Most people like the idea of eating expensive food in a well furnished, luxurious environment.
The service we get when we eat at fancy restaurants cannot be compared to casual dining experiences.
Food in fancy restaurants however have a few characteristics that one might find surprising.
For example, ever notice how portion sizes are usually smaller (though they cost a fat sum)? And also, what's with caviar and truffles in expensive food?
Well, here is an explanation of the art of fine dining.
Fine dining vs Casual dining
The major aspect that diferenciates fine dining from casual dining is formality.
Fine dining restaurants have greater formal atmosphere.
These restaurants are purposely built and organized in a way that prompts diners to be formal, rather than to be too relaxed like in casual restaurants.
After being shown to your seat at a fancy restaurant, You cannot not be at your best behavior.
Food at fancy restaurants is also very expensive. One reason why is because, fine dining had to be done with top-quality ingredients.
These ingredients may be exotic or hard to come by, and so they are expensive, making whatever dish they are used in pricier.
Also, fine dining food is expensive because of the staff that work at the restaurant.
The elegant service provided by fancy restaurant staff costs quite a bit of money. Sometimes also, world class staff (for example chefs) are hired to Cook meals in fancy restaurants, and so these meals are expensive.
The dining environment in fancy restaurants is also curated to look very elegant and premium.
All these aspects of fancy restaurants combine to fulfill the purpose of fine dining, which is not to leave you with a full stomach (see what I did there 🙃).
Rather fine dining's main purpose is to impress the dining experience in the mind of customers.
Given the expensive furniture, elegant staff service, and expensive top-quality food, I think it's safe to say that fine dining fulfills it's purpose quite well.
Why are food portions so little
Now there a few noticable characteristics of fine dining that one might find surprising—and that I would like to explain.
One of these is the fact that fine dining restaurants usually serve portions that are smaller than usual casual dining portions. Some of these portions are not short of being called shockingly small.
However understanding why fine dining portions are so small may help alleviate some of that shock.
First there is the cost factor. Fancy restaurant food is usually very expensive and so a smaller portion will mean that the price is more affordable.
Also fine dining usually consists of multiple courses rather than one big meal. If each portion size was big, you will get filled easily without getting the full dining experience.
Smaller portions would also allow you get the full dining experience as you are forced to savour every bite rather than gulp down your meal in whole chunks.
Another reason for small portions is that it is easier to make an artistic and elegant impression on a plate with a small portion than with a large portion.
Also a small portion raises curiosity as to how something so small could cost so much and thus increase our desire to experience the dish.
Caviar and truffles
Now this part of the article is where I tell you about some of the major ingredients usually found in expensive food.
There are many exotic “top-quality” ingredients that can make up fine dining, but there are two of them that are very popular—caviar and truffles.
Why are these two ingredients so commonly found in expensive food?
Well, it has a lot to do with how they are sourced and how they taste.
Caviar is basically fish eggs (roe), but not all fish eggs are considered caviar. True caviar is gotten from wild sturgeon, mainly wild sturgeon that are found in the Caspian and Black sea (beluga sturgeon).
Already you may get the idea that true caviar is rare to come by, but we might also add to it that wild sturgeon, especially that found in the Caspian and Black seas are endangered.
This makes the fishing of these animals is limited, and even sturgeon that bred in farms are of high value.
Also sturgeons are gigantic beasts, so it is expensive to fish or farm them.
These are some of the main reasons why caviar is so expensive.
The roe (fish eggs) can be harvested from the fish by various techniques, but this usually involves killing the fish (that took years to raise).
Also after harvesting, the roe goes through a precision processing . . . process, that requires skilled care before they can be packed and served.
As you can see the bills add up.
Caviar tastes mildly fishy and slightly salty. It also has some buterriness to it.
Many people crave the taste, and this in addition to all the other factors makes it highly valued.
Truffles are another “top–quality” ingredient that make up fine dining.
Unlike caviar, truffles are sourced from land, but they are not gotten from plants.
Instead truffles are fungus. Yes, FUNGUS just like mushrooms. They are usually found growing in association with the root of certain trees.
In terms of their taste, truffles have been described to have a deep Earthy, savory, umami taste. And the taste is said to be so good that it leaves you with the craving for more. In fact truffles have been described as the “diamond” of the kitchen.
This highly prized delightful taste is one of the reason truffles are so expensive. But the cost of this fungus becomes more understandable when you add the rarity of it to it's taste.
Truffles are scarce.
They are very difficult to find in the wild, and when found it is takes laborious care to uproot them.
Truffles can also be grown in a farm, but they take years to grow, and they need a very specific climate to develop in.
Truffles are also seasonal which means that they are only available for certain parts of the year. And if that's not enough, they have a very short shelf life, so there no storing them all year round.
This means that there is always limited ammount of truffles available.
All these factors make truffles one of the most expensive ingredients in the world, and so it’s one of the most noticable aspects of fine dining.
Other well-known aspects of fine dining
In addition to these aspects of fine dining food, other things that you expect to notice include food coating made of gold and silver.
These coatings don’t give the food any flavor, but are merely decorative.
They are used to display extravagance and humans have used gold in this way for thousands of years. Modern edible gold is completely safe to eat.
You may also notice that staff are more “involved” with your meals.
For example there may be a dramatic cooking display before some meals are served, or some other part of the meal preparation may be done at the table.
All this however are mostly just to show how fancy and premium the restaurant is.
So now you know a little bit more about the art of fine dining.
Fine dining is not just about eating to be satisfied.
Everything from the environment to the ingredients chosen for the food is selected in such a way to leave a long lasting experience with the diner.
I hope you really enjoyed reading this article.
See you next time.
