Looking back on 2008 #1

At this time of year one reads reviews of the books of 2008, or reflections on politics 2008 such as Colin Espiner’s most recent blog post,though Espiner C seemed in some ways to reflect more on his blog than politics as such. Colin James in his final regular column for the NZ Herald chose to look forward. Whilst not agreeing much of the time with Mr James, Adam in the main enjoyed reading his column.

However, Adam thought he would reference some different reflections.

First up is AA Gill’s Food & Drink column at The Times, in which he looks at the best and worst of food trends in 2008 and looks forward to some simpler, perhaps some would say more old fashioned food in 2009. Adam suspects that we may see a return on some menus to ‘comfort’ food reflecting the need for sustenance through hard times.

Mr Gill concludes:-

I will, however, predict we’re going to see a sharp decline in sushi — it doesn’t hit any of the spots. There will be fewer courses, and bigger platefuls, and more house wines and carafes. Most new restaurants already offer a dozen wines by the glass. I also suspect that expensive sandwich shops are going to have a precipitous decline in custom — the luxury sandwich is an oxymoron. It just deposits slightly more mayo into your lap. There won’t be any more Russian restaurants, or pubs that serve something that really ought to be cheap absurdly expensively. Restaurants won’t be able to depend on gimmicks or selling the customers to each other as fashionable, trendy and exclusive. But expect a rise in the number of clubs or restaurants that are part-private, part-public. This isn’t so much about keeping hoi polloi out, but getting the money in in advance. A club is guaranteed a dollop of cash every January 1. And in a recession, cash flow is everything.

My tip for next year is: eat more lunch. Everyone is going to do bargain offers to keep their dining rooms full. And some of these will be the best deals in the country. And remember the waiters. Leave tips in cash and be generous. When money’s short, you should give more away. Their wages will be cut mercilessly. Restaurants are about hospitality, and the paunch of hospitality is generosity, and that should go both ways

The article is worth reading. In addition, Adam forecasts that some aspects of Gill’s thoughts will be reflected here in NZ.

Some restaurants will close. Others will adjust menu content, pricing and size. Not before time in a number of instances. Hopefully, we will see less of the pretentious fusion style food in our restaurants.