Who hasn’t been under the impression that restaurant prices are “a steal”?
“For the price of this little steak, I’ll buy a kilo of fillet and have leftovers for the beer.”
It’s a feeling as natural as it is deceptive. As much as the expense of a dinner can devastate many household budgets, for the restaurant the account hardly closes. There is no chef sitting on a pile of money, quite the opposite.
Restaurants are money-making machines. Costs come from all sides, the profit margin is low, and only impeccable management is able to keep the ship on course.
As restaurateurs generally care more about customer service than management, most restaurant owners get into debt and close within the first few years of operation.
The problem is even more acute in the haute cuisine segment.
The news of the closure of the Danish Noma, highly awarded and highly praised, surprised half the world. Should not.
It has happened almost identically before, with Spaniard El Bulli. And with countless less famous restaurants.
Houses like Noma and El Bulli have peculiarities that make them economically unfeasible. It is an ethical dilemma that obstructs the way out of financial distress.
The only way to make money with restaurants is to generate scale. Therefore, as soon as they have some free cash, businessmen in the field open branches and other brands.
Haute cuisine, in turn, sells exclusivity.
They are houses for few customers, with very high costs. More employees, architects, illuminators and consultants, expensive rent, expensive inputs, designer furniture, investment in research, a lot of loss.
If a customer accidentally breaks an American glass, the restaurant intubates the damage. What if it’s a R$200 crystal glass? Also intubate.
Of course, this “insurance” is included in the prices of the food, but there is a limit to the amount charged.
A very rich person might not mind paying R$30 for a bottle of mineral water. BRL 100 or BRL 150 will seem like extortion even for a billionaire.
A significant portion of luxury restaurants are maintained, even at a loss, to feed the vanity of rich people – whether they are the owners of the business, or patrons who like to have a playground to impress other rich people.
The rest, in order to survive, have to resort to the same expedients as worldly gastronomy. Expand, launch more popular brands, invest in digital celebrity, earn with licensing and advertising.
It is a solution that brings with it an insoluble problem: the image of the demigod chef is tarnished; his reputation, inevitably eroded. Exclusivity, the premise of luxury, goes to hell.
After all, if the guy advertises margarine or capsule coffee, what kind of food is he going to sell for a lot of money?
Therefore, some balk in the face of the dilemma. Like René Redzepi, from Noma, they lower the door when they realize it can’t stand.
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I have worked as a journalist for over 10 years, and my work has been featured on many different news websites. I am also an author, and my work has been published in several books. I specialize in opinion writing, and I often write about current events and controversial topics. I am a very well-rounded writer, and I have a lot of experience in different areas of journalism. I am a very hard worker, and I am always willing to put in the extra effort to get the job done.
