, the bastiches!

Great depression the stuff that survived was the really cheap stuff and high end stuff.

Streetfood, popcorn etc. It's not just whayt can be done well for delivery but who has the money.

 

[Eltab]

Streedfood, popcorn etc. It's not just want can be done well for delivery but who a d where gas the money.

Zard, I think your spellcheck has a virus of its own.

 

[Zardnaar]

Zard, I think your spellcheck has a virus of its own.

Yeah this phone is a pain.

 

[Hussar]

I would point out though, @Dannyalcatraz that sushi is very much a home delivery food. There's a whole industry here for home delivering sushi and even the really expensive places will do it. It is an advantage when, basically, all your dish really is is raw fish and rice with vinegar. It does travel really well.

Frankly, I think @Imaro has the point of it. Restaurants need to look at their menus and focus on the stuff that DOES travel well and sell that. Sure, soufflé's won't travel, but, that's hardly the be all and end all of French food.

Or, put it another way. China has thousands of years of food culture. There are incredibly intricate and difficult Chinese dishes. But, that's not what you find in an American Chinese restaurant for take out or delivery.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I’m not saying sushi can’t be takeout- I’ve done that myself- I’m saying sushi doesn’t lend itself to DIY kits...at least in the West.

As for French cuisine, I‘m extremely skeptical that chefs are going to trade off the high-end for the rustic, or even fusion things like croissant sandwiches. Michelin stars are at stake. The traditions and knowledge of Le Cordon Bleu are at stake. There are chefs that can trace their educational roots back generations like a martial arts dojo.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I see good news

Scientists discover 5 FDA-approved drugs are effective at stopping coronavirus spread in the body

A massive global collaboration of scientists has discovered several possible ways we could treat COVID-19.Dozens of researchers have discovered that five existing drugs and a range of other drug compounds are effective at blocking COVID-19 from infecting human cells, they revealed in a study...

news.yahoo.com

I see bad news

Brazil is letting the coronavirus run wild with little intervention, and the results are strikingly bad

Brazil's president has put virtually no measures in place to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Now it's facing a surge in cases.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Zardnaar]

I see good news

Scientists discover 5 FDA-approved drugs are effective at stopping coronavirus spread in the body

A massive global collaboration of scientists has discovered several possible ways we could treat COVID-19.Dozens of researchers have discovered that five existing drugs and a range of other drug compounds are effective at blocking COVID-19 from infecting human cells, they revealed in a study...

news.yahoo.com

I see bad news

Brazil is letting the coronavirus run wild with little intervention, and the results are strikingly bad

Brazil's president has put virtually no measures in place to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Now it's facing a surge in cases.

www.yahoo.com

Brazil's one of those countries to keep an eye on.

Venezuela would be another. How bad can it get? Well here you go. Nigeria might be another.

USA isn't the worst.

Isolation isn't an option in a lot of countries even if they try. Afghanistan is going hungry already. So is India iirc.

Today's update
1 death 6 new cases.

Can't seem to wipe it out in one of the strictist lockdowns on an island nation with reasonably few cases.

We're slowly opening up as well. Don't really have a choice.

 

[Umbran]

I’m not saying sushi can’t be takeout- I’ve done that myself- I’m saying sushi doesn’t lend itself to DIY kits...at least in the West.

I think somewhere a point got lost - doing food as a kit is for dishes that don't travel well assembled.

As for French cuisine, I‘m extremely skeptical that chefs are going to trade off the high-end for the rustic, or even fusion things like croissant sandwiches. Michelin stars are at stake.

The Michelin stars won't mean a heck of a lot if the restaurant closes. And, if the Michelin organization doesn't look at the current situation and say, "You know, we're going to cut folks some slack this year," then they are Grade-A Fancy Jumbo Free Range Organic Jerkbombs, and their opinions on food cease to be compelling.

The traditions and knowledge of Le Cordon Bleu are at stake. There are chefs that can trace their educational roots back generations like a martial arts dojo.

That's very nice. Interestingly, those traditions have managed to survive several devastating wars without falling apart. They can survive a year off for pandemic. If you have too much pride to stoop to making a few sandwiches so that your kitchen staff still has jobs in a trying time... maybe the problem isn't the fragility of your traditions.

 

[Azzy]

Oh Florida.

Oh, indeed (says the Floridian).

At least this is one of the least embarassing Florida Man stories.