They were the glory days for cooks and chefs. A time that serious cooks had long hoped for; a time when how food was prepared and presented, where the ingredients came from, and who exercised their talent and experience in the pursuit of excellence, became important to mainstream America. Restaurants had always been important as meeting places and meccas of diner convenience, but now…it was the experience of dining and the persona of the chef that made headlines, filled bookstore shelves, and captured our screen time on televisions and computers; will all this change?

Conversations around the home dinner table, in office break rooms, on phone calls with friends, and in grocery store isles were all about the next great restaurant, a particular dish that knocked someone’s socks off, or an up-and-coming chef who was making his or her mark in the culinary world. Finally, chefs and cooks were being recognized and, in many cases, compensated as they should have been for years. Farmers and chefs were talking and working together, young people were excited to train for a career in the kitchen, and restaurateurs realized that they had to provide the tools needed if they hoped to hang on to a quality chef and team. And…diners were flocking to restaurants for entertainment and inspiration. Then, came the economic catastrophe of 2008 and a decade later, the pandemic that had been feared and predicted for 100 years.

Out of work and somewhat supported short-term by the government, restaurant workers took a hard look at what they did for a living, where they worked, and why they chose to accept a lifestyle that may have been exciting at first but now showed the battle scars of unreasonableness. When the dust settled and restaurants could return to the way they operated in the past – the damage was done. Workers had mentally and physically moved on. They no longer had the thirst for an industry that took more than it gave and neglected to understand that success was always about the people involved. If people were fulfilled then they would provide exceptional dining experiences, if they weren’t then the results were hit and miss. So, former employees went in a different direction. Many restaurants knee-jerk reaction was to offer better wages that were long overdue. That didn’t work. Owners and chefs tried to become better listeners – too little, too late. Chefs even tried to create balanced work schedules, but the answer was still – no. All of this on top of rising cost of ingredients, tighter controls to salvage a bit more profit, and a dining public that had become accustomed to home delivery and even cooking at home during the pandemic, painted a bleak picture for the future of restaurants.

What is happening now and where will it lead? With an impossible labor situation, declining enrollments in culinary schools, and profit margins dwindling, how will high quality restaurants and exciting restaurant experiences survive?

I have been engaged in conversations with a number of people living on the cusp of change who believe that the restaurant industry has no choice but to adopt loads of technology and convenience support. The labor problem will be the deciding factor. Robotics, digitized order systems, pre-prepared foundational ingredients, anything that requires moderate skilled work will need to be replaced simply because the workers aren’t there.

So, are the days of skilled labor force performing foundational and detail work, a thing of the past? Will guests continue to support the very expensive result of a high-quality dining experience? What will culinary schools focus on if not those skills previously determined to be “essential”? Will restaurant survival depend on the industry’s ability and desire to support a dramatic change in the labor-intensive business model that has been the standard for many decades?

It may just come down to dollars and cents decisions for all stakeholders. Can the farmer afford to invest the necessary attention to a chef’s demand for perfection? Will the restaurant show a willingness to pay top dollar for the labor-intensive artisanal farm products they demand? What will restaurants need to pay proficient cooks to attract and retain them? What is the ceiling for pricing that a guest will support to experience the very best dining?

There are more questions than answers. What we do know is that the restaurant business is changing and will continue to do so, out of necessity. As dedicated cooks and chefs we must understand that what we love to do is only possible if a restaurant is profitable. So, improving the bottom line is the key to what the restaurant experience will look like in the future.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

www.harvestamericacues.com  – BLOG

Check out my author web page at: https://paulsorgulebooks.com