Hotel food: disguised recycling or just cost-cutting
The bland taste of hotel buffets is no accident: recycled dishes and all-inclusive economics explain the mediocrity. Is it worth it?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Hotel food: systematic recycling or misguided savings
Spain boasts Michelin-starred chefs, but all it takes is sitting down at the buffet of a half-board hotel to wonder what on earth has peine to flavour. The complaint is a recurring one: everything tastes the same, or tastes of nothing. And it's not just a lack of salt.
Behind the bland plate lies a mechanism known as "meal recycling". It's not about reusing leftovers from other people's plates, but about reusing preparations: what's left over from a meat stew ends up the next day folded into a rice dish. The practice is common in all-inclusive hotels, where the weekly turnover of guests means that by the third day the menu becomes predictable. The economic argument is sound – don't waste food – but the organoleptic result is debatable.
It's easy to be tempted to blame the customer profile. Anyone booking an all-inclusive is looking for convenience, not a gastronomic experience. But the reality is that, for what you pay – a full week of full board for the price of a single dinner at a starred restaurant – it's hard to expect fine dining. The alternative suggested by seasoned travellers is to book breakfast only and go out for lunch and dinner. In the end, you pay the same – or more – but you eat better.
The question that remains: is it that there are no decent chefs in hotels, or that cost management forces this flattening of flavour? Tourists looking for quality already know the hotel is just for sleeping. As for eating, they fend for themselves.
Related discussions in the forum
Spain boasts Michelin-starred chefs, but all it takes is sitting down at the buffet of a half-board hotel to wonder what on earth has peine to flavour. The complaint is a recurring one: everything tastes the same, or tastes of nothing. And it's not just a lack of salt.
Behind the bland plate lies a mechanism known as "meal recycling". It's not about reusing leftovers from other people's plates, but about reusing preparations: what's left over from a meat stew ends up the next day folded into a rice dish. The practice is common in all-inclusive hotels, where the weekly turnover of guests means that by the third day the menu becomes predictable. The economic argument is sound – don't waste food – but the organoleptic result is debatable.
It's easy to be tempted to blame the customer profile. Anyone booking an all-inclusive is looking for convenience, not a gastronomic experience. But the reality is that, for what you pay – a full week of full board for the price of a single dinner at a starred restaurant – it's hard to expect fine dining. The alternative suggested by seasoned travellers is to book breakfast only and go out for lunch and dinner. In the end, you pay the same – or more – but you eat better.
The question that remains: is it that there are no decent chefs in hotels, or that cost management forces this flattening of flavour? Tourists looking for quality already know the hotel is just for sleeping. As for eating, they fend for themselves.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (13 replies).
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