Eddie’s Food Grievances: Why Does That Kitchen Have to Close at Exactly Nine O’Clock?

Adeline (nickname: Eddie) loves food, a lot and often, both at home and out. Usually, that goes well, but sometimes it doesn’t. In the series Eddie’s Food Grievances, you can read about the latter. This time: why do restaurant kitchens close as early as nine o’clock?

It often happens to me that I come strolling in at around eight or half past eight and encounter a pensive-looking waiter. A table is still possible, but could I please hurry a little, because the kitchen closes at nine. And when you place an order under that enormous time pressure, you often hear the chef slam the pan back onto the heat in the kitchen just a little too loudly. Slam it, yes—there’s no other way to put it.

Too Late for Dessert

Whenever I can, I like to spend as much time as possible in the southern part of Europe. And over there, everything is always late, really. Breakfast can be late (or nonexistent), lunch is somewhere in the middle of the afternoon, dinner starts long after children’s bedtime, going to bed yourself only happens around midnight, and often the people themselves are a little late too. A stickler might object, but that’s simply part of the rhythm of life there. I love that rhythm, I thrive on it, and ideally I’d never want it any other way. But there is one small problem. The moment I return to the Netherlands, I have to face our ridiculous closing times.

Just recently, I was told that I was too late to order dessert. Too laaate for dessert? There’s no such thing as being too late for dessert. Desserts are allowed well into the night. But that didn’t apply at this restaurant, because the kitchen was presumably already clean and the chef already had one leg in the car on the way home. Tell people this in southern Europe and they’ll think you’ve lost your mind. The kitchen closed? Before your last guests have even left? Such a thing simply doesn’t exist.

Take It Slow

You know what might be even worse? That they work in shifts while still sticking to the kitchen’s old closing time. If you’re unlucky, your starter has barely made it past the hollow of your tooth and you have to move straight on to the main course—and could you perhaps already start thinking about dessert? Why the constant rush, people?

I’m arguing for a new rhythm. Sitting down at your leisure at nine or ten o’clock, so you can dine together endlessly and only go to bed with a full stomach around midnight. It probably isn’t great for your digestion, but then your digestion can just take things a little slower too.

Also read:

• Eddie’s Food Grievances: that impossible tableware to eat from
• Tough luck: that wakamé salad isn’t healthy at all
• Tips for the best, easiest pasta salad