Perhaps, it has never caught on with the general public because it's alien or inherently un-Filipino.
The first time I had a course meal was during the SAP Summit of 2008 held in Edsa Shangri-La. I remember being impressed by the clockwork precision of the waiters who served us. Guests were sitting down to eat while some had already finished their dinner yet all the while the waiters were there, knowing who had finished eating this or that, serving varying plates depending on where a certain guest was on his or her personal culinary journey. It was fast food efficiently disguised as a five-star meal.
Oddly, you only see the course meal or dinner in hotels. You don't see restaurants in the Philippines serving this to the masses. For restaurants, it has always been about boasting your menu and giving the patrons the liberty to choose whichever they like. This, in itself, is not necessarily bad but what if the patron lazily acknowledges that he has no time nor the inclination to choose and he prefer that the chef surprise him? What then?
The one thing that the course meal has going for it is the image that it is complete, featuring the special dishes in the house. It's not meant to be bombastic but rather fills you up gradually through a regimen that best exposes you to different tastes, thereby lavishing you with a more enriching experience of soul and food. Other than that is the fact that the course meal is intended to tease you, to keep pace with your progress, and ultimately to make you eat like the French, who are never in a hurry to enjoy the gustatory delights of money well spent.
No comments:
Post a Comment