Recently I took part in a conference event on the future of the dining experience. Or should I say “experience”? It felt like inverted commas were everywhere. It was all about “data capture” and “personalisation”. Us diners will trade gems of information for a meal that most closely matches our aspirations for it. Much of this was an extrapolation of what already happens. The request for information on allergies and dietary issues has become de rigueur. At best it saves people from going into anaphylactic shock over the grilled shrimp, which really can ruin dinner. At worst it’s a licence for picky eaters, trying to control the world around them through their dreary eating habits, just as they did when they were toddlers.
At the top end of the business, restaurant managers freely admit they already stalk their customers in what they believe is an utterly benign manner. If someone is about to drop a few hundred quid on dinner, isn’t a quick Google search the least you can expect? (Oh, the misery of constantly discovering that the only people who can afford to eat in your restaurant are grisly oligarchs with their hands in the till and blokes mourning the passing of the Presidents Club dinner on Twitter.)
Source : theguardian
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