When perusing a restaurant menu, 2 in 5 diners (41%) admit having to ‘Google’ words under the table to make sure they know what they’re about to order, according to new research from popular restaurant booking platform Resy.
Menus are always carefully crafted by chefs to showcase the creative and skilful techniques they use in the kitchen. However, some diners admit needing help to decipher terms and techniques with “smacked” (72%), “sous-vide” (67%) and “confit” (56%) the most likely to lead to a sneaky under-table search.
Whilst over a quarter (27%) of Brits prefer to opt for the “styling it out” approach, admitting that they just go ahead and order dishes without knowing what they actually are, 20% of diners won’t ask for clarification from wait staff for fear of looking silly in front of their fellow diners.
Yet, with these interesting and varied cooking techniques comes the opportunity to try something new, which explains why 2 in 5 (45%) of diners admit to searching menu items before they get to the restaurant so they can make sure they’re not missing out on trying something delicious.
The fear of missing out, however, is encouraging some Brits to embrace chefs’ creativity and craftsmanship head-on and choose dishes out of their comfort zones. Over a quarter (26%) look to menus wanting to expand their dining horizons, saying they’re excited or curious to try a dish described using terms they’ve never heard of.
Diners are also heading to social media to scope out the look of the dishes they see on menus, according to data from American Express’ Trendex report2, as 59% of UK Adults that use social media to find new restaurants are most interested in how the food and drinks look. It’s not only Google that is helping inform diners, but social media more generally: Among those that use social media to find new restaurants, 86% of UK GenZers & Millennials use Instagram and 44% use TikTok to uncover the best places to dine, according to the report.
These are 10 of the menu terms and techniques that Brits are least familiar with:
- Smacked (72%)
- Sous-Vide (67%)
- Confit (56%)
- Enhanced (59%)
- Scalded (54%)
- Blackened (47%)
- Flambéed (38%)
- Fermented (33%)
- Burned (29%)
- Blanched (27%)
“We like to have some fun with our menu and the way we phrase things. From our ‘Executive Lamb’ to our ‘Monkey Tail’ dish (that actually refers to a Monkfish Tail), we ultimately want to create dishes that invite conversation and keep the ambiguity to open dialogue. We like that our menu opens up a conversation and the way it’s phrased is designed to convey a feeling or the atmosphere of the room. We choose language that makes it feel down to earth and casual as we don’t want anyone reading it to feel like they can’t ask a question about what the dish is. Then we have all the fun explaining it and seeing their faces when they try it!”
Sacha Henry, head chef at Shankeys in East London
Similarly, Matt Harris, head chef at Ploussard uses their menu phrasing to intrigue diners and is in favour of keeping things simple but encouraging diners to ask questions if they don’t understand a menu:
“We like to use our menu to create intrigue. People will look at our menu and say it’s simple in comparison to other menus, but it’s deliberately worded that way. Diners will look at the menu and see familiar ingredients such as crackers and Madeleines and think they know what to expect, but each dish has something unusual weaved in. For example, our Madeleines are savoury rather than sweet, and made using Comté cheese, accompanied with a cep mushroom custard. We’ve crafted our menu in a way that reels people in with familiarity and then surprises them. Of course, front of house are always there to explain dishes and that’s what we encourage!”
Commenting on some of the new techniques we can expect to see appearing on menus Andrew Clarke, head chef at Acme Fire Cult, says:
“I think we’re going to see things go back to simplicity. The modernist approach really shifted things in terms of introducing new techniques but it’s all been done now. Tropes we’ve previously seen such as naming farms on menus has receded and I suspect it will continue to do so and menus will become more stripped back.”
“However we know that people do want to find out about what they’re eating and how it’s been created, so one thing we’re looking at doing is introducing a supporting pamphlet on the side of our menu to encourage people to learn more about our techniques such as our open-fire and our ferment room. This could be another way for restaurants to really sell their produce and technique outside of the traditional menu.”
For those wanting to expand their culinary vocabulary while dining, Resy rounded up 10 dishes around London that exemplify the lesser-known terms and techniques:
- Tea-cured Salmon at Carmel, Queens Park
- Wood-Fired Prawns, Pickled Kumquat, Miso Butter at Orasay, Notting Hill
- Coal Roast Leeks, Pistachio and Romesco at Acme Fire Cult, Dalston
- Executive Pork at Shankeys, Hackney
- Smoked Cods Roe and Squid Ink Crackers at Ploussard, Clapham Junction
- Whipped Sussex Ricotta, Pickled Beetroot, Lemon Thyme at Maene, Shoreditch
- Red-Eye Glazed Duroc Pork Chop with Apricots and Chicoria at Rita’s, Soho
- Potato, Fermented Tom Yum, Seaweed at Casa Fofo, Hackney
- Flamed Mussels, 18 Bacon Butter Sauce, Pickled Lemon, Parsley at Fallow, Mayfair
- Stuffed Courgette, Pilaf Rice, Feta, Harissa at Tendril, Mayfair
Add them to your Resy Hit List and let the guess-tronomy lesson begin.
