proof of freshness
2008.04.10 - 01:04at a casual restaurant in accra, customers order first which items they want on their plates. the prepared plates get these white caps till they are finally handed to the paid customers.
at a korean restaurant in shanghai, all tables are set with plates and cutlery covered till customers are seated on the table.
at a restaurant in tokyo (tokatsu tonki in meguro), toothpicks are covered with a clear glass.
at a street cafe in accra, bottled drinks are served with half-open bottle caps.
some of these are for practical reasons, some more symbolic to show their service mentality. i do get my tiny moments of happiness when i can sense that someone has thought through how the customer would feel about their service and the food.
on a slight tangent, i cant help thinking about various possible seals on digital information, for instance - ‘freshness - from within 1 day’, ‘authenticity’, or ‘exclusivity’. in the late 90’s of the internet age, reputation and social recommendation systems were a big topic (or at least around T.J.Watson research center where I worked as a student). internet is a social place & inherently everything’s centered/centering around people behind, but i believe we are reaching an era in which some parts of the society will demand digital information identity as much as humans’ that does not get subjected to the democracy of people’s behaviors and subjective opinions.
