That's Why Fancy Restaurants Serve Such Tiny Portions

it all started in early 20th century france they introduced the idea of some fancy french word basically eating small amounts of beautifully served food 5 10 15 up to 20 courses in one meal you could try soups appetizers pastries pastas rizzutos all that good stuff when you go to a restaurant to try a new dish it stops tasting life-changing after about the tenth mouthful when you're only given a few bites worth you somehow appreciate the taste more luxury restaurants always try to be as different as they can from cheaper places they've got elegant interiors expensive cutlery and small portions the opposite of what you get at your regular diner it makes the meal more unusual that's why it's more memorable truffles caviar all those fancy schmancy ingredients cost a lot and deep down you know that so when you see them bring a tiny plate with a tiny serving your brain's happy it's logical somehow how would you feel if you ordered a cheap plate of something fancy and it was huge you'd be weirded out wondering if the quality was really low or something luxury restaurants get their ingredients from various places it's not really a one-stop shop thing that adds up fast a bigger portion would be so expensive even for the wealthiest customers most fancy restaurants have at least three to six course meals at some you might get up to 30. you wouldn't be able to try them all if they were regular size and if they keep the portion sizes down you'll have room for dessert and a fancy coffee which means extra money for the restaurant it's all designed to give you the limited edition vibe you're always more likely to appreciate something that's rare and exclusive a mountain of pasta is something you can cook at home any old time some strands of multi-colored pasta spread across a plate of exotic veggies that's got food selfie written all over it now gourmet chefs don't just cook they create edible works of art and it's a lot easier to make a masterpiece with fewer things on the plate the more you slap on there the more it'll look like that meal you cook when you're just trying to empty out your fridge and for the customer it's not easy to look elegant when you're trying to shove a huge burger in your mouth when you're eating your tiny portion at a fancy table wearing nice clothes you can't not look elegant some restaurants are switching it up offering regular and smaller size meal options it's perfect if you can't eat that much or dieting or want to save some money but it's not like the smaller portions are going to be fancier they'll just be smaller most restaurants have dim lighting and cozy secluded seating areas to make you feel more comfortable and relaxed and stay longer and order more you'll feel less guilty about ordering a ton of expensive food when you feel invisible in the dark smells can affect your meal choices vanilla and cinnamon make you crave dessert the smell of bacon might make you order a bigger breakfast lavender helps you relax slow down and eat and spend more fancy restaurants use incense and nice smelling oils to try to make you order more at cheaper restaurants it's all different when you sit by the window and see people in sunlight you're more likely to feel conscious of your choices and order something healthy and sensible like vegetables wraps you know that sort of thing and you're more likely to order a full meal because you think someone might judge you or something they put up tvs everywhere to distract you that way you're more likely to agree to whatever the waiter is offering you sitting at a high top bar table makes you more alert since you can't lean back and relax you're more likely to order eat and leave then they can fill the table with someone else where can you always find fast food at the mall and at any rest stop they're hoping you just impulse buy something even when you're not hungry just looking at food or people eating can make you crave that burger and restaurants pay big bucks to get help designing their menus they use something called power positioning it helps you pick something even if you didn't know you wanted it whatever's on the top right of the front page that's what they want you to order you'll always see the most expensive ingredients mentioned in the dish description even if it only has one tiny drop of it you'll want to order it for that luxury vibe some gourmet restaurants really do make their specials out of the freshest ingredients the one they just got in that morning most specials though they're made from stuff that's about to expire that way they don't waste as much food and watch out the specials at fancy restaurants might cost more than your new iphone even the most luxurious places can always cook everything from scratch frozen veggies zapped in the microwave vacuum pack soups they dump in hot water they might even use leftover shredded veggies from the salad bar to make tomorrow's soup of the day when the greeter at the front door tells you there's a 20 minute wait they just made it up can they see into the future how do they know exactly how long it's going to take for that couple at the corner table to finish their pasta and leave that specific wait time just makes you feel more relaxed plus it makes it look like the restaurant's really well managed the restaurant manager knows you're more likely to order a twenty dollar pizza if it's right below a forty five dollar stake you might also fall for the special three dollars off dessert even if it's still fifteen bucks it's called the anchoring effect your brain gets stuck on the three dollars off bit and ignores the actual price when a friendly waiter invites you to take another look at the menu it's impossible to say no you naturally want to please others the waiters know which items to push and they'll describe them to you in the most beautiful way or recommend them as their personal favorites just try it ask them to recommend you a dessert i bet you anything it'll be the most expensive one the music you hear at restaurants affects the taste of food you're more likely to rate your pasta or pizza as authentic if they're pumping out some italian opera jams chips taste fresher when they crunch super loud and oysters feel saltier when there's some sort of caribbean music going on waiters always want to start you off with a drink before you even open the menu to catch you off guard and if one person orders a pricey drink chances are everyone else will too menus that don't use dollar signs make you feel better and more relaxed about spending money and they don't use cents either the less numbers you see the more you're going to be willing to pay you're more likely to order a meal that has a long juicy name like seasoned wood fire grilled fish fillet with our head chef's signature sauce and uncle john's secret recipe fried potatoes i'm in hey sorry guys that sounds better than grilled fish with potatoes the first one sounds expensive and like it's a secret family recipe restaurants always like to make meals sound more authentic that's why they're always loaded with foreign words makes it seem extra fancy restaurants get busy at lunch at least that's the plan to stop you from noticing that your meals taking forever they slow everything else down too they'll keep you waiting for a table then sit you at an empty table then put out the dishes and cutlery then bring you the menu then well you get the picture sorry to burst your bubble but you aren't always the first customer to get that bread basket what's left from the previous guest you might be eating that right now when waiters bring you free snacks they're trying to make you thirsty all those chips and crackers are packed with sodium when you eat too much of it your body sends a signal to your kidneys that is time to flush out the system before you know it you're ordering a bunch of extra drinks

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 312,550

Rating: 4.9226327 out of 5

Keywords: bright side, brightside, random facts, world facts, amazing facts, interesting facts, true facts, little-known facts, rare facts, did you know, facts for general knowledge, why fancy restaurants have small portions, why expensive restaurants give small portion, portion sizes, small portions, restaurant secrets, restaurant secrets revealed, restaurant tricks, restaurant menu tricks, how restaurants make money, tricks restaurants use, psychological tricks, fine dining

Id: 3euBnINtIn4

Length: 8min 20sec (500 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 23 2021