2020 forced people to change many habits, and service players had to urgently master Internet technologies. Restaurants, where we used to go not so much for delicious food as for the atmosphere, new emotions and communication, were forced to look for new forms of interaction with the consumer.
Many famous chefs, whose dinners in the pre-quarantine era cost several hundred euros and were scheduled months in advance, were forced to urgently come up with more democratic formats. As a result, gourmets were able to try Mauro Colagreco’s pizza (Mirazur), Rene Redzepi’s burgers (Noma 2.0) and Dani Garcia Restaurant’s sandwiches. “The pandemic has drastically changed the gastronomic world,” says Vladimir Chistyakov, chef at Buro.TSUM. – We thought too much about impressions, tastes, trying to find some new formats and topics for hype. And they forgot about what in reality they should be doing.
Quarantine brought everyone back to earth. He recalled that the main task of any restaurant is to feed people. And shipping is a good way to make money when you have to survive. Therefore, we started looking for new formats, returning from gourmet gastronomy and small portions to ordinary, understandable food. Because this is the kind of food people need in this difficult time. ” “2020 has become a year of survival for the restaurant market,” continues Irina Tiusonina, the main producer of the Where to Eat award. – It is unlikely that delivery has brought fame and money to some of the non-core restaurants. Someone, of course, managed to catch the hype. For example, Khezret-Arslan Berdiev launched not intellectual dishes from Birch into delivery, but Central Asian cuisine – it was unexpected and worked. But still it was a question of survival, keeping the team. “
Indeed, even world-famous establishments began to prepare simple and hearty dishes and launch their own delivery systems. For example, London restaurants have teamed up to create the Restokit service, which now includes 13 locations, some with Michelin stars. For £ 25-50 per person, you can order a 4-5 course set menu from appetizer to dessert. Some of them will be enough to warm up, others just beautifully put on a plate. Ideal for celebrating a holiday with your family or throwing a zoom party with colleagues.
Haute cuisine at home
Many Moscow restaurateurs have begun to develop their own delivery services. And it turned out to be in the hands of the end consumer.
Rappoport’s unified delivery service offered a 30% discount on all delivery menus. The group of restaurants of the Levchenko brothers (J’PAN, RA’MEN, Touch of Matcha) and Pinskiy & Co establishments (Avocado Queen, Medusa, Syrovarnya, etc.) allow you to collect dishes from different establishments in one order. And a staff of its own couriers delivers orders even to places where aggregator couriers cannot reach.
$209 462
for this amount was sold the most expensive lot of the auction, a keg of 10-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon
“We launched delivery when we were already overcoming the pandemic,” says restaurateur Vladimir Perelman (Perelman People holding). – And we decided that in no case should the recipe be changed. People should get what they used to eat in the restaurant. We deliberately chose a very expensive, completely biodegradable packaging and do our best to ensure that the order reaches the consumer in the best possible way. And be sure to offer small compliments. Everything in order to maintain the loyalty of the audience. ” “Even those who already had experience with delivery, 2020 made them learn a lot,” continues Vera Sadovnikova, CEO of Villa Pasta restaurants (a Gourmet Alliance holding). “When restaurants were forbidden to hold banquets, we began to deliver not just dishes, but whole events on a turnkey basis. With cooks, bartenders, waiters who can prepare everything, serve guests and also clean up after themselves. “
Now the experience has been gained, and no matter how events develop further, the delivery segment will only grow. Too quickly we got used to the fact that, having made an order via the Internet, you can get a restaurant-quality dish without leaving the couch. “The restaurant business has changed a lot over the year,” says Perelman. – The offline segment has sagged a lot, and delivery allows you to stay in the red. I think in the future, when the pandemic recedes, the steady growth of online projects will continue. Simply because people are already used to it. Although offline will also develop, which we see from the large number of discoveries this fall. “
Haute Cuisine Tour
In a sense, isolation made dreams more accessible. When else could we attend a master class on making chocolate cake or béchamel sauce by one of the best chefs in the world, Massimo Bottura? In two quarantine months, the chief of Osteria Francescana spent about 40 broadcasts, some of which collected half a million views. And the main gastronomic star of Russian Instagram was Chistyakov, who cooked simple but interesting dishes on camera for the entire lockdown and generously shared his chef’s life hacks with the audience. During this time, tens of thousands of people have subscribed to the chef’s account.
Of course, the most difficult thing to integrate into the new reality was fine dining restaurants – try to organize the delivery of a dish that is served from under the knife, looks like a work of art and requires the introduction of the chef. The White Rabbit Family (WRF) holding found a way out by launching an online restaurant. Gourmet meals – some of which were completely prepared, others needed to be put in the oven for a few minutes – were delivered to the participants’ homes via contactless delivery.
During the three months of quarantine, about 100 online dinners were held in the company of Vladimir Mukhin and other WRF chefs, which were held in the format of a zoom conference. Even several tours of famous foreign chefs took place: Mukhin’s guests were Jorge Vayejo, Gaggan Anand, Domenik Krenn and Zayu Hasegawa, and Anatoly Kazakov performed with Agustin Balbi and Joris Bijdenejk. In these cases, dishes prepared according to the recipes of famous chefs appeared on the menu, and they themselves connected to the broadcast and talked about their cuisine and philosophy.
The chain of restaurants “Simple Things”, where a wine school has been operating for several years, also switched to the online format in the spring. The tasting participants received a thematic set of wines and connected to the video conference at the agreed time. The format turned out to be in demand. One of the events was attended by 15 cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Chita, Alma-Ata, etc.), and the largest tasting was attended by about 100 people, with whom six sommeliers talked. In January, it is planned to launch the next training course, but this time in a hybrid format. And besides wine for tastings, sets of snacks will be delivered to all students.
Haute Cuisine Trades
Many high-profile gastronomic events were forced to go online this year. For example, the Singapore Food Festival was held online for the first time in 25 years of its existence. But everyone could attend master classes of the best chefs and bartenders of Singapore and virtual excursions to the most interesting quarters of Singapore.
The organizers of The World 50 Best Restaurants also moved away from tradition – they did not announce the list of the best restaurants, but focused on measures that should help the industry. One of them was an online auction, which featured lots from the world’s best chefs and rare spirits. The most fierce struggle was caused by the proposal of Peruvian chef Virgilio Martinez, which included dinners at Central and Kjolle restaurants and a trip to Machu Picchu.
The winner paid $ 15,657 for this lot. And the most expensive lot of the auction was a 10-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, sold for $ 209,462. The auction raised over $ 1.23 million, which went to the 50 Best for Recovery fund. However, you didn’t have to spend thousands of dollars to support the restaurant business. A book with simple recipes from the best chefs and bartenders in the world could be downloaded for as little as $ 10. All funds raised in this way also went to support the industry.
The oldest gastronomic congress in the world, San Sebastian Gastronomika, has also moved to the World Wide Web. And it was only good for ordinary foodies. Everyone could listen to the speeches of the market leaders, witnessing fascinating discussions, and learn from the best chefs in the world, and absolutely free of charge.
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