Eating out or dining out?

Our taste for the high life is probably another case of ‘blame it on the Baby Boomers, writes Ian Cole

‘THIS is beautiful darl! What do you call these things again?’ asks Darryl Kerrigan in the ‘Castle’.

‘Rissoles’, replied his wife, Sal.

‘Rissoles!’ responded Darryl. ‘Why would you want to eat in a restaurant when this keeps coming up night after night!’

So, this conversation leads to the question. Which generation began the trend of eating out? A few generations back, those living through the depression and World War II were forced by conditions of tight economic circumstances and rationing to be frugal and to make do with the food that was available. Even in the 1950s and 60s, many families from working class backgrounds could not consider the expense of eating out.

Then along came the Baby Boomers! We get the blame for a lot these days and so a look at Baby Boomer eating habits is necessary. The late 60s and early 70s saw the arrival of this new generation with a few dollars in their pockets after gaining employment. Some bought records, some bought trendy clothes, some bought cars, while some started to eat out. I soon got the message as a kid who didn’t go to a private school or who didn’t come from the big-end of town, that I should call it dining out, not eating out. Then again, until I went to uni, I also didn’t know what an entree was.

Time moved on. With improved economic times, more and more restaurants appeared where wine lists began to include Mateus Rose as well as Cold Duck and Porphyry Pearl. More and more pubs began to offer sit down meals and an increasing number of takeaway shops emerged to rival the corner fish and chip shops. I still have fond memories of a shilling’s chips in white paper and tearing the paper to get to the big ones at the top. However, back to the Boomers eating out. Some began to eat out at progressive dinners where they moved from premises to premises for each course. These began to be seen as less wise when .05 arrived. Stationary dinner parties often replaced them, where courses were brought to the one location. Simultaneously, eating at restaurants increased such that it was said that in the US, half of America started to eat out half the time.

So my financial advice to my children when they were heading off to travel was, ‘If you have to eat out, never eat at a place with tablecloths. They’re too expensive!’

Of course, with so many cooking shows on television today, the emphasis is on the food, not so much the company.

The old saying about eating was, it wasn’t what was on the table that was important, but who was on the chairs. These days people may be more likely to post photos on social media of what is on their plate when eating out (sorry- dining out), rather than photos of the company they are with.

Back again to the Boomers who have had their access to the choice of international food greatly increased during their lifetime. At times the food from other places has taken a while to be accepted. Even back in the 1960s, a story was told that circulated among Aussie travellers overseas about the Aussie who came across pizzas for the first time in a restaurant when in Rome. When asked by the waiter would he like his pizza cut into six slices or eight, he replied,

‘Oh, six slices. I couldn’t possibly eat eight!’