[listen]
[imagine]
Since March, the overwhelming theme of the restaurant industry has been "Everything is fucked and the industry is dying."
It's pretty bleak.
Considering the current state of everything, it makes sense. It's important to discuss the myriad potential problems and challenges that we might face in the future, but what we haven't seen a lot of is the opposite:
What if, one day, the entire restaurant industry came to its senses? What if everything worked out way better than we anticipated? What would that look like?
Let's indulge in a little thought experiment.
In my vision, The Best Case Scenario goes a little something like this:
In 3 years, the entire culture of the restaurant industry has changed. During the pandemic, the mass-layoffs forced many in the industry to experience "time to actually sit down and reflect" for the first time. After months of endless boredom, news overwhelm, media anxiety, and soul-crushing fear, thousands of cooks, owners, bartenders, and servers alike were forced to confront their biggest existential crisis to date: "Why the fuck am I working myself to death?" As they slowly explored this question, many began to experience little joys in the previously mundane aspects of life.
Digging in the garden becomes actually pleasurable again, now that you actually have time to do it consistently. Making breakfast with the kids becomes something you look forward to, instead of something you stress about. Going to the grocery store and planning dinner becomes something you're looking forward to, rather than an annoying 30 minute distraction from either sleeping, working, or thinking about work.
Some have rediscovered an artistic pursuit, such as playing an instrument, sculpting, photography, writing, or art; others have followed their inspiration and become self-employed, cashing in on major financial rewards from their ability to rationally observe and predict industry trends.
There has been a shift from sit-down dining experiences to to-go dining experiences, and those who are able to excel in this will be thought of as the next wave of food industry pioneers. An interest and curiosity rises in the industry that surpasses even the height of the Molecular Madness period in the early 2000's. The term "restaurant" is being slowly redefined - the lines between what was possible in the past and what's actually possible in the future all but disappear.
The industry shifts its focus from "impressing others" to "connecting with others" as a direct result of the increased overall deep worldwide desire to connect in a meaningful way after undergoing over a year's worth of forced isolation. "Feelings" are no longer something that are mocked - they're seen as a real and necessary part of our lives After so much time spent in numbness and boredom, the next era of dining will be highly focused on foods that create physical sensations. The chefs and restaurateurs who are able to capitalize on this by consciously creating an emotional, sensory, felt experience in their guests will be in high demand.
People will begin to experience the mind-body connection as a real experience and not just a theoretical idea. Many will begin to understand that their thoughts affect their reality, and as a result, a greater emphasis will be placed on both personal and workplace mental health, sustainability, and work/life balance.
As people have time to rest and as they slowly get used to a less chaotic, calmer way of being in the world, they begin to wonder why they used to punish themselves so much - with vices, or substances, or, most commonly, workaholism. Many realize that they have been suppressing some heavy emotions or trauma, and a greater emphasis will be put on individually healing our past wounds instead of projecting them on to others through explosive, reactionary anger. The Gordon Ramsey tyrannical chef trope will be seen as a bit lame and unnecessary. Burnout will be seen as a real, avoidable, and kind of embarrassing thing instead of a badge of honor - as we collectively realize our own self-worth, the idea of bragging about how much we work will become far less attractive. Martyrdom will be replaced with self respect. Success will be redefined as "the ability to live a full and balanced life on your own terms," instead of a relentless pursuit for an unattainable ideal (which is often indistinguishable from self-flagellation).
The realization that your mental health matters even more than your physical health will take hold in the industry's collective consciousness. During the lockdown, many began to re-assess their personal priorities and as a result, have chosen to leave the industry to find new careers that offered a better quality of life.
In the future, restaurants and food establishments who cling to the "old ways" of low pay, 60+hr/ workweeks, fear-based leadership/ crude intimidation tactics/guilt-focused motivation, and old-school machismo will have a harder time retaining employees - as we collectively realize that there's more to life than work, we stop allowing other people to control our lives and we begin to individually take our power back. The industry begins to demand better working conditions, better pay, and more time off - and the businesses who cannot find a way to accommodate these very reasonable, normal, rudimentary demands - things that every single human being actually deserves in life on a very basic level - will slowly collapse.
As a result, the restaurant industry will learn to set and enforce boundaries and treat each other with respect. Owners and employers will begin to see their staff as individual people with individual lives, instead of simply cogs in their money machine. Caring (for others and for ourselves) will become cool. The 2020 lockdown will be seen as a positive moment that forced the industry as a whole to come together and actually talk about what's going on behind the scenes - and then work together to fix the major issues in a way that actually manages to make everyone's lives a little better. Chef suicides will plummet. Depression rates will begin to drop. Anxiety will be replaced with excitement and curiosity.
African and indigenous food will be trending as the industry embraces and elevates its minorities (after it realizes that minorities make up the majority of the industry!). Cultural storytelling will be a focal point, and both chefs and diners alike will feel a pull to connect with other cultures via food. Authenticity will become very important. Plant based food will continue to rise in popularity - those who innovate in this area will benefit greatly with loyal customers.
Traditional methods like fermentation, pickling, preservation, house-made specialty breads, and locally foraged produce will be popular menu staples (and an important source of additional revenue for savvy businesses), due to many people exploring these skills during the lockdown.
Social responsibility will become a hot topic, with an emphasis on reducing food waste and supporting local farmers and purveyors instead of giant corporations. Diners will be willing to pay extra if they know why the products are worth it; as a result, profit margins increase and wages are finally able to rise. The federal tipped minimum wage is raised, and tips are distributed regularly and fairly between front and back of house. Communication skills are recognized as incredibly valuable, and compassionate leaders are in high demand. More and more restaurants begin to offer benefits like health insurance, educational incentives for both career and personal development, and mental health/substance abuse counseling.
By 2023, the restaurant industry has lifted itself out of survival mode, and everyone begins to relax a little. We stop ignoring our shadows, and start finding ways to fix them
Wouldn't that be nice?
It's probably just wishful thinking though, right?
What if it wasn't just a crazy idea?
No, seriously, what if it was actually possible?
In truth, I believe that the question is actually "Why can't this actually be possible? What do we need to fix to make this reality possible?"
All change is, at first, first nothing more than an idea - a fantasy. A crazy notion by a deluded dreamer. Any entrepreneur knows this feeling well - to be a successful business owner, you must first believe in your own fantasy. You must first believe that it is possible - and then, you must begin to do the things that will turn your crazy idea into a reality, one step at a time.
As a whole, the restaurant industry knows this on a deep level. We do this daily with food - it's the essence of recipe creation. We take a crazy idea - and we turn it into a delicious reality by putting one ingredient in at a time, until we're happy with the end result.
Ask yourself - are you happy with the end result of your current reality? Are you proud of our industry's current reality?
Collectively, we are all so good at doing this for everyone else - in truth, I believe that the "guest is always right" mentality has messed most of us up more than we care to admit. For decades, we have put everyone else first - and left ourselves to crumble and decay in the background. We have turned caring for others into an art form - but when it comes to caring for ourselves, we sometimes struggle to meet our own basic needs.
We have been conditioned to put ourselves last.
We have been conditioned to believe that our needs don't matter.
We have been culturally hypnotized to ignore our own pain, in favor of someone else's pleasure.
When is enough going to be enough?
When are we going to begin to hold ourselves accountable, with integrity, and practice what we preach?
It's widely known that you can't pour from an empty cup. Hospitality's cup has been empty for way too long.
When are we going to collectively take full responsibility for the position we've found ourselves in?
We cannot ever go back to the way things were. The past is, at this point, a collapsed hyperreality - a footnote in our historical evolution. The future, on the other hand, has yet to be written - it is nothing more than infinite possibility.
Why not work towards building something that sucks a little less?
Why not work towards personal and collective e x p a n s i o n ?
Why not bring the focus back to ourselves, for a change?
The thing is, although this might all sound a little crazy to some of you, it's actually not crazy at all - it's the next logical step in our own evolution, which is backed up by decades worth of research in developmental psychology, social dynamics, and business growth analysis. We have hit an existential wall. We cannot go back - therefore, we must rise to the challenge.
What we have been doing has not been working. We have been running on empty for far too long. We have confused being comfortable with being happy.
It's time.
It's time we all gave our industry (and ourselves!) the same levels of care and attention and respect as we give our guests - and it starts with one person at a time, stepping out of their comfort zone, daring to share in a greater vision of our future.
It's time to snap out of the delusion that everything was fine the way it was before.
It wasn't.
We have a lot of work to do.
Share if you want to see this happen, too.
ps. Join our private group and let's talk about ways we can realistically make this happen!
[think]
If you liked these ideas or if this made you think, please consider liking, commenting, sharing with a friend or in an industry forum, or contributing a few dollars to keep the lights on. The more interaction we have from people like you, the more motivated we feel to keep producing content like this. 🙏🏻
Comments