HI-TECH OR HIGH TOUCH?

// By Samantha Lande

Technology has infiltrated almost every aspect of life, from the way we consume news to the way we pay for parking, so it’s only natural that it has started to change the way we dine out. Innovations like mobile ordering, kiosks, digital signage and third-party delivery have revolutionized the fast-casual sector, but the question remains, will technology move into the fine dining space at the same rapid clip?

“Moving forward we will see a lot more of integration of tech in all areas of the restaurant industry, but I believe the last point of contact will still be face-toface in fine dining,” according to Erik Thoresen, former principal at Technomic and industry consultant.

Fast casual restaurants don’t require as much “human touch,” so mobile and kiosk ordering make sense, but in fine dining, personalized hospitality and service are an important part of the overall experience. In terms of back of house, it’s a mixed bag when it comes to who’s adopting which technologies. Some restaurants are returning to their “roots,” utilizing more basic techniques to cook food, while others are wholeheartedly embracing technology, and in many instances, becoming the first to experiment with fancy equipment before it goes mainstream. Time will certainly tell when it comes to how fine-dining will embrace — or not embrace — certain technologies, but in the meantime, here are some ways chefs are using them in their restaurants.

Cooking Applications

In many ways, fine dining restaurants have been the ones to really try out if a technology will work in a restaurant setting or not. The sous vide machine, now much more commonplace in both casual restaurants and home kitchens, has been used in commercial kitchens for over a decade, and was the inspiration for a cookbook written by Thomas Keller in 2008.

However, some chefs are moving back towards more traditional cooking processes. David and Anna Posey, chef-owners of Elske in Chicago, see the benefit of certain technologies, but prefer a simpler equipment setup for their smaller kitchen. “The sous vide systems are becoming slimmer and cheaper and smarter, but we don't feel we need to cook our meat in a bag; we would rather cook it in our hearth oven,” says Anna Posey, who feels that wood-fired cooking does a better job enhancing the taste and texture of their dishes.

Unique Approaches

Other restaurants are all-in on technology, finding themselves early adopters in many ways. Take One65 in San Francisco, for example. In order to transfer food and ensure top notch service for its four different concepts spanning a six-story building. dumbwaiters were installed to connect its patisserie, bistro and bar, and fine-dining restaurant on the top floors.

“We tested the functionality of the system prior to opening to determine if it was effective in transferring food to our presentation standards by filling a glass of water to the top, and not a single drop of water was displaced during the transfer process from floor to floor,” says General Manager Olivier de Roany. “The dumbwaiters enable us to serve top-quality food almost instantly, assisting us in our primary goal of providing the highest level of seamless service to our guests.”

Other restaurants have utilized iPads for wine lists, allowing customers and servers to take a deeper dive into the various wine regions of the bottles, and Prime Steak Concepts, operator of the Steak44, Steak48 and Ocean44 brands, recently announced it will begin accepting payments via WeChat, a popular way to communicate and pay in China.

Front Of House Benefits

Perhaps where technology has already benefited fine dining the most is with front of house reservation, event planning and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. With the emergence of platforms like Tock, restaurants can get an even more accurate count of diners because they prepay for meals. The system can also be used to generate tickets for events like wine dinners or charity functions. In addition, restaurants can use these software platforms to gather better data on their customers and store dining preferences in order to offer more customized experiences.

“From social media, to reservation systems and storing diners' information, ‘front of house’ technology has been the most useful for us,” says Posey of Elske.

Thoresen thinks we will continue to see front of house innovations with the rise in AI. “One day, it won’t be uncommon for a machine to text and ask a few questions about dining preferences, whether you like red or white wine or have an allergy, in an effort to continue to personalize and enhance the face-to-face experience,” he says.

Technology is tricky — you can’t always predict what the next innovation will be, and it’s often disruptive and game changing to say the least. While certain technologies like mobile ordering have resonated with consumers, the restaurant industry and fine-dining segment continue to wait and see what’s next.