In the mouths of some gourmets, one of the important criteria for evaluating the quality of a dish is "pot gas".

This kind of inexplicable feeling now has a new definition among some consumers - "cooked dishes", that is, restaurants do not need pre-made dishes.

This kind of dishes that can be eaten after tearing off the package and reheating sinks from the B side to the C side, and some consumers find that the dishes they spend a lot of money in the restaurant can appear in the freezer of the supermarket in another environment. one third of the cost.

A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily found that as of now, no restaurant has taken the initiative to inform consumers about the use of pre-made dishes before eating.

　　Dine-in consumers

　　The time-consuming and laborious "big dish" may be a pre-made dish, many people don't know it

　　A reporter from the Beiqing Daily observed in a chain restaurant on July 30 that after placing an order for some dishes in the restaurant, the chef would take out the pasta and meat from the freezer where the finished product can be seen at a glance. Grilled on a plate, topped with a side dish or drizzled with condiments and served on a plate.

　　Due to the bright kitchen and bright stove in the restaurant, these operations can be seen by consumers.

However, when a reporter from Beiqing Daily asked the diners whether they approved the use of pre-made dishes in restaurants, many consumers expressed disgust, and many of them did not realize that they were eating processed pre-made dishes.

　　Regarding the views on the use of pre-made dishes in restaurants, Beiqing Daily reporters also randomly interviewed 50 consumers.

Among them, nearly 40% of them clearly know that the restaurants they have consumed use pre-made dishes, but among the less than 20 people, less than 5 people know that Chinese-style dinner brands use pre-made dishes.

　　In the selection of which dishes cannot be "pre-prepared", except for 2 of the 50 respondents who chose "all possible", the rest of the respondents chose "Dongpo Pork", "Spicy Chicken" "Big dishes" such as "Baked Fish with Sichuan Pepper", "Buddha Jumps over the Wall" and "Mao Xuewang".

But the above dishes are all pre-made dishes from well-known brands on sale.

And this result exceeded many people's expectations.

"I can understand such a pre-made dish if the quick-frozen buns are reheated at the store, but why are the time-consuming and laborious 'big dishes' and stir-fried dishes also pre-made dishes?" a respondent said.

　　Ask about the restaurant

　　Whether or not restaurants use pre-cooked dishes are mostly vague

　　During the visit, a reporter from Beiqing Daily found that many restaurants are reluctant to tell consumers about their use of pre-made dishes, especially some restaurants with high unit prices.

　　When a reporter from Beiqing Daily consulted a waiter in a well-known Jiangsu-Zhejiang-style chain restaurant whether the dishes ordered by the waiter had pre-made dishes, the answer they got was "all freshly made".

However, when the person in charge of the restaurant was called to inquire about the poor taste of a certain steamed product, the other party said that the dish with poor taste was a pre-made dish, and the above problem may have been caused by the lack of time when defrosting.

　　In another mid-to-high-end Chinese restaurant with an average unit price of more than 200 yuan, the waiter did not respond positively to the Beiqing Daily reporter's inquiry about whether there were pre-made dishes.

However, a dish said to take half an hour to prepare was on the table 5 minutes after ordering.

　　Among the nearly 40 chain Chinese dinners, Chinese bistros and Internet celebrity Chinese restaurants visited by Beiqing Daily reporters in the past week, only 5 waiters said that some dishes in the restaurants used pre-made dishes, and the rest did not directly answer this question. question.

Interestingly, some restaurants that have not responded positively are still selling gift boxes of pre-made dishes launched by their own homes.

　　an expert

　　It is estimated that China's prefabricated vegetable industry is expected to reach one trillion yuan in the next 3 to 5 years

　　A reporter from Beiqing Daily learned on July 31 that pre-made dishes have become the hottest topic in the food industry this year.

According to institutional analysis, the scale of China's prefabricated vegetable market will exceed 300 billion yuan in 2021, and the growth rate of the prefabricated vegetable industry is expected to be around 20% to 30% from 2022 to 2026. In the next 3 to 5 years, the development of China's prefabricated vegetable industry is expected to become The next trillion yuan catering market.

　　This huge market, the B-side, that is, commercial customers, accounts for about 80%.

There are also Chinese restaurants.

Some companies have publicly stated that 95% of their dishes are prefabricated.

　　Some people in the catering industry said that there are very few Chinese restaurants that do not use pre-made dishes at all, especially those in shopping malls and shopping centers.

To put it simply, most restaurants use pre-made dishes such as desserts and Chinese snacks that are not restaurant specialties, cold dishes with relatively complicated craftsmanship, and staple food such as buns, dumplings, and noodle soups.

Not only that, some restaurants also choose pre-made dishes for some of their hot dishes.

　　"Pre-made dishes can solve many problems in restaurants, such as the speed of meal delivery, the shortage of back kitchen staff, the uniform taste of chain restaurants, etc. There are also some restaurants that are forced to do so, for example, the commercial body where they are located prohibits open fire or has special fire protection requirements for back kitchens. Wait." The catering industry source said.

　　In an interview with a reporter from Beiqing Daily, people in the prefabricated food industry also emphasized that prefabricated dishes are different from "cooking bags" and are a trend of standardization and convenience in Chinese food.

In fact, pre-cooked dishes are roughly divided into finished pre-cooked dishes that only need to be heated, and semi-finished pre-cooked dishes that need to be cooked.

Some time-consuming and labor-intensive dishes are more often made by the "central kitchen" of the enterprise as pre-made dishes and appear in the back kitchen of the restaurant.

　　"Many chain restaurants use products from their own central kitchens for food safety, waste reduction and uniform taste. Of course, there are also labor savings considerations. Some are joint research and development between catering brands and some big suppliers. There are many suppliers. Listed companies, the quality of some of their pre-made dishes is not even inferior to that of restaurants that are famous for their similar dishes." The industry insider said that with the application of pre-made dishes, there are more time-consuming and labor-intensive dishes, and they are sold at more favorable prices. The price went into the restaurant.

　　Suggest

　　Lawyer: An advance notification system for pre-made dishes should be established to protect consumers' right to know

　　Although some consumers think that as long as it is safe and fast, it is acceptable for restaurants to use pre-made dishes, after all, they enjoy relative convenience.

However, there are still consumers who express that they do not understand the use of pre-made dishes in Chinese restaurants.

"Kung Pao chicken in fast food is 18 yuan, and big restaurant is 58 yuan. If they are all pre-made dishes that are only heated, what do I want to eat in a big restaurant? Picture it waiting in line? Picture it hot food fast?"

　　The troubles that pre-made dishes bring to consumers are far more than that.

Including the problem that the taste of different catering brands is similar due to the use of the same supplier; the problem of the difficulty in tracing the source of raw materials for pre-made dishes; whether the quick-frozen pre-made dishes with high cold chain requirements are strictly cold chain, and then bring food safety problems; Even going to a restaurant to eat without "enjoying" the chef's craftsmanship is not a question of cheating consumers, etc.

　　What is clear is that at the current level of the pre-cooked dish industry, if the restaurant does not inform in advance, it is difficult for consumers to judge whether the dish is cooked on the spot or heated with pre-cooked dishes.

　　In this regard, some lawyers said that the "Consumer Rights Protection Law" stipulates that consumers have the right to know the real situation of goods and services.

If consumers do not want to eat pre-made dishes at first, because the operator did not inform them and eat them without their knowledge, it actually violates the true wishes of consumers and is suspected of infringing on consumers' right to know and right to choose.

However, if this is used to defend their rights, consumers themselves also have difficulties in proving their rights.

Lawyer Hu Gang said that an advance notification system for pre-made dishes should be established to safeguard consumers' right to know.

　　In addition, many consumer protection organizations are also concerned about this issue.

The Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Committee stated on July 29 that the committee has been paying attention to the prefabricated vegetable market. Recently, it has cooperated with the Yangtze River Delta Consumer Protection Committee and the Food and Beverage Association of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui to jointly study and formulate prefabricated vegetables in the Yangtze River Delta region. Relevant group standards.

　　This group of articles / reporter Zhang Xin