Fine dining at home

Effie Zahos discovered many fine dining establishments pivoted to takeaway and delivery thanks to COVID-19. But does family time have to be fancy?

After eight weeks in lockdown it’s the little things that give my family the greatest pleasure – like dinner on Saturday night. We always make sure to set the table nicely and, sometimes, we’ll even dress up. Our daughter, who’s now in lockdown in Canberra, joins us via FaceTime.

But what started out as some cheap Thai food from our local shops has escalated into a fine dining experience over the past two weekends. Who knew (at least, we didn’t until recently) that fine dining establishments had pivoted to takeaway and delivery?

In the name of research, I discovered that many restaurants let you order their signature cocktail to be picked up or delivered to your door. Even if it’s just one glass! And, one restaurant I found has lobster boxes worth a staggering $425 on its delivery menu.

Then there’s a variation of Uber Eats for, dare I say, the uber wealthy. Providoor is a premium meal delivery platform that gives you access to some of the city’s top-notch restaurants. The platform first took off in Melbourne and has recently launched in Sydney.

It got me thinking… Last year Aussies turned lockdowns into an opportunity to consolidate and save their money. This year may be a little different. There’s no denying that businesses have gotten better at reaching their customers. The question is have consumers gotten better at spending again?

For the record, we didn’t go for the lobster box nor did we order one cocktail. We did, however, choose to order from a fancy Italian restaurant near us and opted to go for the 500ml cocktail – it was my hubby’s birthday after all! This weekend, it’s back to takeaway Thai to help celebrate our weekends.

Here’s to cheap takeaways and family time.

Effie

Cover image source: Pietruszka/Shutterstock.com