Restaurants that give you more than just a receipt

Paying the bill in the restaurant doesn’t have to be a boring obligation but can be a creative discovery.

So is there anything that can make paying the bill at a restaurant more enjoyable or even fun? Yes, there is and I am not necessarily talking about financial bonuses such as discounts or meal deals but I am talking about creative ways of presenting a receipt to the customers, like the one below from Muriel's Kitchen in South Kensington, London. It goes together with the style of the place and its menu which relates to traditional recipes of family's granny.




Receipt in a pink bucket from Muriel's Kitchen in South Kensington, London

Any restaurant can give you just a bill in a black leather pouch or cover and pass an ordinary message to you and other customers: “could you just please pay for the meal”. But not any and every place can make an effort and present the receipt in a different way. I think that those that do, rather say to their customers “we really enjoyed your visit today and we’re glad you chose us and not our competition; we know that paying the bill is not most interesting part of it, so we want to make it a bit nicer by bringing the bill in a bit different way; we hope you enjoy it and will came back to us again and again”. Doesn’t it sound better?
Even if it’s only marketing trick which is supposed to encourage us, the customers, to come again and spend some more money, I prefer to spend more money in a place that “likes me” than in a place which doesn’t even bother to think outside the box.

On my various visits to restaurants in London and beyond I came across different ways of bringing the receipts to the customers and I am not ashamed to give you the names of the restaurants, because if they’re doing something creative and different, why not.

I especially like the one I saw in Dijon, France. They not only put receipt in a candy bag but add a candy for each guest. Just to make paying a bit sweeter (or less bitter).

 




Receipt in a candy bag from L'Epicerie et Cie in Dijon, France

Sometimes, you don't have to think a lot to come up with something interesting, like those who run Buttery Cafe in Burgh House in London. They're giving a receipt in a shot size glass. So simple, yet different than usual.

But everything started in Ask Italian branch in Oxford. When I saw they way the give the receipts to their customer (see below) something clicked in my mind and I thought that I would start collecting them. I found this one interesting, because (again) it fits in with the idea of the restaurant (cork from wine and the shape of pizza) and is simple but functional - it displays the name of the restaurant and has space for the money/card.

Receipt in a cork from Ask Italian, branch in Oxford

After the first one, I had to wait awhile to find another creative example but it was worthy waiting. In the Restaurant de Paul in Covent Garden, London I've got this gem. At the end of an amazing meal comes another surprise and that is the receipt hidden in a book. I found it discrete and stylish. Even if the waiter or waitress bring the receipt you may not notice it, because it is done in such a gentle way. What's more, it encourages you to spend more time in the restaurant, reading, if you know French, of course.

One of my favourite - receipt in a French book in Le Restaurant de Paul

I had a lot of fun searching for those different ways of bringing a receipt to the customers in restaurants and I'll keep searching and telling you not only where you can get a tasty meal but also, where you can enjoy being in a creative environment with people who, even tough they want your money, can say it in a very kind or funny way.

Food for thoughts

Food of the Future - simple dinner with inverted colours

I’ve just put fall style muffins with pear, banana and dried fruits in the oven. Sounds sophisticated but in reality it is simple to make them. I took flour, sugar, eggs, oil, a bit of sugar and pinch of salt and mixed everything together. At the end I added “the additions” – some goodies I had in the cupboard and fridge which seemed to make sense together. I love part of the BBC basic muffins recipe I use which says “add any extra ingredients now”. It means whatever you like; whatever is in your cupboard, whatever seems edible, whatever...This is where the fun part begins. Many recipes sounds like that – add a bit of this and a bit of that and mix it altogether. Some needs more patience, more work, more muscles but all of them start from scratches. Single ingredients don’t mean anything on their own. Some have no flavour or even shape but once you mix them they become different beings: sauces, cakes, breads etc. Something tasteful comes out nothing. Isn’t food creative? Doesn’t it bring out the best parts of our creativity? Doesn’t it release the energy?

I am especially amazed at the physics of bread – it is flour, water, salt and yeast what make such a nourishing and wonderful beginning of perfect breakfast. Elena Mora, an Italian stylist and set designer, has appreciated the value of ingredients in her project “Ricettario. A balanced diet”. She used ingredients representing different dishes to create artistic composition. Picture taken by photographer Karsten Wegener can be viewed on her website and here are some examples.

Pizza margherita; Styling: Elena Mora
Photographer: Karsten Wegener

Salmon; Styling: Elena Mora
Photographer: Karsten Wegener

She shows unusual approach to food – not as a dish but as single things creating something different. In her project food is art and it reminds me about Dutch still life paintings back from 16th and 17th centuries, though of course style is different. Food has been inspiring people for ages.

Pieter Claesz (1597/1598-1660) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

And there is much more to do with it, because food is an amazing material to experiment with. It is so liberal and democratic. Just have a look at the website of The Experimental Food Society, founded in 2010 by Alex Perrin. You can find “jellymongers, sonic food artists, cake sculptors, gastronomic tailors, culinary cabaret troupes and one-of-a-kind dining conceptualists” among its members. Isn’t it amazing what people can and want to do with a food? Just today I came across a website of Alexandre Dubosc, creative director experimenting with food. His latest creation “The Caketrope of Burton’s Team” also start with ingredients which create a monstrous cake.

Another video “Food about You” shows imaginary process of cake production.

Everyone can make something with food – you don’t always need sophisticated ingredients or machinery. Sometime knife and a fruit or two is enough to make an awesome composition. I can see examples of such activities every day on Creative Ideas. You can experiment at home, outside during the BBQ season or go for cooking course while exploring new countries and their culinary history. There is always a story behind the food. You can see it on the example of vintage menus featured at Cool Culinaria. One look at some of them and you travel back to the time they were created. To celebrate food.

I cook to make every day different. It wouldn’t be true if I say that I and my husband never eat the same would but I am trying to cook something new almost every day. These may not be spectacular dishes but something usual or simple with little change every time. This is why, when I was recently asked when I cooked a new dish I said the day before. And I saw a surprise in the eyes of the person who asked when I said it was a vegetable soup from Green Kitchen Stories – but it was a soup I have never cooked before. It was a new dish. It added necessary flavour to our day, a sense of discovery and exploration. We’ve shared an experience with those who created the recipe and moved forward in our every day culinary journey. “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4) is so true but bread is yummy food for thoughts.  - JS-F