Talk about a culture clash. A Japanese chef in Sydney is taking a firm stance on plate waste. As in: don’t clean your plate, don’t come back.
Those who leave food behind at chef Yukako Ichikawa’s restaruant, Wafu, are informally banned from returning. As she put it,
“(When they try to return), if I remember their face, I say no,” Ichikawa said.
In addition to that hard line, Ichikawa also provides an incentive for her customers to eat all of their food.
Diners able to polish off their old-fashioned Japanese meal get 30 percent off their bill and an invitation to join Ichikawa’s exclusive list of more than 800 regulars.
It’s extreme–the whole thing reminds me of the Soup Nazi episode on Seinfeld–but this policy would certainly reduce waste. What do you make of this policy? Too harsh? Just right? Not quite?
Comments
9 responses to “No Food For You!”
Depending on the portion sizes, I think this might encourage overeating!
I’d rather see the chef encourage people to use doggie bags. Or maybe she could prepare smaller portions.
It reminds me of a chapter in My Child Won’t Eat by Spanish pediatrician Carlos Gonzalez. The book is about his patients’ parents, who complain that their children are eating too little. In the lst chapter Gonzalez imagines a restaurant where the nutrition police inspect the diners, and force them to eat what the police consider a reasonable portion.
In short, it’s a ridiculous idea even though the intentions are good. Offer doggy bags instead. No one size is perfect for everyone, especially in a restaurant where you have little control. Unless it’s a buffet
At a restaurant you should be treated like a guest, not a small child.
This does seem harsh to our well fed, customer is always right ears. Its refreshing to see a restaurant take such a hard line, a clearly stated line that all customers must read before sitting down.
I can’t find a reference to portion size in the article other than ‘ordering “just the right amount of food”‘ and would guess portions can’t hold a candle to most US restaurants. If Wafu is concerned with waste they probably don’t start with large portions.
We should have the utmost respect for food, think about every bite, and waste nothing. While we take our next meal for granted it is the thing that keeps us alive. I don’t see widespread adoption of banning diners though hopefully other restaurants will do more to discourage waste and encourage folks to bring their own take out containers.
What if you ate recently and don’t want a full meal? Or you don’t like the food? I think it’s wonderful for restaurants to develop policies that discourage waste. But without paternalistic methods.
Hannah,
If you don’t like the food you probably wouldn’t go back anyway. If you aren’t that hungry order a starter instead of an entree. If that’s not good enough then bring a container and take the rest home. She doesn’t want you wasting food, so don’t waste it and there is no problem. At the end of the day its her restaurant and clearly that policy isn’t hurting business.
It irks me that most (US) restaurants serve huge portions that should feed a family. 1500-3000 calories isn’t even uncommon for a single entree. That, to me, is the greater offense.
Overall I applaud the thought but wonder if the execution is appropriate.
I think much depends on who is in control of the portion size. If the restuarant decides how much you get and mandates you eat it – that’s not a good combination. If the customer makes the portion decisions, then I think this is a good idea. The customer could make the portion decisions in a number of ways. He could order only a little at a time. The chef could send small dishes at a reasonable pace, till the customer says stop. It could be a buffet. Does it count as plate-cleaning if you take away what you don’t eat?
I would encourage the use of doggie bags. Many times I feel hungrier than I am, “eyes are bigger than my stomach”, and order more food than I can possibly eat.
While I think it’s great to reduce the amount of food wasted, you can do that without treating your customers as children. Does she also force patrons to wear bibs and ask before they go potty?
Not sure about this, if it’s a fixed portion then what can I do if it’s simply too much? I liked the approach of a sushi place in London I went to a few years ago: They had an all-you-can-eat deal (conveyor belt and everything) but explicitly stated that you’d have to pay *extra* for each item you took off the conveyor belt and didn’t finish.
I think a combination of financial incentives, smaller portions and doggie bags would be better than a simple, “eat it all or don’t come back” mentality.