'Splitting the Entree' Surcharge

The writer to the newspaper seemed miffed: the $5.00 surcharge for splitting the entree was a surprise and inappropriate. It shouldn't have happen. But for Momsey, it seemed a reasonable request. Restaurants exist to provide the public with a dining-out experience. They exist to make money - as any business does.

When we dine out, we are not simply paying for food. We are paying for the intangibles: time, attention and the 'ghost' efforts of those who are not in attendance. The food has been chosen, stored, prepared, cooked and delivered to us in rented 'exotic' environments. The trained staff are creating a dining experience that we cannot or do not want to create at home. These professional, on-duty wait staff, are our hand maidens or butlers for brief moments in time.

One of the oldest 'traditions' is the complimentary glass of water, never charged, but brought to our table, nonetheless, with ice added. There is no profit to be made when a glass of water is given. For the few times I dine out, Momsey is on a mini-vacation. My cooking skills are now on sabbatical. Other people are now being 'paid' to do the job I have have been doing, all week long. But wait. In any restaurant, there are several layers of personnel 'behind the scenes' to service our dietary needs as we decide what to eat, drink and how long to stay. There are managers, dishwashers, chefs/cooks, and the ever present wait-staff who labour under time-stamped circumstances. Time is the enemy. We want our food hot or cold. We are paying 'rent' for the space we occupy temporarily, while we dine. In winter, this space is heated.

When we decide to sell our talents to the public a whole new set of rules are put in place. They must. At home, our kitchen is a cluttered space; the food, sometimes, less than acceptable. We are eating our food, not selling it. Our labour is free. Momsey has been known to eat a peanut butter and jam sandwich, as a meal, when alone. When my 'dining-out' dinner entree is more than I can eat, I take it home. I call that a win-win situation for me. I now have another meal included in the cost of the dinner entree I chose the night before. I prefer to pack my own food, anyway. To expect the entree to be split, in the kitchen, without an added cost, is placing an unfair burden on the restaurant. It is a business, after all. When labour costs are involved, the price of anything always increases - as it should.

Years of experience, a particular skill set and 'educational' training are worth their weight in gold. Generally, 50% of any job is the cost of its labour. So it would follow that splitting an entree, in the kitchen, then presenting this half-serving, on a new dinner plate, might cost $5.00. The cost of materials can pale in comparison to the 'worth' of an individual's time and attention to our needs. Receiving the glass of water, as has been the custom since the beginning, is, sometimes, a substitute for the drink, tea or coffee beverage that can help the restaurant's bottom line. Water is like a loss leader, as it is never charged, unless a particular 'brand' of water is ordered. It is incumbent upon us to order and not to expect 'extras' for free. That sort of thing done by enough patrons, over time, only serves to put the eatery at financial risk and perhaps, out of business, one day. With a fast food menu, there are no short cuts and the prices are set, not to be discounted or changed in any way. Wait staff are absent from this eating style. There is no confusion here. As time passes, will some fast-food eateries might begin to feel the breath of the 'All you can eat' buffet on their collective necks as the price of lunch, become one and the same as that of the AYCEB? With the buffet, the selection is unending. Your dietary choices are yours. You are splitting your own entree as you 'walk the line'. It's a one price fits all dietary event. In the formal dining-out experience, the menu selections can be altered to dismiss certain ingredients in a dish or the substitution of others, instead. The integrity of the menu still remains.

Splitting the entree makes sense when we do it. A few places will donate the dinner plate for the exercise and not charge for the second plate, even though nothing has been ordered on it and the plate will be washed later at a cost of labour and utilities. Eating out is a treat. Let us not confuse it with eating at home where labour is free and splitting the entree is simply leftovers for the next day.