It may not earn them a Michelin star, but some high-end restaurant owners are turning to delivery to help them through the crisis, in more ways than one.

With restaurants out of business due to COVID-19, some high-end eateries have resorted to delivering dishes to doors.

But their innovative approach is not designed to satisfy their financial burdens or quench their future concerns. The motives to think outside the box range between trying to stay sane, keeping staff busy and saving their brand.

Meanwhile, menus have moved on from the fast food associated with takeouts: gourmands can opt for finer dining experiences, even though restaurateurs concur the market is slow-growing and comprised of loyal customers who miss eating out.

Fine food up for grabs from Infinitely Xara, which is preparing takeouts from its four closed Mdina catering establishments.

Some eateries have gone from hundreds of covers a day to zero and a recent report shows they are unlikely to recover fast once it is declared safe to re-open. According to the survey, about 70 per cent of customers would let some time pass before going out to eat, fearing a relapse and due to finances.

Michael Diacono, in the business for 36 years and co-owner of Mezzodì, Giuseppi’s and Rubino restaurants, admits the takeaway service was conceived primarily to keep him sane.

“I was getting too anxious sitting at home, worrying about the situation,” he says, having closed his restaurants even before the restrictions were announced.

“It was like someone had run me over.”

But rethinking his business also means keeping the kitchen equipment and chefs busy for a couple of hours a day and filling the time.

Restaurateur Michael Diacono: “I was getting too anxious sitting at home.”

It started with his son producing and sharing daily videos of him preparing meals in their home kitchen and went on to deliveries.

But the takings are a drop in the ocean of overheads, which include 28 full-timers.

It was like someone had run me over

Being an established setup has helped. Diacono feels for those who had just opened restaurants, following a major investment, and had to close up shop with the outbreak.

He is hoping for some action by July. Until then, he has catered for virtual birthday parties, where the ‘host’ has ordered and paid for everyone, the three-course meal gets delivered to the guests’ individual homes and they dine together – on their separate screens.

It has also been hard for Justin Zammit Tabona, managing director of Infinitely Xara, which owns the Xara Palace, Xara Lodge and four restaurants. He has retained all staff, spinning plates to keep them in the job.

“We will last a couple of months, but it gets harder every month,” he says.

Once he got over the “hurt” that what was built over 20 years had stopped, including the catering arm for weddings and groups, the next step was to use the setup in place.

Delivering the De Mondion one Michelin star restaurant experience is also about the venue.

“The chefs’ experience is there. We have designed a number of dishes for delivery and we are creating more,” he says, adding that the operation has been facilitated by establishing a hub at the Xara Lodge.

“We had to think outside the box and are also working on BBQ packs, with a variety of meats, even supplying the wines and ice. The idea is to be a one-stop shop, delivering supermarket ingredients to prep a meal, down to cleaning, packaging and sending the vegetables.”

The owner of one Michelin star restaurant De Mondion in Mdina, Zammit Tabona says it is impossible to offer that kind of standard in a delivery service.

The fine-dining experience is also about the venue, glassware, cutlery… But there has been the odd special occasion where clients have requested it.

As to whether people are opting for takeaways, given that many in self-isolation are dedicating more time to cooking, he insists that “everyone needs a rest once a week in the current circumstances, especially families with children, where meals are being prepared morning, noon and night”.

Otherwise, customers include couples who work all day and normally eat out. “They just want someone to cook for them and we can step in.”

The streets outside Bahia in Lija are as quiet as the restaurant right now.

The choice is certainly there, with Bahia owner Colin Ciantar serving the takeout version of his casual fine-dining restaurant to keep alive the brand he has invested heavily in and to retain the staff he has good relations with.

“One delivery is done at a time by our own drivers to ensure it arrives hot – and having no traffic helps,” Ciantar says.

Bahia has tweaked its menu and is also serving a gourmet burger; and if the craving is for oriental cuisine, Rickshaw restaurant has also launched a delivery service to offer the five-star experience of the Corinthia Palace Hotel it is housed in.

“Enjoy a family meal, lay the table, turn on some great music and receive beautifully packaged food from our waiters, or dim the lights and light the candles for a romantic dinner. Life and luxury can continue even in these times,” says hotel general manager Adrian Attard.