Have you wondered why most employees opt to order out during lunchtime despite having a perfectly functioning corporate cafeteria? The most common response given by employees is a lack of variety in the menu, making them look for other options.
Employees get an array of options when ordering food from outside that expand their basket of choices and help overcome menu fatigue. They also get the freedom to modify the order as per their preference, making it much more desirable. Despite these challenges, corporate cafeterias can still be popularized, provided a few changes are made to the traditional way of serving food.
Read on to learn more about ways businesses could conquer menu fatigue at the workplace:
1. Adopting seasonal menus
Modifying the menu with changing seasons would spark interest among employees, as this not only gives them a chance to try out new things, relieving them from the same food, but allow chefs to experiment with new dishes using new ingredients.
This way, there is no damage done even if some dishes fail to match the set standards, as they would rotate the cuisine anyway. On the other hand, if the dishes turn out to be remarkable, employees will keep returning to taste the same. As seasonal menus are time-centric, they can easily popularize exclusive ingredients, making them the most sought-after.
2. Breaking the monotony “It's always great to switch things up in a while”, this concept can also be applied to food. Corporate cafeterias can break the food monotony by adding new twists to local tastes. Generating excitement by mixing up cuisines is a great way to build interest in cafeteria food.
Fusing dishes from different cultures help individuals branch out from their comfort zones and try dishes that further expand their taste palate. Mango Jamun and boondi cheesecake is a couple of examples of such fusion.
3. Setting up live counters
Setting up live pop-up counters in cafeterias, if not daily but once every week can help people personalize their food experience and it serves as a perfect way to break menu fatigue. This creates a buzz that would build enthusiasm for employees to stop by their corporate cafeterias and enjoy the food.
Pop-up counters are temporary and allow organizations to experiment with different joints on a contractual basis, giving employees a chance to enjoy the cuisines of different states. 4. Keeping up with changing food trends The past two years witnessed a remarkable change in our eating patterns and our preference for cuisines in general. Keeping up with the ever-shifting patterns of what people love to eat can be challenging but exploring new tastes and cuisines is a thrilling experience.
Today, veganism is slowly taking the centre stage and is considered one of the growing trends in the food industry alongside food based on organic farm produce and climate-conscious food focusing on sustainability as its key element. Corporate cafeterias, in the best interest of their employees, should adopt such trends by rotating their menus.
5. Establishing snack joints Taking snacking breaks is a growing phenomenon, practiced often by people of all ages in the workplace. Employees today view snacks as a product that recharges and gives them that quick break they require after working for several hours in their cubicles.
Stepping out for coffee or a quick bite at nearby restaurants is normalized, but this experience can also be achieved if companies provided snack bars that equip not only counters such as coffee or tea but tasty bites like samosas, bhajis, and so much more by experimenting with different cultural cuisines in their cafeterias.
6. Enabling employee engagements
Performing a survey among employees that clearly state the dishes most employees would prefer would give a better idea to chefs at the cafeteria. This could also help cafeterias know their best and worst dishes giving them an overall outlook on what needs to be changed. Engaging employees would help improve the employer-employee relationship that could lead to spontaneous collaborations achieved over a meal at the cafeteria.
We at SmartQ enable corporates to build cafeterias that deliver a seamless dining experience to employees while keeping pace with the ever-changing trends in this industry and ensuring employees do not encounter menu fatigue.
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