An Australian restaurateur fed up with the waste left by diners has ordered her customers to eat everything on their plates or pay a penalty and be banned from her eatery.
Opinions? Personally I wouldn’t eat anywhere the chef had that kind of attitude.
So if I leave a bit of cucumber on my plate, I’m contributing to global warming?
I’d have no problem bringing my business elsewhere.
I’ll just tell the waiter: “Bring me exactly 12.49 ounces of Greek salad. I won’t eat a fraction of an ounce more than that.”
So when I ate at that place in Toronto where I found a cockroach in my food, I should have eaten that, too? With this chef’s attitude, the cockroach might have been tastier than her food.
I’d have no problem never eating there, even if the food was amazing.
They decide how much to serve, and you have to accommodate them?
It’s bad enough when buffet restaurants have signs telling you not to take more food than you can eat.
Fuck that. I’d never step foot in that place. The whole “you must clean your plate!” attitude is why so many people are overweight. Isn’t Australia now the fattest nation?
Gee, if that many people aren’t finishing your food, maybe you put too much on there or it’s not that good.
We still tell the family tale of a buffet we visited when my sister, cousins and I were mere youngsters. It had a stern sign saying that any meat left on your plate would incur a $2.00 charge and any vegetables a $1.00 charge (this was in the early 80’s). Being kids, we loaded up on all sorts of food and returned to our table to find out that the food was simply awful. Just plain terrible. We spent the next hour or so that we were there hiding all of our food in plants, napkins, the bathroom, etc.
I know this sort of rule isn’t terribly rare at buffets since the potential for waste is a lot greater.
Fuck that noise. I’m paying for it, I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want with it(within polite societal limits, of course). I’ll dump an entire plate of food in the trash if I please.
My mother would friggin’ love that place.
Here’s the restaurant’s web page, in case anyone is interested. The average meal there seems to be about $15-$25, which includes GST. Since you aren’t expected to tip in Australia, that would be roughly $12-$18 as a menu price in the U.S.
ETA: Since I’ll be in Sydney next month, I might try to go there.
No soup for you!
Ooh, it’s Japanese food! Leave exactly one grain of rice on your plate and see what happens.
I don’t think I’d eat at a place where they’ve got that kind of attitude. There’s a wonderful breakfast spot near me that a few years ago took measures to be more “green” and they explained what they were doing & why. One example is that their huge pile of hash browns is now a smaller pile of hash browns - it’s still plenty of food (I have never walked out of there feeling hungry), they have just dialed it down a little bit, and they are more than happy to give you the older/larger portion (no extra charge) if that’s what you want.
Oh it’s just more self-regarding holier-than-thou environmentalism as superiority complex.
“This just goes to show . . .” followed by an accusatory imputation of some made-up (but, to them, shameful) motivation. What a bunch of smug priggish jackasses.
So if you prepare some and it tastes like crap, I have to eat oit or pay a penalty? Bite me!
That place will need to have orgasmically good food in order to stay in business. Most people eat out for social and convenience aspects. If you create rules that interfere with either, people just won’t go.
So they take your containers back to the kitchen and load up your order? Bizarre.
It’s good that they’re concerned about waste, especially with take-away containers, but their attitude about uneaten food is all wrong.
The little local cafe isn’t equipped for take-away. If you ask for take-out, you get it on a flimsy paper plate covered with aluminum foil. So you either don’t ask for take-out or you provide your own container. It’s a matter of economy though – the owner/operator/sole employee just can’t afford to provide something better.
I would not eat there. He’s insane.
Seriously. I think people should eat as much as their body needs at that time.
And we have to bring our own reusable stuff to pack it up? I’ve never heard of a restaurant not having stuff with which to pack up leftovers.
The same philosophy conveyed in a gentler manner would appeal to me more. “Our goal is to reduce our environmental impact and therefore we do not provide take away containers. Please bring your own reusable…” The part where it tells which ones aren’t reusable enough would bug me, except I would already have been dissuaded from eating there.
The website declares the restaurant to be “guilt free” but for whom, the owner or the diners? I don’t want to have anxiety during the meal that I might not finish it. What if I order wrong? You must eat all the salad and vegetables, too! What if I love the entree I’ve chosen but hate the salad dressing?
The website made me think of the Simpsons episode where we see Lisa grown up. Listing things she has in common with Hugh she says “and we’re both utterly humorless about our vegetarianism.” (or nearly that).
A quick look at the menu shows that an order of edamame is priced the same as a salmon roll, which just seems odd to me. Also I didn’t find any address or directions for the restaurant. Maybe they really don’t want customers.