Smaller dishes for meals like those of Spanish Tapas, Dim Sum, taste platters are the “in” thing in today’s dining trends. For guests who are both price-sensitive and health-minded, providing smaller portions is a great move. There are plenty of reasons why this is so and we’ve drilled down to the final four.
What are the benefits of serving smaller portion sizes?
More dishes gives you better quality control
Staggered food arrival reduces stress
You can use luxe ingredients without breaking the bank
Reduced food waste
More plates give you better quality control
By serving dishes in small plates and smaller portions, chefs can easily control the quality of each item and make sure that the menu items are consistent in taste, and in their presentation. Instead of having to control too many variables/ingredients on one large plate, smaller plates consist of fewer variables.
Staggered food arrival reduces the stress on staff
Small plates with smaller portions generally take a shorter time to prepare. As such, their turnover time for serving is a lot shorter compared to larger plates. Guests are able to have small dishes staggered across shorter waiting times as compared to a larger dish while waiting for food. This is a benefit to the diners and to the restaurant because the stress level goes down.”
Use higher quality and more expensive ingredients
Using expensive ingredients in your main dishes can easily drive your food costs so high that it only makes sense for you to charge pricey menu items. And that, in turn, causes the prices to intimidate your guests. But small plates allow you to serve higher-end ingredients like caviar or truffles at a more palatable price point. You’re given the opportunity to experiment menus with higher-grade ingredients without having to worry about failing terribly.
Smaller portions can reduce food waste
On the whole, the main courses tend to generate food waste because of their larger portions. but with some innovation, small plates, and portions can make use of food that might otherwise go to waste.
This is especially important for small businesses running operations on their own. Since they’re running on a tight budget any form of food waste should be reduced to its minimum. Additionally, there are benefits of proactively reducing your establishment’s waste. As sustainability is a huge topic for millennials these days, if your restaurant is promoting the fact that food waste is greatly reduced, chances are, more millennials will be influenced to frequent your establishment.
According to WRAP’s research, younger women are far more likely to leave food on their plates (61% of restaurant meal leavers are women), so offering smaller portions could lead to increased sales. Even for children and elderly with usually smaller portion intakes, reduced portions could improve the dining experiences for them.
