Mouthing Off | From McDonald’s to Michelin restaurants, chefs change menus not just to keep diners happy, but themselves too

Just as fashion-lovers cannot wear the same thing twice, foodies look down on restaurants – even fast-food outlets – that keep the same menu too long

Some chefs revamp whole menus, but it doesn’t always have to be a complete reinvention – others will refine an existing plate or switch up the ingredients

Reading Time:3 minutes

A chef adds the final flourish to a dish. Smart chefs will take advantage of seasonal ingredients that are the freshest, most flavourful and cheapest, which is why it’s funny when one boasts about changing their menu. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 3:15am, 19 Aug 2021Updated: 4:53am, 19 Aug 2021

It’s kind of funny to me when restaurants boast, as a big selling point, that they change their menu regularly. It’s like, well, yeah. Any self-respecting chef is going to adjust and vary his food as ingredients and supplies change.

Smart chefs will take advantage of seasonal ingredients that are the freshest, most flavourful and – very importantly – cheapest. It’s a no-brainer. That’s why it’s amusing when a chef boasts: “We don’t just swap our menu seasonally but nearly every week”.

For chefs of a certain calibre, I expect nothing less.

Some of the guys with outsize egos (and assuredly, they are always guys) like to emphasise this point because it’s also a humble brag. “I have so many new ideas for dishes, they are pouring out all the time,” they say.

Being prolific is an undeniable talent. This is why Prince used to release two or three new albums every year. Photo: ImageDirect

Sure, being prolific is an undeniable talent. This is why Prince used to release two or three new albums every year, and Stephen King churns out novels non-stop. Gifted chefs are the same.