7 ms·

I feel the demand to sit down and be waited on to have a unique experience is still very much there, latent, ready to explode. I would do just about anything r

I feel the demand to sit down and be waited on to have a unique experience is still very much there, latent, ready to explode. I would do just about anything right now to have a weekly date night away from kids. To be waited on hand and foot while a culinary expert prepares me an amazing meal. That said, for boring “meal replacement”-where you pile the kids in the car to go out so you don’t have to cook- there’s less of a reason to use a restaurant. Delivery apps are so much more ubiquitous. Meal kit deliveries are much more a staple of every home.

dublidu 6y ago
I can’t believe there are many people who want to be “waited on” by servants. I just want someone to cook and somewhere to sit and hangout with friends without needing to cleanup.
- AmericanChopper 6y ago
  So you want servants, but just described slightly differently...
  - pfundstein 6y ago
    Hiring a chef and a butler is a far cry from having servants.
    - AmericanChopper 6y ago
      All of those people are servants, it’s just kinda rude to say it that way. Saying “I don’t want servants, I just want people to cook for me and clean up after me” is really just saying “I want cooking and cleaning servants, but I don’t want to use that word”.
      - wayneftw 6y ago
        They generally do not use that word in the restaurant industry. Instead they use “server”.
        AmericanChopper 6y ago
        Of course. Because the word servant had all sorts of negative connotations. Nobody wants to be called a servant, and there’s all sorts of judgements to be made about people who call others servants (or even just make implications in that direction). Like in the parent comment I was originally replying to for instance, which could essentially be rephrased to “why would anybody want to have servants? I myself prefer to have servants”. On the surface the comment as it’s written appears to be a criticism of having unreasonable demands. But I’d say it’s just a criticism around phrasing used to project a sense of moral superiority.
        wayneftw 6y ago
        Yep. I guess some people thought I was disagreeing I was just stating a fact though.
    - thwarted 6y ago
      It's literally in the definition of "butler". Butler: 1 : a manservant having charge of the wines and liquors. 2 : the chief male servant of a household who has charge of other employees, receives guests, directs the serving of meals, and performs various personal services.
      - deathlight 6y ago
        "Will you require buttling today, sir?" "No, you can go manserve elsewhere for now."
      - pfundstein 6y ago
        I think the distinction is usually drawn at (a) payment is exchanged for services, and (b) the person providing the service is free to leave the role at their discretion (possibly with a contractual requirement to provide advance notice).
    - Melting_Harps 6y ago
      > Hiring a chef and a butler is a far cry from having servants. I was a private chef, and in my situation (off-season Historical European Hotel) no, it really isn't... what experience do you speak from to make such a statement? Culinary work, after you strip all the romanticism, is at it's core slave labour.
      - baggy_trough 6y ago
        What a grotesque remark.
        Melting_Harps 6y ago
        > What a grotesque remark. You want the truth, or the BS story you get from the banal Food Networks or Top Chefs of the World that lets you delude yourself that its ok to not tip much or at all when you go out in what is horrible Industry attached to an even worse business model? And BOH (cooks, dishwashers) doesn't get any of that mind you. Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential was, at times clearly embellished for attention grabbing purposes to sell books, a very accurate depiction of the Industry. Which is why he became the patron saint of sorts to the Culinary World, despite being an admittedly mediocre chef. There was a time I really wished everyone had spent a summer working in a kitchen to gain perspective on what that thing really is, now it's very unlikely to occur after COVID. Still, it's pretty eye opening.
        baggy_trough 6y ago
        Bad working conditions don't equate to slave labor.
      - cgrealy 6y ago
        Slave labour? I’ve said millions of times that I love exaggeration, but even I think that’s taking it a bit far. Were you paid? Could you leave the job if you wanted? Then it’s not slave labour.
        Melting_Harps 6y ago
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - mbg721 6y ago
    So does anybody who pays someone to mow the lawn or clean the gutters.
- ramblerman 6y ago
  It seems you've redefined "waited on" to be some weird thing. For most people it means precisely what you said, ie. someone to cook, bring you drinks and food, and no cleanup.
- softwaredoug 6y ago
  That’s my definition of being “waited on”
nradov 6y ago
Restaurants in Florida have been open for dine-in service since September.
Melting_Harps 6y ago
> I would do just about anything right now to have a weekly date night away from kids. To be waited on hand and foot while a culinary expert prepares me an amazing meal. Preface: I'm a former chef and cook, in addition to my foray in finech, with a background and a short stint as a private chef while traveling in Europe during the off season: why don't you just hire a private chef? I'm wondering if their will be a push for an app that functions much like task rabbit model for chefs, wherein you could fill your day with 'gigs' as in 'Breakfasts at the Jones' 8-11am,' 'Lunch and Dinner at the Wang's 1-10pm' kind of format. California also has relaxed laws on using private residences functioning as kitchens for business (Cottage Food laws, that varies by County) but this format could be done again and not have the pitfalls of other attempts that were easy to take down and could even be done at scale. Some restaurants on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder are just refurbished homes and this model can function with the right incentives. I personally retired for the last time, with no desire to ever go back at this point, but I would gladly consult to see something like this happen since so many BOH and FOH workers will likely never be able to go back to work as the Industry is completely wrecked in the US. As you said, you want to go back, and the truth is we cooks masochistically like our role in that model, but where we really all think we thrive in best is utilizing our creative skills in a smaller scale where the entire menu is your own and you can see direct feedback from a smaller crowd/family. Edit: Damn auto correct!
- cableshaft 6y ago
  > why don't you just hire a private chef? If they're like me, the reason they're not going to restaurants now is because they don't want to risk getting Covid-19 (my state is doing well enough they started allowing indoor dining again, for example, but I'm still only having takeout delivered). Inviting a stranger into your home isn't any better. I haven't even let my own parents inside my home since this started.
dorkwood 6y ago
> I feel the demand to sit down and be waited on to have a unique experience is still very much there, latent, ready to explode. It disappoints me that I'm not able to get any enjoyment out of this sort of experience. The very idea of being waited on hand and foot makes me uncomfortable, but I suspect I'm in the minority on that one.
- treesknees 6y ago
  It all about setting expectations. I typically do this based on the price and atmosphere of the restaurant. If I'm paying $50+ for a steak and had to change out of my graphic T-shirt to walk in, I expect that I'm paying for someone to ensure it's a great experience and they're ready for it (plus a healthy tip, of course.) If I'm paying $13.99 for a burger and a beer, I just need them to bring me my food and refill my drink every once in a while.
twic 6y ago
All i've got pent-up demand for is some ribs. Nowhere in delivering distance of me does them.
- treesknees 6y ago
  If you have an outdoor grill you can cook them yourself pretty easily. May need to get creative if you're looking for a smokier flavor, but I cooked a rack of ribs from the grocery store for the first time this past summer. 2.5-3 hours later they came out pretty fantastic.
  - thatguy0900 6y ago
    Yeah, ribs are one of the easiest thing to have a craving for. Could probably get good success mixing liquid smoke into the barbeque sauce.
    - incomplete 6y ago
      liquid smoke is magical!

dublidu 6y ago

I can’t believe there are many people who want to be “waited on” by servants. I just want someone to cook and somewhere to sit and hangout with friends without needing to cleanup.

AmericanChopper 6y ago
So you want servants, but just described slightly differently...
- pfundstein 6y ago
  Hiring a chef and a butler is a far cry from having servants.
  - AmericanChopper 6y ago
    All of those people are servants, it’s just kinda rude to say it that way. Saying “I don’t want servants, I just want people to cook for me and clean up after me” is really just saying “I want cooking and cleaning servants, but I don’t want to use that word”.
    - wayneftw 6y ago
      They generally do not use that word in the restaurant industry. Instead they use “server”.
      - AmericanChopper 6y ago
        Of course. Because the word servant had all sorts of negative connotations. Nobody wants to be called a servant, and there’s all sorts of judgements to be made about people who call others servants (or even just make implications in that direction). Like in the parent comment I was originally replying to for instance, which could essentially be rephrased to “why would anybody want to have servants? I myself prefer to have servants”. On the surface the comment as it’s written appears to be a criticism of having unreasonable demands. But I’d say it’s just a criticism around phrasing used to project a sense of moral superiority.
        wayneftw 6y ago
        Yep. I guess some people thought I was disagreeing I was just stating a fact though.
  - thwarted 6y ago
    It's literally in the definition of "butler". Butler: 1 : a manservant having charge of the wines and liquors. 2 : the chief male servant of a household who has charge of other employees, receives guests, directs the serving of meals, and performs various personal services.
    - deathlight 6y ago
      "Will you require buttling today, sir?" "No, you can go manserve elsewhere for now."
    - pfundstein 6y ago
      I think the distinction is usually drawn at (a) payment is exchanged for services, and (b) the person providing the service is free to leave the role at their discretion (possibly with a contractual requirement to provide advance notice).
  - Melting_Harps 6y ago
    > Hiring a chef and a butler is a far cry from having servants. I was a private chef, and in my situation (off-season Historical European Hotel) no, it really isn't... what experience do you speak from to make such a statement? Culinary work, after you strip all the romanticism, is at it's core slave labour.
    - baggy_trough 6y ago
      What a grotesque remark.
      - Melting_Harps 6y ago
        > What a grotesque remark. You want the truth, or the BS story you get from the banal Food Networks or Top Chefs of the World that lets you delude yourself that its ok to not tip much or at all when you go out in what is horrible Industry attached to an even worse business model? And BOH (cooks, dishwashers) doesn't get any of that mind you. Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential was, at times clearly embellished for attention grabbing purposes to sell books, a very accurate depiction of the Industry. Which is why he became the patron saint of sorts to the Culinary World, despite being an admittedly mediocre chef. There was a time I really wished everyone had spent a summer working in a kitchen to gain perspective on what that thing really is, now it's very unlikely to occur after COVID. Still, it's pretty eye opening.
        baggy_trough 6y ago
        Bad working conditions don't equate to slave labor.
    - cgrealy 6y ago
      Slave labour? I’ve said millions of times that I love exaggeration, but even I think that’s taking it a bit far. Were you paid? Could you leave the job if you wanted? Then it’s not slave labour.
      - Melting_Harps 6y ago
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- mbg721 6y ago
  So does anybody who pays someone to mow the lawn or clean the gutters.
ramblerman 6y ago
It seems you've redefined "waited on" to be some weird thing. For most people it means precisely what you said, ie. someone to cook, bring you drinks and food, and no cleanup.
softwaredoug 6y ago
That’s my definition of being “waited on”

nradov 6y ago

Restaurants in Florida have been open for dine-in service since September.

Melting_Harps 6y ago

> I would do just about anything right now to have a weekly date night away from kids. To be waited on hand and foot while a culinary expert prepares me an amazing meal. Preface: I'm a former chef and cook, in addition to my foray in finech, with a background and a short stint as a private chef while traveling in Europe during the off season: why don't you just hire a private chef? I'm wondering if their will be a push for an app that functions much like task rabbit model for chefs, wherein you could fill your day with 'gigs' as in 'Breakfasts at the Jones' 8-11am,' 'Lunch and Dinner at the Wang's 1-10pm' kind of format. California also has relaxed laws on using private residences functioning as kitchens for business (Cottage Food laws, that varies by County) but this format could be done again and not have the pitfalls of other attempts that were easy to take down and could even be done at scale. Some restaurants on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder are just refurbished homes and this model can function with the right incentives. I personally retired for the last time, with no desire to ever go back at this point, but I would gladly consult to see something like this happen since so many BOH and FOH workers will likely never be able to go back to work as the Industry is completely wrecked in the US. As you said, you want to go back, and the truth is we cooks masochistically like our role in that model, but where we really all think we thrive in best is utilizing our creative skills in a smaller scale where the entire menu is your own and you can see direct feedback from a smaller crowd/family. Edit: Damn auto correct!

cableshaft 6y ago
> why don't you just hire a private chef? If they're like me, the reason they're not going to restaurants now is because they don't want to risk getting Covid-19 (my state is doing well enough they started allowing indoor dining again, for example, but I'm still only having takeout delivered). Inviting a stranger into your home isn't any better. I haven't even let my own parents inside my home since this started.

dorkwood 6y ago

> I feel the demand to sit down and be waited on to have a unique experience is still very much there, latent, ready to explode. It disappoints me that I'm not able to get any enjoyment out of this sort of experience. The very idea of being waited on hand and foot makes me uncomfortable, but I suspect I'm in the minority on that one.

treesknees 6y ago
It all about setting expectations. I typically do this based on the price and atmosphere of the restaurant. If I'm paying $50+ for a steak and had to change out of my graphic T-shirt to walk in, I expect that I'm paying for someone to ensure it's a great experience and they're ready for it (plus a healthy tip, of course.) If I'm paying $13.99 for a burger and a beer, I just need them to bring me my food and refill my drink every once in a while.

twic 6y ago

All i've got pent-up demand for is some ribs. Nowhere in delivering distance of me does them.

treesknees 6y ago
If you have an outdoor grill you can cook them yourself pretty easily. May need to get creative if you're looking for a smokier flavor, but I cooked a rack of ribs from the grocery store for the first time this past summer. 2.5-3 hours later they came out pretty fantastic.
- thatguy0900 6y ago
  Yeah, ribs are one of the easiest thing to have a craving for. Could probably get good success mixing liquid smoke into the barbeque sauce.
  - incomplete 6y ago
    liquid smoke is magical!