Originally Posted by
YVR Cockroach
I guess there are those who don't enjoy cooking or have the skills who may hold a different viewpoint.
I wouldn't even wish upon my worst enemies to have to endure eating whatever I've cooked. I just don't have the talent, the wherewithal or desire to cook, which probably stems from those early years after college where I, probably not unlike most recent grads, had to work like a dog with 15 hour days where any amount of free time allocated to cooking and dishes would have been better spent getting better in my profession. Though I have more time now, that frame of mind still holds; and, while my wife is (I think) pretty adept at preparing meals, her cooking prowess isn't the reason I married her. However, I very much enjoy other people's cooking (as JBord observed, I likewise enjoy good food wherever I may find it) and always look forward to invitations for home cooked meals; and, seeing some of your prepared meals on the dining thread, would love to dine at any of your houses/apts/flats.
Originally Posted by
JBord
And this is really the crux of the discussion on whether restaurant demand will go back to normal. There's certainly a large group that fits your final sentence. Then there are those, like our friend in this thread gaobest, who claims to be enjoying the new-found cost savings and the pleasure of cooking good food at home.
When there's a once in a century pandemic and unprecedented Gov't coerced halt to enterprise in some sectors, there's bound to some potential paradigm shifts that may occur. In my view, there isn't going to be a return to the old normal, but some kind of "new" normal. Perhaps, there will be a large enough portion of people who, like gaobest, will realize and have decided eating at home is preferable not just during the pandemic but a more permanent reality. I know that in our business, the pandemic unearthed and exposed those areas with costs/expenses we can purge with very little or zero reduction on our top line and sharp increase on the bottom one. While it's too early to know if these changes as permanent, we're going to eliminate them with very little hesitation if they become the "new normal." So, as we all reexamine our budgets, perhaps the sort of dining popularity will never return, ever. We'll see.
And, you're right, either way it's going to be a fascinating case study in business schools around the world as they look back to how we've handled this pandemic where they'll have the benefit of hindsight, whereas we more or less have to fly somewhat blind.