We have come to expect and even demand the service in restaurant to be quick. I am not talking about fast food places I am referring a good quality restaurant not your every day eatery but somewhere you go for something special but not so special it’s a once a year event, perhaps it’s date night. You don’t want to be rushed you have booked the table for the evening. And yet you start to get irritated about the wait for your drinks to arrive. And where’s the menu by now you would have studied it and made your choices instead you have to ask for it. It’s like this all evening. The gap between ordering and starters arriving makes you wonder if they have forgotten about you. The gap between courses makes you think there must be a problem in the kitchen. You have forgotten how to relax and enjoy a leisurely meal. Do you remember some years ago the French tried to fight the fast food invasion by talking about the pleasure of Slow Food. I just wonder if our current obsession with efficiency is comparable to the Fast Food revolution and that the backlash is the campaign for a better work life balance and an end to the long hour culture. Fast food is efficient but not as health as slow food. But slow food is not just about how food is sourced, prepared and cooked it’s about how it is eaten and served. Organisations are not just about performance they are about compassionate management, being a good employer and sustainability. Blair McPherson is on holiday in Portugal www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
