Page 13 - foodservice - June 2018

INSIDER
13
GOLDEN OLDIES:
USE THEM OR LOSE THEM
HOW WELL DO OUR RESTAURANTS CATER FOR OUR AGING POPULATION? JILL DUPLEIX SHINES A LIGHT ON WHAT WE CAN DO TO LOOK AFTER THIS INCREASINGLY DISENFRANCHISED GROUP OF DINERS BETTER. ALTERNATIVELY, SHE HAS A FEW HANDY HINTS ON HOW TO GET RID OF THEM, IF THAT’S WHAT YOU’D PREFER.
INSIDER
My mum loves going out to restaurants. She’ll jump in the car and tootle off for
lunch at the drop of a hat. Living on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, she has no shortage of choices, and is a demon for anything new. She’s a regular at the Saturday morning 'coffee club' in nearby Point Lonsdale (long macchiato, thanks), loves picking the venues
alone. The so-called ‘grey wave’ (she prefers the term silver), is getting bigger, and although their individual spends might
be less than mid-career, high- income earners, their total spend is growing ever more significant. It’s because they’ve eaten well for the past 40 years, and they’re not going to change now.
Think of your own lifestyle
– are you going to suddenly give up the pleasures of dining out on some magical nought birthday in the future? No way.
But look, if you can’t be bothered feeding The Olds, it’s easy. Just turn the music up and the lights down. Refuse to take reservations. Replace the chairs with backless stools. Suggest newcomers wait at the bar for an hour before being shown to their table (preferably standing up, they hate that). Cut back on wines by the glass, and keep them to a 125 millilitre pour.
Tick all those boxes, and I guarantee the oldies will soon realise they’re not welcome (they’re old, not stupid). They
won’t bring their family, tell their friends, or book a function at Christmas.
It’s understandable that young chefs would rather cook for their mates and peer group than a group as old as their grandparents. And you can sympathise with restaurateurs who can usually whisk a group to its table within 90 seconds, when they know it will take
a good ten minutes to help oldies to their table, settle them in and take care of walkers, wheelchairs and canes.
But it’s called hospitality, right? And so much of good hospitality comes from empathy and compassion. Good cafes, bars and restaurants look after everyone equally, no matter their colour, gender, race, income or age. Especially when times are a bit tough, and every customer counts. So when it comes to that sizeable segment of oldies who still dine out, get great pleasure from it, and are prepared to pay for it: use ’em,
I say, or lose ’em.
The so-called ‘grey wave’... is getting bigger, and although their individual spends might be less than mid-career, high-income earners, their total spend is growing ever more significant. It’s because they’ve eaten well for the past 40 years, and they’re not going to change now.
Jill Dupleix is a food writer, editor, cookbook author, restaurant critic and co-Director of Australia's Top Restaurants.
for the ‘birthday club’ lunches
of her friends, and this year, joined the Barwon Food & Wine Society so she could attend their very serious wine dinners. Chef Aaron Turner of two-hatted
Igni in Geelong christened her “my first regular”, at his first restaurant, Loam.
Not bad, considering she turns 90 this year.
And that’s the thing. She’s not
JILL
DUPLEIX
JILL
DUPLEIX