‘WE’RE DOING WELL, BUT DINING OUT WILL BE MORE EXPENSIVE’
THEY say if you can’t stand they heat then get out of the kitchen. But not even a pandemic could stop one of Ireland’s most innovative chefs from cooking up his fine fare.
However, Kevin Arundel – of The Chophouse in Dublin 4 – has warned that diners could be in for increased bills as restaurants will have to offset the cost of fewer customers as well as the implementation of safety measures.
Seating capacity won’t be too much of a problem for the larger venues like his but smaller restaurants will suffer, he said.
The chef, who has been working in the restaurant business since he was 15, has seen good times and bad, and when Covid-19 struck, he made some alterations to keep the show on the road.
The head chef transformed his award-winning bistro to offer a fine-dining takeaway menu which has become so popular that it is now available post-lockdown.
Just 72 hours after lockdown restrictions were first announced in March, the Kinsale native hatched the plan to keep his suppliers, staff and customers happy.
Offering cook-from-home kits and a takeaway menu, the finedining establishment has allowed customers to eat tasty high-end dishes such as hake and chips or crab linguine from the comfort and safety of their own home.
‘We created this thing called Untouchable,’ Mr Arundel told the Irish Daily Mail, on the workings of the new takeaway system. ‘It was a bit of a learning curve for the customers, but they really appreciate that they were getting their crab linguine cooked like
the restaurant, just not being served on a plate. It’s been very strong, and it has stayed at that level the whole way through.’
As the restaurant reopened this Monday, The Chophouse will be continuing its takeaway and cook-from-home services due to the level of its success. And Mr
Arundel says diners who do return are being given the safest, touchfree experience.
‘We’re very lucky, we’ve got two entrances and two exits,’ Mr Arundel said. ‘When a customer enters The Chophouse, they will be offered hand sanitiser and brought to a table. When they sit down, they’re offered a menu, or they can scan a QR code which brings them straight to the menu on their smartphone, and they can read it at their leisure at their table with their family or friends, not handling anything. Place the order, again, very safely and the bill sign is contactless, just tap, and leave by the exit door, which will be otherwise locked.
‘Our upstairs function room is now part of the restaurant. It was a function room, now it’s going to be a proper sit-down restaurant. It’s been redone, it’s already painted, redesigned with 30 seats upstairs.’
Mr Arundel went on to explain what he believes the hospitality sector will struggle with.
‘Space, tight doorways, and no outside areas. We have a bit of an outside area which is going to be really popular now and really safe. Anyone who hasn’t got that, it’s going to be very difficult,’ he said.
Looking to the future of Irish dining, the chef predicts ‘it’s going to get a bit more expensive’. ‘It’s going to be less visits than there were before. Staffing levels are going to be very, very tricky for all of us,’ he added.
‘Staffing levels are going to be tricky’