News
10 trends that need to die according to SA’s top chefs
Wednesday, September 5th, 2018
Some of Eat Out’s top 20 chefs weigh in on what restaurant trends they’d like to see the end of this year. From smears to spheres, here’s what’s on the outs in the culinary world.
The smear
Vetoed by: Chef Luke Dale-Roberts of The Test Kitchen
Time to put down those paintbrushes and chuck away the palette knife – the questionable smear of sauce on plates is out.
Experimental coffees and seasonal blends
Vetoed by: Chef Freddie Dias of The Pot Luck Club
“I just want to have a good cup of coffee with a tried-and-tested blend. Coffee should be like your favourite winter jersey. It doesn’t need to be at the height of fashion, it just needs to be warm and comforting,” says Freddie.
From cold brews to pour overs, is coffee getting to complicated?
Foraging
Vetoed by: Chefs Scot Kirton and James Gaag of La Colombe
“Not everything people forage actually tastes good,” the chefs point out.
Not everything should be foraged and eaten according to the La Colombe chefs.
Molecular gastronomy
Vetoed by: Chef Ivor Jones of Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia and Chef Chantel Dartnall of Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient
“I think the molecular trend has now finally reached its end, and more and more chefs are moving away from using spheres and other extreme molecular elements on their dishes,” says Chantel.
Exorbitant prices
Vetoed by: Chef George Jardine of Jardine Restaurant and Jordan Restaurant
“The trend of charging exorbitant prices because you can get away with it for 6 months must die. [Similarly,] releasing a new wine with a four-figure price just because you can. This nonsense needs to be stopped. Even for tourists spending money, we are becoming an expensive destination that will collapse our industry,” says the chef.
We are becoming an expensive destination that will collapse our industry, says chef George Jardine.
The ‘Nordic’ trend
Vetoed by: Chef Michael Cooke of Camphors at Vergelegen
The Nordic style of cooking emphasises old, pure and simple techniques and celebrates food that grows year-round in colder temperatures. (Think drying, smoking, pickling and curing.) “I don’t think it’s being done correctly locally, and it’s not reflective of our food culture in South Africa,” says chef Michael.
Pea shoots
Vetoed by: Chef Bertus Basson of Overture
Nobody likes a bit of frilly foliage stuck in your teeth. Especially if it doesn’t lend anything to the dish.
Plastic packaging
Vetoed by: Chef Chris Erasmus of Foliage
“NO more plastic packaging,” says Chris. We’re on board with that! Luckily restaurants have been banding together to reduce their use of plastic, and brands are coming up with some inventive (and pretty) alternatives that can work for the industry.
Forward food bloggers
Vetoed by: Marthinus Ferreira of DW Eleven-13
A review in exchange for a full tasting menu is an unfortunate trend the DW chef would like to see the back of.
Too-sweet dishes
Vetoed by: Adriaan Maree of Fermier
The Pretoria chef would like to see a lot less sweet-on-sweet. Does this mean that the freakshakes moment is officially over?
Is the OTT shake trend over?
What are your most hated restaurant trends? Let us know in the comments below!
The nominees for the 2018 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards will be revealed very soon, stay tuned to Eat Out for the official announcement!
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Brilliant e v e r y one of them! Just one more please – ‘servers’ must stop asking me “is everything ok with your meal?”. Drives me to drink!
I agree with chef George Jardine that our restaurants, particularly those in the Cape, are outpricing themselves. Tourists are a fickly bunch – they will go elsewhere when they realise they are not getting value for money, and the prices our restaurants are charging are now on a par with overseas prices. We have fabulous restaurants but we are no longer a value destination. Charging R2,700 per head (sorry Luke!) and expecting a R10,000 deposit upon booking a table of 6 is in a league of its own…! Even if you are number 1 in Africa.
Eating off a chopping board need to end. Give me a plate man!
My hate is “musak” in restaurants, can’t hear the conversation around the table. Is it played for the benefit of the staff?
I tend to avoid high end restaurants frequented on only by visitors in Cape Town. Unless they are absolutely famous and top-class, this is a poor business strategy; when the low season comes many end up closing their doors. The clever ones focus on building a loyal and local clientele and supplement their business with international bookings in the high season. Besides which, my guests much prefer good restaurants with local appeal and regular local clientele. In essence they want to “eat with and like locals” and not with other high-flying international guests who are looking for “bragging rights” when they go home!
I agree with all above. Add one more – stop serving FAKE creme brûlée, tiramisu, chocolate mousse and panda cotta. Even Top Restautants do it ! Instant box desserts !
Brilliant article – well done EatOut! And well done to Chef George Jardine! I don’t know when every Capetonian become a self-confessed millionaire, but eating out in Cape Town has become equivalent to the cost of a deposit on a new car.
I TOTALLY agree with you & George Jardine. R2,700 is more than millions of South African families are living on for the whole month!
To charge that for a couple of tiny plates of food PER HEAD, is literally a sin!
The flip side that drives me crazy are the MASSIVE portion sizes served in restaurant chains. We are an obese nation already, & they feed into this. No one needs kilos of steak & enough chips for 3 people on a plate!
Any restaurant that overcharges on wine… (I know all the prices) they have lost me. I also tend to talk to all my friends and I warn them not to go there. They are killing our winemakers. Also charging R50 for corkage when I take my own wine – and the bottle is a screw top! I just never return. I find that charging R130 and upwards for a steak that I buy for R20 is also daylight robbery. Most of us cannot afford these prices and therefore will not eat out anymore.
* Serving drinks in Consol jars!
* Serving desserts in Consol jars!
* Serving salads in Consol jars!
But it’s only good if it’s in glass, Grant! ??? Jokes, we absolutely agree!
Why must I feel bad if I do not tip a waiter or if I tip him/her ONLY 10%-the myth of waiters working for tips only must disappear as waiters like all other workers MUST be paid at least a minimum wage-tipping should be my prerogative and not a burden. Can not agree more with others about exorbitant wine pricing in some restaurants not even to mention the daylight robbery committed by “upmarket” Western Cape restaurants!
Malinda,
Corkage is a phrase, not an actual charge just for removing the cork which can be waived if the wine has a screw top.
Corkage is typically charged at the price point of the profit a restaurant can expect to make on their house wine or slightly higher. This helps cover the cost of buying and cleaning the glassware you use, as well as pat the staff’s wages, rent, utilities etc. This is why margins exist, and why you will always pay more for wine at a restaurant than at a cellar door or in a supermarket
Thank you for explaining. We couldn’t have done it any better! 🙂
smoothie bowls or bowl food in general!
Pork belly has also overstayed its sell by date…
Exorbitant prices and ridiculously high cork fees. We often want to take a wine with special meaning to us to a restaurant and then have to pay a high cork fee. Cork fee is a game breaker. Not visiting restaurants charging cork fee anymore.
We feel you, Suzette. That’s why we put together this list of places where you don’t have to pay corkage at all: https://www.eatout.co.za/article/dine-wine-corkage-fee/
Great article and great comments! One thing that grits me is having a 10% tip charged to your bill. In my opinion, really brings down the standard of the restaurant. I usually tip 10% for good service and happily tip more if the service is, well, better than good. However, if i see a service charge on the bill, i will pay that exact amount. I read in a restaurant somewhere that a tip is meant to encourage good service and i certainly agree.
Laerence
Pork Belly costs between 60 and 150 Rand, depending where you buy. This portion then gives you 8 to 10 pieces of the size served in restaurants. Good margin. But if the chef does it right, maybe a lot don’t, it is cooked for 5 hours until super soft and then grilled on the skin (different ways to do this) for a crust. It is not super work intensive but needs to be watched.
For the wine: it is conmon in Europe to sell lower end to mid market wines for 1 glass of the bottle price. This is around 300% (3.5 glasses a bottle). What makes me mad in Cape Town is when restaurants charge 70 Rand a 200ml Chenin and the bottle is 59 Rand. Thats a bit too much margin if it is a local wine where they get discounts if they buy larger amounts.
Incredibly huge portions for incredibly huge prices. Why can’t we just have a normal portion for a normal price and the greedy people can ask to super-size their meal? Saying that a big portion justifies the higher price is BS, since I’ll just waste half the meal and the excuse that you can’t take it home is also BS. I’m having the meal now, not tomorrow. We’re in the middle of an obesity epidemic and the restaurant portion are just getting bigger!
I agree with the list and comments. Gone are the days when eating out was a once a week treat. The price of drinks is often a point of contention; charging R47 for a Castle Lite draught in an Italian restaurant? Really?
And what is it with waiters lately? They make you feel as though they are doing you a favour by serving you, trying to get their attention can be exhausting, you have to ask several times for the bill and more drinks; and heaven forbid you ask for tap water with ice.
It is a joyous and rare occasion when I find the waiter who offers a smile and makes me feel welcome. It is so rare that their tip is usually quadrupled because my excitement cannot be contained.
Music and, a complete lack of consideration for acoustics when doing interior design. Being hard of hearing makes the social occasion of a meal hard work, I came to eat, not to groove or be surrounded by hard surfaces!
Very interesting article. Some of the comments too. Just remember, any establishment serving wine and beer has to have a license which costs about R4320 per year going forward, this is to give patrons the ability to enjoy a good bottle of wine with their meal. Corkage charge is to offset this cost – and all the broken glasses and red stained tablecloths. For those commenting that “How is your meal” is painful, have you ever had a problem with your meal and the waiter is nowhere to be found for ages? I guess they just want to make sure you are truly satisfied – after all-that’s why they are called “waiters”