Small dishes and half dishes, where have they all gone？ The reporter visited more than 20 hotels and found that it was rarely provided.

　　Disappearing Small Dishes Comic Book/Li Xiaojun

　　● With the implementation of the anti-food waste law, small portions and half portions of food were once popular with consumers, and many merchants also launched related dishes in due course. But nowadays, few restaurants set up small dishes and half dishes offline. The main reason is that the cost of time, manpower and material resources has risen and the unit price has become more expensive.

　　● Compared with offline catering, small dishes on the take-away platform are easier to find, but there are also many problems: some restaurants have fewer categories, that is, the types of small dishes provided are much less than those of conventional dishes, generally only six or seven; Some restaurants are not cost-effective, that is, the amount of small dishes is less, but the price is not much cheaper.

　　● It is suggested that businesses should integrate the prevention of food and beverage waste into business processes and employee assessment; The take-away platform can add an "anti-waste" score to the evaluation feedback, which not only urges merchants to fulfill their anti-waste obligations, but also reminds consumers to pay attention to saving. At the same time, in view of the operating pressure of small and medium-sized restaurants, the take-away platform can consider giving certain support to small and medium-sized restaurants that offer small dishes and half dishes, such as reducing commission rates and providing digital support.

　　□ Our reporter Zhao Li

　　□ Intern of this newspaper Hu Miao

　　"We don’t have a small dish here, and we have never set it up." "We used to have half a dish, but it didn’t work well." … …

　　A few days ago, the reporter of Rule of Law Daily came to Xidan Joy City in Xicheng District and Shuangqiao wanda plaza in Chaoyang District, and visited more than 20 restaurants, including well-known chain restaurants and specialty shops such as barbecue, hot pot and spring cakes. It was found that almost no restaurants set small dishes and half dishes.

　　Among them, four restaurants originally set up small dishes and half dishes, which were later cancelled. The only noodle restaurant that serves small dishes did not mark small dishes on the menu. It was only after the reporter asked that it could provide small dishes.

　　Once, with the implementation of the anti-food waste law, small dishes and half dishes were once popular with consumers, and many merchants also launched related dishes in due course. In March this year, the China Consumers Association, together with seven industry associations, societies and chambers of commerce, jointly launched an initiative, including actively promoting small dishes and half dishes.

　　However, the reporter’s investigation found that there are not many restaurants offering small dishes and half dishes. Many consumers from Beijing and Tianjin told reporters that whether going to a restaurant for dinner or ordering take-away, they felt that small portions and half portions of food were not as much as before.

　　People can’t help asking: where have the small dishes and half dishes gone?

　　It’s hard to find a small dish in a restaurant.

　　Either no or cancel.

　　"When I ordered takeout for a while, I felt that there were quite a lot of small dishes. Now there are obviously fewer businesses offering small dishes." Ms. Lin, who works near the Financial Street in Xicheng District, Beijing, said.

　　On the issue of small portions, among the 50 consumers interviewed randomly by reporters, nearly 40 consumers have the same feelings as Ms. Lin.

　　Ms. Wen, a citizen of Beijing, remembers that when she ordered food on the take-away platform last year, many restaurants provided small dishes for one person, the price was one third or more cheaper than the normal amount, but it was almost gone this year. "I don’t know why small dishes and half dishes disappeared."

　　Mr. Zhao, a Beijing citizen, often goes to a nearby Sichuan restaurant for dinner after playing ball games. The food in this restaurant is relatively large, and the dishes that the ball friends like to eat are different. They asked the boss to provide small dishes and half dishes. As a result, the boss shirked it on the grounds that the chef was too troublesome. "Every time we get together, there will be a lot of dishes left, which is too wasteful."

　　Many people have had the experience of being rejected after asking for a small portion of food. Xiao Han, who went to college in Beijing, met a friend for dinner at a northeast restaurant near Wangfujing some time ago. Seeing that other customers ordered a large amount of food, Xiao Han was worried about waste, so he asked the waiter if he had a small dish and whether he could cook it. The other party replied that he could not. "We had to order food normally, but we didn’t finish it, and there was a lot left."

　　In order to further understand the setting of small dishes in the hotel, the reporter recently came to Xidan Joy City in Xicheng District, Beijing. At 7 o’clock in the evening, there were long queues at the gates of many restaurants. The reporter randomly asked more than 10 restaurants whether they provided small dishes. Only one noodle restaurant replied that "large and small dishes are not indicated on the menu, but small dishes can be provided according to customers’ requirements". The rest of the restaurants all said that "only normal dishes are available, and no small dishes are set".

　　In a pasta shop that specializes in six kinds of materials, such as fat sausage, fried belly, squid and shrimp sauce, the reporter noticed that there are only two choices on the menu, normal portion and increased portion after the price increase. In the face of the reporter’s question "If you can’t finish the normal portion, can you order a small portion?", the waiter of the store replied that "we are all normal portions here, and there is no small portion."

　　In wanda plaza, Shuangqiao, Chaoyang District, Beijing, the setting of small dishes is almost the same. The reporter still interviewed more than 10 restaurants at random, and the other party unanimously said that "small dishes are not provided", some replied "I never thought about setting it", and some said that "it was set before, but it was cancelled if the effect was not good".

　　The reporter also noticed a phenomenon: even if the same restaurant provides small dishes on the take-away platform, there is no option for small dishes if you go to the restaurant.

　　Ms. Fan, who works in Beijing, has encountered this problem. It is precisely because she ordered a small dish to take out in a restaurant. Once she happened to pass by this store, she wanted to order a small dish for dinner. As a result, there was no choice between a small dish and a half dish when ordering.

　　"I’m eating alone in a restaurant now. If I want to mix vegetarian and vegetarian dishes, I can only eat fast food like Lamian Noodles, because ordinary restaurants can only order normal food, and there will inevitably be a lot left." Ms. Fan said that some time ago, she went to a restaurant and ordered a vegetarian meal. As a result, the amount of food was super large. Finally, she had to pack it and ate leftovers for two days.

　　There is no standard for quantitative pricing.

　　Customers think it is not cost-effective

　　Although restaurants that don’t offer small dishes are annoying to consumers, some restaurants that offer small dishes are not happy.

　　The reporter’s investigation found that compared with offline catering, small dishes on the take-away platform are easier to find, but there are also many problems: some restaurants have fewer categories, that is, the types of small dishes provided are much less than those of conventional dishes, generally only six or seven, and only one or two are rare; Some restaurants are not cost-effective, that is, the amount of small dishes is less, but the price is not much cheaper.

　　Some interviewees opened a take-away platform for reporters to see that the price of a small portion of hot and sour potato chips in a certain store is 15 yuan, while the price of a normal portion is 18 yuan, only 3 yuan. "The weight is reduced by half, but the price is only reduced by a little, which is too unreasonable."

　　Xiao Yang, a graduate student in Beijing, also noticed this problem. She calculated an account: some small dishes and half dishes are only one-third of the large dishes, but the price is half of the large dishes; Some small dishes with a weight of 1 person are almost two-thirds of the normal vegetable price, or even less. "Many restaurants only mark ‘ 1 person ’ There is no specific gram, so it is only cheaper for businesses, and it is very difficult for consumers to benefit. "

　　The reporter saw on a take-away platform that on the take-away menu of a restaurant, kung pao chicken was priced at 38 yuan /1 box, and small portions were priced at 26 yuan /1 person. The specific weight of 1 box and 1 person was not marked. On the take-away menu of another restaurant, the small portion and the normal amount of fish-flavored shredded pork are 26 yuan and 39 yuan respectively, and their portions are all marked as "1 box". There is also a restaurant’s take-away fried chicken. The small portion is different from the normal amount in 10 yuan, and the weight is marked as "about 350g".

　　The reporter then compared the large portions and small portions of several dishes on the take-away platform, and found that some small portions have only one-third of the Caicai amount of large portions, and the price is half or even more than that of large portions.

　　Although some merchants provide small dishes and half dishes, they have set delivery thresholds, such as clearly marking "No delivery for a single dish" or "The price of a small dish cannot meet the delivery standard". "We can only order multiple small dishes with full discounts and coupons, and we have to use multiple packaging boxes. In this way, the price is much higher and it causes a lot of waste." Xiao Yang said.

　　The reporter noticed that some consumers spit on the take-away platform that merchants did not indicate the specifications and weight of small dishes, which made it difficult for them to estimate the actual weight of dishes. Sometimes they clearly ordered small dishes and received too many dishes, which eventually led to waste. Some consumers say that the price of small dishes is almost the same as that of large dishes. Instead of letting merchants take advantage, it is better to order large dishes.

　　Popularize the concept of nutritional balance

　　Subsidy support should be in place

　　Promoting small portions and half portions of dishes is a concrete starting point of "CD Action". In recent years, after active publicity and guidance, this good idea of practicing economy once became the "new standard" of the catering industry.

　　The Insight Report on Small Dishes in 2022 released by a platform at the end of last year showed that the number of users searching for "small dishes" on the platform exceeded 130,000 times per day. As of September 2022, the sales volume of small dishes increased by 114.5% compared with the same period in 2020.

　　Seeing that the market is getting hot, why don’t many businesses follow the trend? Why do many consumers feel that there are fewer businesses offering small dishes?

　　Some merchants told reporters that because the cooking methods and processes of small dishes are the same as those of large dishes, the workload of chefs has increased, and there are more tableware to be washed, and the cost of time, manpower and material resources has risen, so the unit price is more expensive.

　　"In the Chinese food industry, dishes have to go through a complicated processing process, and the labor cost of each dish will increase accordingly. Cooking small dishes will consume the same labor cost as cooking large dishes, but the profit is much lower, and I dare not raise prices at will, so I simply don’t cook small dishes." Mr. Liu, who runs a small and medium-sized hotel in Beijing, said.

　　There are also hotel operators who have calculated such an account for reporters: for two people to eat, the table area usually selected is four people, and one course is calculated according to five minutes. In the past, the normal weight only needed to order two courses, and the kitchen took 10 minutes. Now, it takes 15 to 20 minutes for customers to order three or four small dishes. As the workload of the stove and chef increases, the serving time will slow down, the time for customers to occupy the table will become longer, the turnover rate will decrease, and the profit will decline.

　　The interviewed hotel operators pointed out that if they can’t find a balance between business model and avoiding waste, the introduction of small dishes and half dishes will lead to higher hotel costs, which is the fundamental reason why they are reluctant to provide small dishes and half dishes.

　　Cheng Shengkui, a researcher at the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chairman of the Chinese Society of Natural Resources, found that different regions with different levels of economic development have different demands for small dishes. "Consumers in economically developed cities generally feel that the amount of food in hotels is too large, hoping to introduce small dishes. Consumers who often engage in manual labor may ask for a larger amount of food. "

　　Therefore, Cheng Shengkui suggested that low-end restaurants can continue to ensure the weight of food, and middle-and high-end restaurants can launch more small dishes to meet the actual needs of customers.

　　Li Guoxiang, a researcher at the Institute of Rural Development of China Academy of Social Sciences, analyzed that whether a restaurant can launch a small portion of dishes is mainly considered from the perspective of profit. In addition to small portions, catering enterprises in the future can also provide nutritious meals for customers from the perspective of nutrition. Whether online or offline, relevant departments should introduce policies to encourage and guide businesses to launch small dishes.

　　"The obstacles to promoting small dishes and nutritious meals are mainly the eating habits and social identity of the masses, and businesses and consumers must make certain changes. First of all, the media should popularize the concept of balanced diet and nutrition to consumers. After the change of consumers’ concept, catering enterprises will naturally comply with customers’ requirements to provide dishes with balanced nutrition ratio. At the same time, relevant departments should also give certain subsidies to hotels that provide small dishes. " Li Guoxiang said.

　　Zheng Fengtian, a professor at Renmin University of China, also believes that it is completely possible to indicate the specifications and calories of meals. From the health point of view, everyone needs to consume a certain amount of calories and protein every day. If the food is clearly marked, consumers can calculate it by themselves when buying, reducing waste and developing scientific and healthy eating habits.

　　"The Anti-Food Waste Law stipulates that catering service operators should make food according to the standard specifications, reasonably determine the quantity and weight, provide small meals and other different specifications, and must not induce or mislead consumers to order too much. Many catering businesses should take this regulation as a benchmark and take the initiative to undertake the main obligation to stop catering waste, so as to ensure the sustainable and healthy development of the entire catering industry on the basis of strict economy. At the same time, in view of the operating pressure of small and medium-sized restaurants, the takeaway platform may consider giving certain support to small and medium-sized restaurants that offer small dishes and half dishes, such as reducing commission rates and providing digital support. " Liu Junhai, a professor at Renmin University of China, said.

　　The experts interviewed agreed that the core meaning of promoting small portions of food is to stop food waste, which requires the majority of catering businesses and consumers to put the concept and actions of "practicing economy and opposing waste" in place. It is suggested that businesses should integrate stopping food and beverage waste into business processes and employee assessment; The take-away platform can add an "anti-waste" score to the evaluation feedback, which not only urges merchants to fulfill their anti-waste obligations, but also reminds consumers to pay attention to saving. At the same time, consumers also need to jointly safeguard the consumption culture atmosphere of "wasting shame and saving pride" and promote civilized consumption in the whole society.