Portion sizes remain a hot topic in the foodservice industry. For quick-serve restaurants, the trouble comes from accusations that larger portion sizes are at the heart of the nation's obesity epidemic. In other areas of the industry, the small plate craze continues to bring in customers.
There are a couple of issues to address around portion sized from the perspective of the restaurants. Some customers want smaller portions while others have no interest in seeing a scaling back of their servings. This leaves a narrow tightrope to walk when developing a menu.
QSR Magazine recently fired up a story addressing the issue from the quick-serve side of the equation. It points out that variations in regional attitudes could hamper a national chain's attempt to roll out changes or cater to a single portion philosophy.
The success of the small plate movement, however, may not be fueled by the desire for customers to take in less calories. In many cases the opposite can happen. Small plates at lower-than-full-entree prices generally leads to ordering and sharing of multiple dishes to the degree that each diner is taking in more food that they realize. What they appreciate is getting to sample more than one dish during the meal.Another approach has been to leverage the Delboeuf illusion, and scale down the size of the plate itself relative to the portion. Studies have shown that a small portion on a large plate can leads some to believe they are not eating as much, while the same portion on a smaller plate creates more satisfied diners. One interesting study in particular measured the impact of self-serve portions when varying the size of the scoop and the bowl.
The bottom line is that the topic of portion control is one worth serious examination by restaurants so as to provide meal preparation and presentation strategy that best suits the customers while being an extension of the dining experience.
