Food holds the power to change our mood, our feeling and attitude toward something. It has a healing power – a protective blanket that touches our soul- almost like a therapeutic session. A good hearty meal can influence our perspective.
But people sometimes tend to forget the fact that the food cooked in the home tastes different than the one cooked in the restaurant.
When we set off to cook a meal, be it for our family or a romantic evening for two, we would often start with a vision in our heads of how we want the outcome to look and taste like. This vision usually bears a close resemblance to what we might find at a restaurant, with elegant plating, perfect flavors, and exact measurements and cooking.
Unfortunately, what ends up on the plate in our homes rarely comes near to what you’ll find in a restaurant.
And so today in this article we will try to answer the questions, "Why does restaurant food taste better than mine?"
But before unravelling secrets, what makes restaurant food so special anyways?
What makes restaurant food so special?
Eating out can be fun. It can be adventurous, and it can bring people together over a meal that is both hearty and delicious. They say a lot of our best memories with our loved ones are spent over a scrumptious meal or a glass of wine.
And although good food can be made at home thanks to cookbooks and the abundance of cooking tutorials on Youtube, people nowadays are busier, so spending time on cooking can be a daunting task and the result may not even be the same as expected. So the easiest and infallible route most would take when it comes to eating tasty food is in a restaurant.
Soul food is the kind of food that one needs when in a bad mood- the kind of food that instantly cheers you up when you’re tired or having a bad day. Paired up with an inviting ambiance to set the perfect mood to create good memories, Soul food is the kind of recipe that the best restaurant chains around the world have mastered, enabling them to keep their customers coming back for more through the years.
Although soul food mainly originated from home cooking, home cooking with the limited access to the best ingredients and equipment can only do so much when it comes to good and tasty food. Through the years, restaurants have acquired an excellent grasp on the techniques to serve their customers homemade-like hearty food that would fill them up both spiritually and physically.
And now, to the main course, it’s time to unravel the secrets on why restaurant food tastes better.
Why does restaurant food taste better?
Restaurant kitchens run like well-oiled machines. The equipment is heavy-duty, the tools are the perfect ones for the job, and the cooks know every recipe like the back of their hand. Restaurant food has been cooked by people who have made it their sole mission to make tasty things. Home kitchens may look nice, but they’re never well-equipped to create restaurant-quality meals.
Restaurants achieve their superb and precise quality through little more than training. There are several crafty ways that professional cooks and chefs manage to step up their food game.
One of these factors is the ingredients and equipment. Lack of ingredients or the special type of kitchen equipment can affect the taste of food. As the restaurant has access to all these, home cooking is at a loss here.
Time preparation is another factor. In this busy world where most of us are working, cooking food can sometimes be a hassle. Not many have the time to cook so if they normally cook, they choose those meals that require less time. But as patience is a virtue, foods that are cooked slowly and in the proper way, taste richer and tastier than those that are cooked rashly.
Here are a few other points that makes restaurant dining experience special:
- Restaurants have a well-curated ambiance to set the mood that will eventually contribute to the best restaurant dining experience for their customers. Some restaurants will invest on high-quality, cozy and beautiful furniture and interior design, while others would opt to set the vibe of the place with lighting and even aroma.
- Eating out saves preparation time. All the food that is served and cooked by the restaurant is properly cooked, step by step which makes the food tasty.
- Ordering out or going out to eat at a restaurant means there are a lot of options to choose from. There are many restaurants that serve various cuisines. One can also order according to their mood. If one wants a salad, they can order that, if one wants junk food, it can also be ordered. The variety of options on the menu does not affect the taste of the food.
- The method of cooking is much more authentic. The steps in which food should be made may not be known to a home cook but a chef makes it perfectly creating a difference between the taste of food cooked at home and restaurant.
- One ingredient or cooking tool may change the taste or texture of the food. Restaurants have access to every ingredient, tool and equipment a recipe needs whereas in home cooking it may not happen. That is why taste varies.
Presentation
We eat with our eyes before our mouths, and restaurants spend a whole lot of time figuring out how a finished dish should look, from what kind of plate to use to which garnish pairs best.
Salt
In restaurants, cooks are very generous with salt. They season and salt every component of every dish, at every step of the cooking process. Especially when cooking big chunks of meat, like steaks or pork chops, always add a little more salt than you think.
Hot Ovens
Ovens in restaurants are amped up to 500 degrees or more often at full blast, all night. High heat cooks things faster, develops a nice crust, deep browning, and richness in flavour.
Shallots
You’d be amazed at the amount of shallots many restaurants use up. Shallots do wonders in just about any savory dish, and have a milder flavor than your regular spices like onions or garlic. They add a great depth of flavor.
Stock
Many fine restaurants create their own stocks with leftover vegetables, meat, and bones, and it adds a depth of flavor to any dish, especially when reduced.
Butter
Fat is flavor, as they say, and at restaurants the easiest way to spruce up the flavor is by throwing in lots of butter. That nutty flavor of those roasted vegetables, or the velvety texture of that sauce? That’s all butter.
