The catering industry is suffering as businesses are reducing the scope of their annual banquets or simply deciding not to hold the events this year since the economy is doing so poorly. Some chefs, however, are insisting that quality not be affected and are refusing to lower prices to compete in the market, while some are creating new dishes to attract more customers and working hard to make it through these tough times.
Chi Jung-chun, a chef with Tainan’s Formosa Chefs Association, says that catering orders from various companies usually come pouring in around the time annual banquets are held, typically bringing in anywhere from 400 to 500 tables for him. This year, however, orders for not even half that many tables are being made, evidence of an economic downturn.
Chi says that a lot of companies have canceled their annual parties due to poor sales and reduced profits, handing out red envelopes filled with cash to employees instead. Although a few companies are actually seeing profits, they feel that holding an annual banquet would be too lavish and contentious in these tough times as the economy is in a slump, so they are saving money by not holding the events and giving out cash to employees instead — a major blow to the catering industry.
Photo: Wu Chun-fong, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者吳俊鋒
Chen Ya-chia, another chef with Tainan’s Formosa Chefs Association, says that since many companies are making less money yet would still like to hold annual banquets while also saving money at the same time, catering companies are facing the dilemma of either slashing prices to compete or choosing to continue offering quality catering.
In order to maintain the normal amount of catering orders, Lu Cheng-chih, a chef who won first prize at the World Golden Chef Competition, has teamed up with people working in other fields to enhance the performance arts aspect of his catering events, cooking up something fresh and lively for his customers. He is also giving performances while the food is being served and displays the catching of seafood during the events, highlighting the freshness of the ingredients used and improving the overall presentation of catering services, which has successfully attracted more customers and allowed his catering business not to be affected by the downturn.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
經濟差,景氣壞,廠商辦年終尾牙有的縮水、甚至停辦,外燴業者叫苦,但仍有主廚堅持品質,不願削價競爭,也有總舖師推出新菜色,爭取客源,努力捱過景氣寒冬。
台南市福爾摩沙廚藝協會的總舖師机榮俊說,以往尾牙期間,各公司行號的外燴訂單接踵而至,累計都有四、五百桌,今年卻一半還不到,顯見景氣之差。
机榮俊說,很多公司因業績衰退而取消尾牙,有的盈餘減少,僅發紅包應景,少數廠商雖然賺錢,但顧及景氣不佳的社會氛圍,擔心熱鬧辦桌太高調,引來炫富之議,將活動經費折算現金分給員工,導致外燴訂單大受衝擊。
協會另位總舖師陳亞家說,許多公司因獲利減少,想辦桌吃尾牙,卻希望壓低經費,若削價競爭,將無法兼顧餐宴,進退兩難。
在世界金廚爭霸賽獲得首獎的總舖師盧正治為了穩住尾牙業績,除與異業結盟,加強辦桌活動的綜藝表演,炒熱氣氛,更推出上菜秀,展示現撈的水產食材,凸顯料理的新鮮度,提升外燴的質感,成功吸客,今年尾牙業績影響不大。
(自由時報記者吳俊鋒)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
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