Monday 6 May 2013

Never Mind The Ministry Of Silly Walks, It’s The Ministry Of Silly Ideas!

London hoteliers were today urged to cut the size of plates in their restaurants to tackle food waste.
Ahahahahahaha! Who on earth could dream up something so stu…

Oh. Right.
The advice came from the Government’s Behavioural Insights Team which aims to “nudge” people into changing their habits.
It hailed “impressive results” from a study by Norwegian organisation GreeNudge into hotel buffets.
*sigh* Thank god, as Longrider points out, we aren't footing the bill for this nonsense any longer.

Where to start? That’s Norway. This is England. What works there won’t necessarily work here
“They found that reducing plate size and communicating that it’s OK to come back for another serving resulted in a decrease in food waste whilst hotel guest satisfaction remained the same,” said the BIT.
Yes, well, I can only assume none of these people have ever patronised a buffet-style restaurant and seen the amazing towers-of-food that some people attempt to cram onto the tiny plates to save them the walk back to the buffet!

And is it cynical of me to see the potential for another team in this Unit, maybe one working on the ‘obesity crisis’, to badger the hotels into removing those signs suggesting guests go for another serving in the not-too-distant future?

So no, I don't particularly care if they aren't happy in their job. Not when their job consists of nagging and badgering everyone else.

4 comments:

SadButMadLad said...

I'm more bothered by restaurants and take-a-ways putting too much food on a plate/packet than the size of the plate. When they do this it makes me think that they aren't really thinking about their profit margin and are not likely to be lasting long. As for waste of food, that because food is so cheap we can do so. It doesn't mean anyone is going hungry elsewhere in the world because we do this. If anything, leaving food on the plate should be cheered by the anti-obesity campaigners.

Woodsy42 said...

Oddly enough, and on this one exceptional occassion, I think they are absolutely correct!
At a few functions I have attended over the past months I have watched people attack a buffet, filling up plates with one of everything on offer, then leaving half of it uneaten - often completely untasted - on their plates. Generally it's been younger people to blame.
As an older person who eats on a budget it annoys the hell out of me.

Twenty_Rothmans said...

Some buffet restaurants charge you for the food you don't eat - this is a popular option in Thailand. Not so popular with Miss Napkinstuffer: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2145387/Restaurant-fines-diners-Chinese-buffet-leaving-food-plates.html

It's a commercial decision, and doesn't require a fluffer from GBIT turning masturbation into an expensive PowerPoint presentation. No tickee, no shirtee.

As a mutual joint venture, the new business would be part-owned by the Government, with a partner putting in new investment and the employees owning the remainder.

This reminds me of a game popular with squaddies, and the Government (i.e., us) having to eat the biscuit.

JuliaM said...

"When they do this it makes me think that they aren't really thinking about their profit margin and are not likely to be lasting long. "

When you buy in bulk (and don't worry about the origins too much), the price of food is so cheap, they can afford to do it.

"Generally it's been younger people to blame."

It baffles me, it really does! It can't help with the taste.

"Some buffet restaurants charge you for the food you don't eat - this is a popular option in Thailand."

I've seen a few here state that. Never ever seen them put it into practice.