It is not accurate to say that fine dining is coming to an end. There has been, and always will be, a market for experiencing food that is executed at a high level by teams of qualified professionals. Fine-dining restaurants have become a cornerstone of culture among those with the social and economic capital to offer these establishments their patronage.
Fine dining can be an incredibly resource- and time-intensive pursuit, often involving large teams of dedicated individuals, complex supply chains, and a high-stress environment where all these factors culminate in an elaborate meal that is more than just sustenance; it is a representation of that restaurant’s values in a sense, encompassing aspects of the region it may be located in, the culture it draws from, and the kind of interactions it has with its patrons. Over the years, there have been many lists and publications comparing the best restaurants from across the world on a broad list of criteria. Most of these are fine-dining restaurants in the classical sense that most people can associate with, i.e., high-end establishments, often with an emphasis on multi-course tasting menus that reflect whichever values happen to be relevant at that moment in time. Whether it's farm-to-table dining, modern interpretations of classical cuisines and dishes, or the ever-popular sustainability angle.
The restaurant industry has never been particularly lucrative. High variable costs and relatively low profit margins have made it a notoriously difficult industry to survive in, let alone operate profitably, for many years. Even fine-dining restaurants around the world with average spends of well upwards of Rs. 8200 or $100 USD are not immune. Over the last two years, the pandemic, related supply chain constraints as well as changes in consumer spending habits have led to a record number of restaurant shut downs across the world. Record inflation numbers have done the industry no favors either. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the average price of seafood has increased by 10% globally between 2020 and 2021, driven in part by supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the average price of beef has increased by 5% over the same period, due to factors such as droughts, disease outbreaks, and changes in consumer demand. Eggs alone have increased in price by over 49% in the US.
These challenges have also come at a time when fine dining restaurants across the world have come under scrutiny for exploitative labor practices, food wastage and more. Pop-culture in the form of TV shows like The Bear, movies like The Menu, and even memes on social media have highlighted the tropes that mask the very real issues that folks within the industry face on a daily basis. From highly stressful work environments with little to no room for error, poor pay, substance abuse, sexual abuse, and many more.
Noma, the world’s best restaurant for many years in a row, recently announced plans to shut its doors and transition into a food research lab over the next two years. Its head chef and owner, Rene Redzepi, mentions that there is an incredible human and economic cost to fine dining at the level that Noma facilitates, and that it may not be the most sustainable model to enjoy and appreciate food as a medium of expression. The average cost of a meal without drinks at Noma happens to be $500. At the peak of its success, Noma was staffed by 62 individuals, of whom only 30 were paid. The allure of working within fine-dining at the highest setting led to a phenomenon known as "staging," wherein cooks would choose to work at these restaurants for long hours, sometimes for many months on end, entirely for free, gaining only the experience of working at these establishments.
Many ex-restaurant employees, even head chefs, have stated that the current model of fine dining, as adopted by many of the restaurants you’d find on an annotated list such as the Michelin Guide or the World’s 50 Best, all runs on the back of exploited labor in one form or another, whether it's underpaid or overworked employees, and generates an unfathomable amount of food waste. Many fine-dining restaurants' plating and presentation involve numerous steps to transform raw ingredients into a finely crafted final product. In the process, heaps of scraps and waste are frequently created. A perfectly square piece of carrot is, of course, not naturally occurring and must be cut from an irregular shape. Dry-aged beef results in the spoilage of the outer layer of meat, leading to a 20–40% decrease in the usable yield from the animal.
Over the last few years, there seems to have been a large cultural shift in the values that define what a fine-dining experience can be, with more emphasis placed on the people that make it possible, the sustainability of the operation as a whole, and its place within the larger cultural and socio-economic conversation.