The Real Reason Some Restaurants Only Have 3 Dessert Options, According To Wolfgang Puck
Ever dine at a restaurant, only to be underwhelmed by their limited dessert menu? In a video for Wired (posted on YouTube), renowned celebrity chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck said there's no need to be disappointed, because a small dessert menu is actually a good sign. The fewer the options, the more attention the chefs can devote to each dish.
Considering he has a number of Michelin star restaurants all over the world, Puck is clearly an expert on how to curate a menu that impresses. A menu with a ton of different options isn't his style, nor is it ideal in the world of fine dining. "It's not [about] quantity, it's about quality," he explained for Wired. If a restaurant only has three dessert options, that increases the possibility that whatever comes out of the kitchen is going to be a five-star dish made with the freshest ingredients.
Chefs like Puck care more about how the food looks and tastes, not how big their menu is. If a restaurant has a particularly large menu, Business Insider explains this is an indicator that the quality of food isn't their number one priority.
Less is more when it comes to a dessert menu
For restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory, which famously serves 85 different chicken dishes in addition to actual cheesecake, Business Insider says don't bet on being blown away by the food, because a large menu is designed to deceive. A large menu, contrary to popular belief, doesn't mean a big kitchen with a huge staff of master chefs who are skilled enough to prepare white chocolate raspberry cheesecake one minute and "authentic" Mexican, Thai, and Chinese cuisine in the next. More options simply mean more opportunity to generate business.
Puck, however, believes that customers are far more satisfied with a limited choice of food that's guaranteed to be high quality. A menu of 30 different cheesecakes might sound enticing, but if they're all sub-par, Puck says, what's the point? "I like lemon, I like a great cheesecake, and a chocolate soufflé," he related to Wired. "If you give me these three desserts, I come to your house." As it seems, Puck would rather have a good homemade cheesecake over a mass-produced one from The Cheesecake Factory.