Dining out; cultural riches, not status

@Honolulu Cafe

Social stratification refers to the establishment of a social hierarchy which is determined by socioeconomic factors, such as income, wealth, occupation, and even education. Based upon these elements, individuals are implicitly associated with different social classes, hence fitting them into the varying positions up in a social hierarchy.

Famous French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, discussed how social and cultural capital contributes to one’s social strata. The concept of social capital explores the capacity of networking one has both within their class and outside of it. Where one went to high school, or university and even the family one is born into, all impact the networks one has and the opportunities these bring. Meanwhile, cultural capital refers to the collection of intangible resources, whether it be one’s accent or the way one dresses, and in a more general sense, knowledge and values - these are elements that contribute to one’s position in the social hierarchy.

Whilst social stratification is a very convincing and helpful framework for analysing societies, I argue that in the context of restaurants, fitting them into one social hierarchy is challenging, due to the niche combination of restaurant characteristics. What I mean is if you were to place a customer in front of a local restaurant and high-end restaurant, they may be attracted to the local restaurant’s values of authenticity, however could also be attracted to the high-end restaurant’s customer service which the lower-end restaurant may be lacking. At the end of the day, there is still a universally recognized view that higher end restaurants belong to the top of the hierarchy. Typically, higher end restaurants involve a fancy dining experience. It comes with the shiny glassware, small portions with their inflated prices, a dress code, and even a high server to customer ratio. For an ordinary person, these characteristics translate to an elite experience, as such being associated with the high strata. On the other hand, the stereotypical ‘restaurant down the road’ would provide a more down-to-earth experience. Although one may have some form of bond or familiarity with the restaurant, it would still fall within the lower strata - with not so friendly servers and worn out glassware and furniture. 

Notably, one’s competition level is a reflection of their position. Competition tends to arise from the overlapping characteristics of restaurants; such as the cuisine they serve, the prices they sell their food at and how close in proximity they are with one another. A hierarchy is quite literally a pyramid. With a narrow top and wider base, there is more room for competition to arise between the restaurants at the bottom. 

All restaurants, no matter high or low-end, require its clients’ active participation to produce its value. This is called value co creation. For instance, value in a higher restaurant is co-created through this common practice of spending large sums,  such as on expensive bottles of wine. It is also built on the perception that everyone there is well mannered, nicely dressed and wealthy, hence people going there to embrace those characteristics allows the restaurant to continue carrying its label of ‘high-end’. Value in lower-end restaurants is just as important, although different in nature. It is co-created through the comfort that one consistently feels when they step foot into the restaurant. The variety of people there, from those wearing leisure wear to those in their work clothes, all coming in for a quick lunch, reinforces the values of inclusivity and community found in local restaurants. 

Although we like to classify restaurants based on their prices and atmosphere into branches of ‘high-end’ and ‘low-end’, we should be cautious not to use dining experiences as social status markers. At the end of the day, limiting yourself to social perceptions simply undermines the primary purpose of food, which is to be appreciated and enjoyed. Who knows, the cha chaan teng down the road might just become your go-to spot!