Spare Me theDeep Dish

Downsize my dish

Three years ago, members of Montreal's venerable University Club started complaining that food portions served in their dining room had swelled beyond their appetites.

So the private social club struck a committee, which served up a quick and straightforward recommendation: less food.

Chef Alain Monod revamped the menu, shrinking main courses by at least 10 per cent and often more. A 14-ounce sirloin became a nine-ounce minute steak and, instead of apple pie, diners could order an open-faced apple tart, cut into 10 servings instead of eight.

"We are traditional French," says Mr. Monod, who hails from Paris. "We got stuck following the North American trend."

The University Club was among the first to get the message that super-sized portions are falling out of fashion with diners everywhere from gourmet eateries to fast-food chains.

This spring, Haagen-Dazs began selling ice-cream bars in half-size portions, while Subway restaurants are currently rolling out four-inch subs - two inches smaller than their half subs - at franchises across the country.

Smitty's, an Alberta-based family-dining chain, has done away with combo meals.

It's a trend largely driven by baby boomers who want healthier, tastier meals rather than more food for less money, says Jill Holroyd, vice-president research and communications of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, an organization that represents 34,000 eateries across Canada.

Ms. Holroyd says restaurant owners are noticing diners attempting to control portions.

Some order two appetizers and no main course, or split an entree between two people.

Ordering a main dish and requesting that half be set aside to take home is also becoming common, Ms. Holroyd says. "There's no hesitation in asking for a doggie bag."

The new trend is forcing restaurants and food suppliers to rethink their business models as well as their menus, and introduce new products that encourage consumers to buy more food in smaller portions.

This month, for example, The Pickle Barrel, a Toronto-area chain of deli-style restaurants, is making smaller portions available in a new menu of under-500-calorie dishes endorsed by diet guru Rose Reisman. A six-ounce hamburger ($10.99) served with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, oven-browned potatoes and no bun is the new gourmet alternative to the restaurant's standard eight-ounce patty served with French fries for $7.49.

The idea for the menu came after Pickle Barrel president Peter Higley visited Seasons 52, a Florida-based restaurant that only serves dishes of 500 calories or less.

But reducing portion size also has pitfalls for restaurants and food suppliers who risk alienating value-oriented consumers. One of the first customers to try the six-ounce burger complained he was still hungry after eating, says Mr. Higley, though none have complained since. The hungry customer was directed to other options on The Pickle Barrel's 300-item menu.

Subway is rolling out four-inch subs with little fanfare this year, and prefers to point out that the chain promotes healthy eating by offering consumers the ability to customize their subs with vegetables and lean meats.

The company initially offered round deli rolls as an alterative to the standard six-inch and foot-long subs. Customers liked the smaller option, but wanted their sandwich on sub-shaped bread, Subway spokesman Kevin Kane says.

The trend to downsizing does not only include obvious diet-conscious eats, such as the soy-glazed salmon with edamame salsa inspired by Ms. Reisman.

Haagen-Dazs's miniature ice-cream bars were introduced to the Canadian market after food conglomerate Nestlé noticed an increase in demand for its Nestlé Minis, a small ice-cream snack targeted at children, which had been on the shelves since 2001.

The bars, half the size of the original, were previously sold in France. At 180 to 200 calories, "people can still indulge without the guilt," says Catherine O'Brien, a company spokesperson.

Likewise, the restaurant chain TGI Friday's launched a new option in March allowing customers to order fatty favourites like chicken parmesan and baby-back ribs in smaller portions at reduced prices.

The trend is welcomed by Marion Nestle, a public-health professor at New York University and food-industry watchdog.

Dr. Nestle, author of What to Eat: An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide to Savvy Food Choices and Good Eating, has been sounding the alarm on growing portion sizes for years, blaming them for rising rates of obesity.

"If you give people larger portions, they eat more," she says. "People eat what is in front of them."

Her point has been confirmed by research conducted over the past three decades that has repeatedly found that adults and children eat more when offered larger portions, regardless of their appetite.

But her endorsement is measured. Restaurants continue to use more fat, sugar and salt in their cooking than required, she says, and she feels many diners have become addicted to large portions.

"I think any change would take a long time. People are going to feel cheated if they are paying the same money for something smaller."

She continues to order only one appetizer as her meal when dining in restaurants. She used to make a meal of two appetizers, but found their sizes have swelled to that of a regular entree over the years.

Mr. Higley of The Pickle Barrel acknowledges it will take a while for the entire restaurant industry to make the switch to smaller portions.

"Still," he says, "the era of the 10-ounce burger is over.
Source: TheGlobeandMail.com