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Agence France-Presse

In the name of reducing waste and freeing up chefs’ creativity, top British restaurants are doing away with long menus to give diners a limited selection of dishes or no choice at all.
“It is we who decide,” said Mikael Jonsson, head chef at Hedone in the district of Chiswick in west London.
More and more regular customers do not want to see the menu, and want a personalised menu drawn up by me
Mikael Jonsson
Last summer, the 49-year-old Swede decided to scrap the menu, after four years of observing customers’ tastes.
“More and more regular customers do not want to see the menu, and want a personalised menu drawn up by me,” Jonsson said.
Hedone has had a Michelin star since 2012, a year after it opened, and has been ranked in the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” since 2013.
“Some wanted the surprise, others did not know what to order,” he said.
READ MORE: Spain’s El Celler de Can Roca is named the best restaurant in the world
Now, Jonsson decides what diners will eat, though customers are asked about their preferences when they make a booking.
From a personal point of view, “it’s super interesting to work this way,” Jonsson said. “No two days are the same.”
Jonsson uses ingredients available on the day to create a menu of seven to 10 dishes each evening, something which allows the use of higher quality and rarer ingredients.
READ MORE: Dinner as theatre: behind the scenes at Ultraviolet, Shanghai ‘immersive’ restaurant
“If we offer bass on a menu which is changed every two months, it is impossible to offer exceptional bass every day. Now, if I can’t find a bass I’m happy with I will offer turbot or another fish,” Jonsson said. “It allows me to serve woodcock at one table and hare at another because I don’t have enough for everyone.”
Another advantage in ditching the menu is that it reduces waste, as fewer ingredients are needed to be kept in stock. “We notice the difference, especially with seafood and pastry which you can now prepare at the last minute.”
Hedone reflects a wider trend, according to “50 Best” director William Drew.
This is driven by customers’ interest in being surprised by dishes, in an era when they will often be familiar with the restaurant’s fare from Instagram.
“I think the idea of not having a menu is growing,” Drew said. “It plays to the idea of diners having a ‘bespoke experience’ which is tailored to their wants and needs, but in practice it also allows the chefs to have more freedom based on availability of ingredients and so forth.”
The shift has also been noted in France and New York, but is likely to remain confined to gastronomic centres. “I’m not sure it really works in restaurants that are not destinations for foodies already,” Drew said.
“You have to earn the right to work on this basis, to have built a formidable reputation so that the diners trust the judgement of the staff and the chef.”
Restaurants following the trend in London include sushi restaurant Araki, which has two Michelin stars and offers a unique set menu, and the two-Michelin-starred Hibiscus, which offers a surprise tasting menu in the evening.
Many fine-dining restaurants now offer tasting menus only. It is a reflection of the need to be minimising wastage
Kathryn Francis
Others are following outside the capital. The Checkers, in Montgomery, Wales, offers between five and nine dishes a day in a tasting menu.
“With an à la carte menu there will always be a degree of wastage,” said Kathryn Francis, who manages the Michelin-starred restaurant. “This new format gives our kitchen team greater control over what they need to prepare.”
It also makes sense financially in a sector where margins are tight, Francis added.
“Many fine-dining restaurants now offer tasting menus only. It is a reflection of the need to be minimising wastage – offering your guests the very best you can and maintaining a profitable and healthy business.”


The restaurants where the chefs decide what you’ll eat for dinner

Swedish chef Mikael Jonsson poses in his restaurant Hedone in Chiswick, west London on January 27, 2016. In a sign of change, a number of restaurants in Britain are starting to limit their menus in order to stop food wastage but also to offer surprise and originality to their customers. / AFP / BEN STANSALL / TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY OUERDYA AIT ABDELMALEK

A woodcock, a type of wading bird is prepared by Swedish chef Mikael Jonsson in his restaurant Hedone in Chiswick, west London on January 27, 2016. In a sign of change, a number of restaurants in Britain are starting to limit their menus in order to stop food wastage but also to offer surprise and originality to their customers. / AFP / BEN STANSALL / TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY OUERDYA AIT ABDELMALEK

William Drew, Group Editor of The World's 50 Best Restaurants and Restaurant magazine. [16JAN2015 BROADSHEET FOOD & WINE]

A tray of plucked woodcock, a type of wading bird, on a tray at Hedone, the restaurant of Swedish chef Mikael Jonsson in west London where he limits the menu to focus on what’s fresh and available, and cuts down on wastage by not maintaining an a la carte selection. Photo: AFP

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Some of Britain's top restaurants have ditched à la carte menus to offer a bespoke dining experience. It cuts down on waste and, as Michelin-star chef Mikael Jonsson says, ‘It’s super interesting to work this way’


Some of Britain's top restaurants have ditched à la carte menus to offer a bespoke dining experience. It cuts down on waste and, as Michelin-star chef Mikael Jonsson says, "It's super interesting to work this way"
