A Hotelier's Tale !!: DINING SOLO

A Hotelier's Tale !!: DINING SOLO: This past week was full of excitement. Michelin Star Chefs from Sichuan and Italy, Spanish Mixologist, wine & whisky paired tastin...

DINING SOLO

This past week was full of excitement. Michelin Star Chefs from Sichuan and Italy, Spanish Mixologist, wine & whisky paired tasting menus, Master Classes…all celebrating the sheer existence of Luxury.

Amidst the cacophony of the French, Americans and Dutch, there stood a guy watching everything around in amusement, enjoying every sip and bite. His only crime- he was all alone.   

Some people looked at him with pity and invited him to join their group while others simply ignored his existence! And before you “Aww…” this guy or feel sorry for his lack of company, I would like you to answer this-

Why is it such a big deal to attend events, go on a holiday or dine just by yourself…

Perhaps, its’ the associated stigma of being seen as a "friendless loser"! Some of that sense of unease surrounding booking a table for one no doubt dates back to our childhoods, when sitting alone in the high school lunch recess was tantamount to social suicide.

Strangely, travelling for work alone is completely acceptable but dining alone isn’t. In our society, there is no room for being alone in a public space, unless there is something seriously wrong with you.

Try telling someone that you went to watch a play or had dinner at this really nice place or went out for a movie. The obvious question that comes in conjunction to this is ‘who did you go out with?’ and may god be with you if you answer this wrongly!!

Eating alone is the most extreme form of feeling disconnected in our culture. This is why restaurants these days have come up with a lot of gimmicks for the so called “Single Diners”…. They keep a bowl with a gold fish on your table, offer you I-pods to listen, get you a set of books to reads….just to make sure that you don’t feel ‘alone’ ( and that's why we escort services too )! A restaurant in Japan, even gives you an over sized Hippo toy just to give you company! 

 

But does one really need all this….. 

The very first words out of a host’s mouth can alienate a single diner.  “Just one for lunch today?”  Yes!  Please,  tuck me in a corner somewhere and stamp the big “L” on my forehead!

We have all been taught that Human beings are sociologically wired to crave community and relationships. But this doesn’t mean that an occasional outing with yourself makes you a loner!

Try spending time with someone whom you have little in common with! Now that’s’ far more alienating than being alone.

So next time you want to try out a place and can’t find a foodie soul- go alone & try it, you might just like your own company.  

A Hotelier's Tale !!: WHAT’S FOR DINNERis my favourite question…Onlyd...

A Hotelier's Tale !!:
WHAT’S FOR DINNER

is my favourite question…Onlyd...: WHAT’S FOR DINNER is my favourite question…Only difference being that I need to ask, answer and cook myself…. It’s the only meal of t...

WHAT’S FOR DINNER

is my favourite question…Only difference being that I need to ask, answer and cook myself…. It’s the only meal of the day I enjoy and I won’t settle for Maggi!!

 

A Hotelier's Tale !!: YOU FILL UP MY SENSESNearly two years ago, someo...

A Hotelier's Tale !!:
YOU FILL UP MY SENSES
Nearly two years ago, someo...: YOU FILL UP MY SENSES Nearly two years ago, someone forwards me this song of John Denver. Now as per Cupid’s law, one is ‘suppose’ to...

YOU FILL UP MY SENSES

Nearly two years ago, someone forwards me this song of John Denver. Now as per Cupid’s law, one is ‘suppose’ to feel atleast a little romantic but as far as I remember, my memory lane took me to the whiff of horse stables and their grassy poop ….. I guess, I was & will always be in love with horses…

 

Of course, I didn’t tell her this. She figured out herself! 

Coming back to hotels, during my days as a sommelier, I once did a mistake of trying to explain the notes of a wine as a ‘nose of white chocolate’ to an American “Blonde”. Excited to hear the word ‘chocolate’, she gulped down half a glass and said,

‘ Honey, there is no chocolate in this wine……’

Well……Listening is one sense that she clearly did not have…….

 

 

The world of Hotels for me is a feast of five senses… you get aroused by new aromas every day, your eyes feast on good looking people, you hear and are a part of new gossip every day, you taste the most exquisite and sought after desires of the world (and that too for free!) and feel so blessed when you get kicked in the nuts by your boss!! It’s like a daily dose of protein. 

 So be it the smell of new money, enticing aromas of tandoori chicken or pleasures from simply whining all day….. It’s all about pleasing your senses which eventually makes you run & chase your dreams.

 

The sense of taste for me is perhaps the most delusional. 

If I were to make an F.A.Q list, this question would top my chart:

‘what really is authentic ? And if it is not authentic but it tastes good, does it really matter?

 

Well, this is where the argument begins…..

Find me a Chef who agrees that his food wasn’t AUTHENTIC enough! They will go miles to certify that theirs is the only ‘authentic way’ as their grandmother’s neighbour’s dog’s aunt made it the same way and the rest of the world has learnt to cook at a petrol pump!

Try arguing further and a flying knife comes your way……

                                                                                               

 

Sometimes authentic is so foreign to our tastes that we can't get past its authenticity. Chicken feet are simply too cartilaginous for most of us, donkey meat sandwiches are just too weird and cubes of congealed pig's blood are downright off putting.  Yet they are all authentic …..

But there are some people on this planet who travel just for all this…Can you believe it- no Selfies, no pictures with the Gucci Store! Travelling only for the love of food! Let me try and explain,

People don’t just travel from one part of the world to another to simply sit at a restaurant and eat. They do it because they are in search of new sensations and experiences that might get them excited. Many of us when trying a new place or cuisine don’t know what we are looking for, however what we do know with certainty is what we don’t want to find:  context where nothing happens!

The great restaurateur, Nelson Wong told me once, “Learn to tame & sharpen your senses and the world will eat out of your hands”…

Well, Someday……..

 

A Hotelier's Tale !!: Dating A Vegetarian

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