Futuristic Food Ordering| Recipes Articles

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Cooking may be as much a means of self-expression as any of the arts.

- Fannie Farmer

Futuristic Food Ordering

One of the reasons I love going out to eat is the experience of dining out. Yes, it's nice to have someone else cook for me, but I mostly love getting dressed up, having a variety of options of delicious foods, encountering new people and the overall atmosphere of restaurants. Though seasons and menu items change constantly, the familiarity of dining out stays the same.

But what if you could go to a restaurant and decide what to order by listening to a menu that talks? What if you could explore different types of wine on a device that will not only describe the price and taste, but also allow you to see professional ratings? Well, the thing is, you can. With the merging of electronics and the food industry, the experience of dining out is becoming less familiar for us all.

Apple's recent launch of the iPad triggered a shift in the restaurant industry, and some restaurants have even started handing out iPads instead of menus. Bone's Steakhouse in Atlanta was one of the first restaurants to pioneer this move. The iPads they distributed were filled with detailed information about their very large wine list of over 1,350 labels. According to a recent New York Times article, this interactive wine list was actually a great success, and wine purchases increased by almost 11 percent per person in the first two weeks.

Another technological advancement in the food industry is the introduction of talking menus. Menus That Talk is a company started by Susan Perry in 2007 that produces— that's right— talking menus. The menus are portable, user friendly and allow customers to browse menu items, experiencing them vocally as well as visually. Brief descriptions and pictures can be accessed for each item on the menu, and all you have to do is push a button to page your waiter.

Talking menus are especially beneficial for the visually impaired, enabling someone to listen to a menu rather than read it themselves. The menu even has multiple-language capabilities in case customers don't speak English very well. All in all, it's a whole new way for restaurants to "communicate" with guests.

iPod applications, Twitter feeds and electronic ordering guides are changing the way customers experience dining out. Zagat, a trusted and prestigious restaurant guide, even created an application for the iPhone and iPad. The idea of merging electronics with the food industry is so revolutionary it has already reached international levels. A restaurant in Sydney, Australia recently replaced all their print menus with iPads, and have no plans of looking back to the world of paper menus.

Ease, convenience, innovation and advancement are all results of this new trend, but the question on everyone's mind remains: what is going to happen in the future? Will iPads, talking menus and other technologies replace the need for waiters and waitresses altogether? In 50 years, will restaurants even have print menus? Will restaurant employees be a thing of the past? Who knows, maybe technology will someday find a way to cook for us too.