In the present day the restaurant and the food service industry has metamorphosed into such a sophisticated industry where every day some innovative and creative are happening. It's a fact that in the 21st century, and especially after Covid people have become more conscious in choosing any food and any food outlets. Modern technology has come into the picture to provide information and offer solution pertaining to the customers' preferences. This chapter is mainly looks into details mainly of these aspects: use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics in food service and precision cooking, the growth of different apps and influencers on social media/internet that tells customer what to eat and where to eat, and the restaurant and the food industry by force had to adopt certain technologies like contact less service and digital menu etc. for survival and sustainability during Covid. The objective is to present both the advantages as well the demerits of technology & come up with recommended guidelines which would help the customer to choose desired food and restaurant preferences.
Top1. Introduction
The concept of modern restaurants and traditional restaurants is different. Earlier people were not habituated to visiting any restaurant or food outlets. They were mostly limited in favour of having food at home as they did not have options to eat outside. Compare to today’s world people were not having the demand for dining antiquates or aristocracies. Local gatherings were limited; unless there were any social gatherings based on any celebration or occasions people mostly used to have food at home only. But today during any party or celebration people take help from any event manager or caterers who deliver sophisticated services to the guests. If we explore restaurants it would take us early 40s. They travelled around the countries to supply goods on local horses or curt and caravans. At that time people did not have any money for exchanging goods. It was only some medium of exchange of one material to another (Walker, 2021). Exploring foods were limited to the elite class people or the cash cows of society. People did not have a sufficient medium of communication to visit different places to try different foods. However, the situation changes during Raja-Maharajas and Vikings who started to develop their empire in different places. At that time people use to travel with their troops from one place to another mainly for hunting or to explore their Kingdom (Rawson & Shore, 2019). Road facilities, accommodation, and other recreation facilities were developed to facilitate the kings and their families and to provide them with basic facilities like processed food and beverages. In a few places, liquors were served to these elites. Transportation facilities like roadways and river waves also developed which eventually resolved the transportation issues. After the French Revolution food became one of the major commodities to earn money (Lundberg, 1989). During the 50s and 60s food business developed in a better way. Inns became one of the standard accommodations for the local public and visitors. These Inns were mainly located near the countryside where groups of travellers (Goody, 2018) used to visit and have shelter, food, and drinks in exchange for money. Inns were also limited to the elite class people (Lawrence & Ken, 1988) and among those who could expense more (Symons, 2013). After the 2nd world War air transport became cheaper which helped people to travel to different countries. At present every citizen in any country may visit any of the restaurants or hotels to try some new foods in exchange for money. Of course, there is a major number of people who are visiting restaurants or hotels daily or twice a week, but there are also many citizens who are visiting these places individually or with their families at least one day a month and can try any of the foods in exchange of limited amount. Nowadays even people are travelling around the countries in the world to explore different cuisine only because of the availability of multiple international flights and low airfare. Nowadays people are more familiar with visiting different restaurants starting including fine dining, specialty restaurants, QSR, pubs, nightclubs, bars, and many other food outlets where these facilities are available and offer sumptuous meals to their customers (Auty, 1992). At present people are also visiting these places not only to try the food and beverages but also to experience the level of service and ambiance of these places. The concept of visiting a different restaurant or hotel in recent times versus 30 years back was different because at that time people did not have facilities for internet connectivity, Smartphone, and GPS (Breffi & R, 2012). People nowadays have access to different media to choose their food according to their mood daily. People also select and purchase their food items according to their choices from different suppliers/vendors at their fingertips. The usage of the internet, social media, and Smartphone are at its peak and anybody can order any food or any seasonal fruits or vegetable at any particular time of the year (Chen, R, & Si, 2021). For example: if an orange is available during the time of winter in India he or she can also test the same fruit during the time of monsoon because of the facility of improvement for cold storage and packaging system in the food business (Lee, Van Dolen, & Kolk, 2013). Development of air transport facilities helping people to purchase any food within a short duration after ordering. Multiple food bloggers and different food sites nowadays are promoting different restaurants and their menus with the help of the internet daily (Chen, Hsieh, Chang, & Chen, 2015). This food blogging through the internet influences or forces the present generation to decide on food products or outlets. Technology has given the food business and the dine-out concept such a boom that people can decide on a venue for any event by using their Smartphones and the internet (Gupta, 2019). At present every citizen can visit any hotel or restaurant according to their choice or they can order food from the same restaurant with the help of any food delivery app (Cha & Seo, 2020).