TGP founder, Simon Wright talks about the future of dining out

My team recently sent me a list of questions in order to gather my thoughts on where the future of the dining out experience is heading.

These questions really got me thinking about current trends, what is likely to stick around and what could potentially develop in the coming years. I have listed out my answers below on what I believe will be the future of our wonderful hospitality industry and I truly believe exciting times are ahead!

1. Before we start talking about the future, let’s look at the past. What defined the last 5 years of dining out, what were the highs and lows, the challenges and opportunities?

People, people, people – or more accurately the lack of them. Finding and developing talent has been, and will continue to be, our biggest challenge – we need to find new and exciting ways to engage and retain the people that will make the long-term difference to our business

2. How can we classify the different types of people who dine out, and how do they influence the hospitality industry (i.e. is it more families, more young adults, what are they looking for, are they setting or following trends?)

?The self-ordained, self-appointed ‘foodies’ – no-comment…

?The ‘real foodies’ – plan their holidays, social lives (& possibly work-lives) around the need to satisfy their food cravings and not just for an insta-post.

?The fuel/refuel crowd – not too focused on the food pilgrimage, guide them to your venue through clear/obvious signage and on-line presence, as they focus on their priorities

?The family educators – looking to open their children’s eyes to the world of proper food, while having a cheeky Albarinho or two for Mum & Dad!

?The party crowd – brilliant, fun customers - dressed to the 9’s, Gucci/Prada-ed up, love the neon and dry ice, loads of Proseccoooooo!

3.?Are there trends in dining out? What seems to be becoming a more popular choice for people who regularly dine out?

?African food is about to explode in the next couple of years, as with Asian and Latin food, it will become less generic, less Pan-African and will become more region and country specific.

4.?What are some changes that we expect to materialise sooner (next 1-3 years) and longer-term (4-7 years)

?Socially conscious dining, I believe, will continue to evolve, not just around the continued growth in interest in sustainable food, environmental impact and future food safety, but also how we can support social enterprise in an industry that will always need to develop people through vocational education, hopefully diners will take interest in this as well and will support those business that are making real efforts to provide opportunities to make people’s lives better.?

5.?How does the restaurant of the future look like? What are its key components (service, design, atmosphere)

Beautiful key visual anchors that touch and excite people’s emotions, warm & joyful service that restores all confidence in human nature, aural stimulation that feels like a being hugged by your Mum – get the ‘atmospherics’ right and everyone will return and remain longer without even knowing why…

6.?Customer service is a key part of the restaurant experience, but are we expecting to see more automation with decreased staff (less human presence?)

IT should always be an enabler and a support to a great customer experience. Using technology for speed, efficiency, improved response times, to reduce mundane tasks is brilliant, but I hope we never lose the human interaction that makes our industry so great, a ‘high-tech/high-touch’ approach is the balance we should aim for

7.?What will the menu of the future include (superfoods, bugs, something completely new?)

Good food!

8.?Experiential meal - will dining out become more of a full evening experience?

I think it always has been, but where the change is happening is the level of experience that is being sought out and expected, as we see immersive dining, competitive social dining, specialist food & dining halls, where great food and drink is at the core, really rising to prominence and rising to new heights

9.?What is likely to remain the same?

Craveable, beautiful food, joyful service & consistently delivered = happy customers/successful business!