We all love going out to a restaurant and relishing the dishes. The restaurants apparently make a good effort to give us a perfect meal. Despite the meal, the restaurant design, menu card etc. is taken care of as well. Usually, the name of a simple dish is changed into something that sounds different and edgy. Like a simple ‘Hamburger’ is named a ‘Best Select Hamburger’ or ‘Extra Generous Hamburger’.
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Restaurant Buzzwords
Here is a list of the Top Ten overused Restaurant Buzzwords:
10. Lite
We see the word ‘lite’ over a food item and automatically assume that it is ‘healthy’, ‘low calorie’ and delicious. Before the 1970s when Miller introduced its ‘lite beer’, the only beer we knew was ‘beer’. The trend went on and on and today we have ‘lite burgers’, ‘lite soft drinks’, ‘lite pizzas’, and numerous other lite food.
9. Homemade
Homemade food apparently sounds like something that is fresh, hygienic, and delicious. Restaurants take advantage of this by adding it to their menu card. So, a fresh sandwich that has been prepared in the restaurant kitchen is given the name ‘Homemade Sandwich’. This is a frequent practice by culinary experts. The word ‘Homemade’ gives the idea of a sandwich that has been prepared by the chef’s grandmother back home.
8. Generous
One of the most generous English words, ‘Generous’ is something we give away as an act of love. Apparently, the restaurants take their American customers very seriously and make sure plates are full of a ‘generous’ amount of food. But, it turns out that the quantity of food is similar to what a usual restaurant is expected to serve. The word is used just to make the menu card look more ‘generous’.
7. Healthy
There was a time people went to restaurants to have some unhealthy yet delicious food. With the advent of scientific research, many food items that we earlier relished are now termed unhealthy. This fad has been shrewdly used by restaurants to label their food as ‘healthy’. Now we find numerous items in a menu card termed as healthy.
6. Signature
One of the most common buzzwords that is catching up among most restaurants is ‘Signature’. The word apparently sounds elegant and classy and gives a good vibe to the food item. Maybe it’s there to imply that the food we’re eating is hand signed by the Chef. Okay, that is not possible, but the food certainly depicts some signature quality of the chef and is a stand-out item.
5. Premium
The word premium automatically paints a picture of something that is high in quality. Restaurants use this word to enhance their menu card items. We see the word engraved on various food labels be it green tea, coffee, or rice. It is an overused word that is used by companies and restaurants to attract customers. I’m writing this as I drink a ‘Premium Green tea’ by Tetley.
4. Artisanal
The word artisanal basically means something that has been created by following all the natural handmade procedures. But how can a chicken be artisanal? Was the chicken first created by a few potters? Was a life inserted in it by means of magic? Then, when it’s alive, we kill it and consume it and call it artisanal? I don’t know the logic behind it. But the restaurants do find it captivating to add the word before a normal food item. God knows what it means.
3. Sun Grown
The list of top ten overused restaurant buzzwords is apparently getting weirder, with our next word being ‘Sun Grown’. Apparently, most fruits and vegetables are sun-grown. What is the point in adding them before your food item’s name? Everything from coffee beans to tomatoes has been sun-grown. We don’t need to know that. But yes, it does sound captivating, so the restaurants will keep on using it.
2. Award-Winning
This one is a win-win for sure (see another buzzword?). A simple salad will be named an ‘Award-winning green salad’ to make it look captivating. It is a great way to make your food items look more attractive. But many times the food item hasn’t won any ward and the word ‘award-winning’ is absolutely fake. Though no one can sue the restaurant for falsely naming its dish as ‘award-winning’ it certainly is a bad practice.
1. Tuscan
The most commonly used buzzword by restaurants is Tuscan. It is intended to give a good Mediterranean vibe to the food we’re eating. But it’s been so commonly used by restaurants that almost all restaurants have a food item named ‘Tuscan’.