Budgeted Grub

Fine dining on a low budget is slowly becoming the new solution to the “money dilemma” that surrounds the youth today. Devi Dang tells you about fine dining on a budget

As we all know, the salary that arrives in your wallet every month, doesn’t really like to stay there. It seems like it takes a millennium to arrive and slips away from your fingers in no time. However, family and friends totally don’t understand this simple yet terrific problem – always wanting to go out for outings and have fun! But, at the end of the day you want to go too! “Each individual loves spending time with family and friends during weekends to a place where one can enjoy eating food with a good ambiance, but what sometimes restricts us is the price,” says Latika Sharma, a young entrepreneur. The prices of food in these restaurants cost you a fortune and naturally leave you with no money for the rest of the month.
If you’re students, the problem still remains same! University life really tells you the value of money! Rajalakshmy Iyer, who is currently a student of Purdue University shares her opinion. “Money is a very crucial thing for university students, especially if you are an international student. Whether it is earning, spending or investing, we have to keep a close account,” she explains. While you are restricted, your wants obviously aren’t. As a student and youth member you really want to enjoy dinners in restaurants with a good ambiance and music – a perfect night out. Pranjal Wadhwa, a student preparing for competitive exams tells us, “Ambiance plays a pivotal role when you decide to go out for dining, but it is usually expensive so I have to restrict myself. With so many taxes being imposed these days on food, the total cost goes up which affects everyone’s budget.”
So, what’s the solution? It’s like tasting champagne on a beer budget. The restaurants have started to understand this dilemma. They’ve figured that if they provide with the same quality ambiance and food, just for cheaper, so many more people like you, will visit their restaurant over other fast food chains and expensive dining. “With the coming of restaurants that are not only affordable but are giving good quality ambiance at a low budget, one can easily enjoy the luxuries of fine dining,” says Sharma.
“Everyone wants to spend less and in return expects to get more out of that expenditure, and fine dining with good ambiance in a low budget is like a cherry on the cake,” adds Wadhwa. So, many restaurants in cities are now offering fine dining at a low budget, which kills two birds from the same stone – providing you with low cost full course meals and the restaurants with more money!
Even though the dining option is growing to become affordable, a lot of people still prefer the fast food chains such as McDonalds and Taco Bell. “Nevertheless, as university students who are always on the run, we don’t really have much time to appreciate fine dining even if it has a low budget; why do you think we like Taco Bell so much?” adds Iyer. However, it surely is the growing market for the people who want an inexpensive full course meal with a great ambiance! When are you trying it out?
Fine dining is not just confined to restaurants but also budget-friendly, carefully curated food kits. The phenomenon has seen emergence of websites like Hola Chef and iChef that have taken fine dining to another level. Food ordering, DIY cooking kits and delivery start-ups on the rise is a big boon for budget grubs. Savoring on some ravishing food at the comfort of your homes is not uncommon. Platforms such as iChef enable you to pick up your own recipe and they do the rest for you.
The food industry joining hands with the digital revolution is a sigh of relief, especially for students who aren’t able splurge too much on a meal but would still want to indulge in some lip-smacking food. This revolution has not just enabled us to save money but also time which is of essence. Also for outstation students who have to manage in another city on their own and find themselves sapped of energy, these kits come with pre-portioned ingredients along with easy-to-follow recipes. Cooking yourself a fine dining experience just got easier. Thanks to these budgeted grubs, our culinary experiences are changing for the good!