So, running a business means always keeping an eye on costs and in the food service industry, portion control is very important. So it is that I constantly find myself with an inner struggle between my inner accountant and my inner nonna. Nonna usually wins.
See, I was raised in a family where declining a meal would mean that you only got one serving instead of two. To this day, usually one of the first questions I get asked when dropping in to visit my parents is "Have you eaten?".
So, I seem to have inherited a predisposition to making sure everyone has enough (read "too much") to eat; which could explain why our clients are often getting more food than they actually ordered. It's not unusual for our clients to find a few extra cutlets thrown in, or a dish upsized from a medium size to a large size. We try our best to provide advice on quantities to order based on the number of people a client is feeding, but sometimes they choose to err on the lower side, and that's when nonna takes over. Just can't help it.
I hate to think of a client running short of food. Just can't let it happen.