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Food Has Changed From Kitchen to Buffet



Last couple of weeks I have been travelling a lot. Which means living in hotels and eating in restaurants became unavoidable. And somewhere between my second coffee and third buffet breakfast, I noticed something strange. Food has changed. Or maybe we have.

In the late 90's and early 2000, when we travelled, every city had its own taste. Coimbatore tasted like Coimbatore. Bangalore tasted like Bangalore. Hyderabad had its own magic. Delhi had its own spice. Today, no matter where you go, in any decent, reasonable hotel, the taste feels more or less the same. Same gravy. Same masala. Same presentation. Even if you order local cuisine, it feels like a copy of a copy. I feel all chefs are now learning from the same recipe book and just reproducing it like an assembly line. Earlier every restaurant had a signature style. Today I struggle to remember one place and say, this taste is only from here.

It feels like food has become a product, not an experience.

Even at home, I see the same shift. And no, I am not being gender biased here. There was a time when mom cooked with time in her hand and love in her heart. She knew who liked what. Less salt for one, more spice for another. And if dad ever entered the kitchen on a Sunday, whatever he cooked became a signature dish. Only he could make it like that. Every home had at least one such special item. Today both mom and dad are running. Cooking is rushed. Food is thrown on the table like a task to finish. Not something to sit and enjoy. And food delivery apps have made it even more easy to forget what real hunger feels like.

Celebrations today are mostly about food. And we really do not lack food at all. We have too much of it. Too many choices. Too many menus. Too many offers. And somehow, less joy.

Even sweets feel like that. Same shape. Same colour. Same taste. No surprise. No childhood excitement of biting into something and saying, wow this is different.

And then comes the royal buffet breakfast. Just because the hotel gives you a buffet, does not mean we have to behave like we have not eaten in three days. I saw people who skip breakfast at home to rush to office, now waking up early to attack every dish on display. I even overheard someone say loudly, let us skip lunch today, eat as much as we can now. Poor idli, dosa, pasta, noodles, cornflakes, all got mixed into one confused plate. And the funny part is, no matter which hotel you go to, the buffet looks almost the same everywhere.

Same fruits. Same bread. Same eggs in different moods.

Maybe the problem is not with food alone. Maybe it is with us. We are eating faster, living faster, and forgetting how to taste slowly. Not just food, but life also.

And I wonder sometimes, are we really full. Or just always eating.

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