For Some Restaurants the House Specialty Is a Visiting Chef

Consumers may be once again traveling all around the world, but memories of that lockdown cooped-up feeling have many willing to spring for experiences that broaden their horizons. Restaurants have the chance to take advantage of this pent-up demand, offering experiences that offer that sense of exploration and discovery.

Noting this opportunity, chefs Rupert and Carrie Blease of the Michelin-starred San Francisco restaurant Lord Stanley launched Turntable, offering emerging chefs from around the world month-long terms to create their own menus. At the start of this month, the project celebrated its first anniversary.

“After the pandemic, I think everyone was looking for something a little bit different. Mindsets changed, and we thought it was a really good time to get started on the Turntable project,” Carrie Blease told PYMNTS in a recent interview. “The goal is that people can come once a month. They still know all of our staff, they know our space, but they’ll have a completely different experience and different cuisine.”

In addition to targeting consumers’ desire for excitement in after the lockdown, the model also generates novelty on an ongoing basis with its monthly rotations.

As it happens, travel has recovered in full. Visa’s financial results reported in July revealed that travel spending is up over pre-pandemic levels, especially among higher-income consumers. Yet, Visa chief financial officer Vasant Prabhu noted that consumers’ behavior in the category remains impacted by the long period of pent-up travel demand, creating an enthusiasm for spending on meaningful travel experiences.

See also: Visa Payments Volume in Q3 136% Above Pre-Pandemic Levels

“Now that we feel that we’re out more and we’re vaccinated and living with this, I think people are now traveling more,”  Jeni Mundy, global senior vice president of merchant sales and acquiring at Visa, told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster in a June interview. “We’re excited to get back out there and travel. We’re excited about our summer holidays. We feel like we’ve earned one.”

Read more: Summer Series 2022: ‘Revenge Travel’ Roars to Life With a Connected Economy Twist

That said, even before the pandemic, consumers’ desire to travel often well exceeded what they could afford. Springing for an upscale meal certainly takes less of a toll on consumers’ bank accounts than taking a trip, such that the “bring the world to you” model may have an audience regardless of whether contagion concerns are limiting travel.

Blease noted that Turntable is interested in creating similar experiences in different locations around the world.

“The fun thing about it is it can kind of pop up anywhere,” she said. “The goal is to bring Turntables to different cities, and we are establishing a really fun community of chefs … all over the world.”

The anniversary comes as restaurateurs and other business owners explore new formats and concepts. From omnichannel food halls to in-grocery-store restaurants to at-home meal kits provided by fine dining establishments, food businesses are responding to the call for new and exciting experiences.