Saturday, May 30, 2026FOOD & DRINKFOOD & DRINK 99 
Saturday, May 30, 2026FOOD & DRINKFOOD & DRINK 99 
Peter A. Dills 

L.A.’s King of Cuisine

https://
podlink/1116885432 


CHANGE ISN’T ALWAYS A 
GOOD THING 

Lately I’ve been thinking about change. Just thinking. 

Not the kind of change that used to rattle around in your pocket after 
a trip to Ralphs(no change). These days, most of us pay with a card, 
tap our phones, and somehow never seem to have any extra money 
anyway. 

No, I’m talking about the changes happening at restaurants and food 
companies. 

Everywhere I look, somebody is changing something. Menus change. 
Recipes change. Portions change. Prices definitely change. 

The latest trend seems to be restaurants proudly announcing that they 

no longer cook with seed oils. Social media is full of people celebrating 

the move. Apparently seed oils are the latest villain in the food world. 

Maybe they’re right. Maybe they’re wrong. I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that twenty years 

ago nobody sitting at a restaurant bar was talking about canola oil. Back then, most conversations were 

about the quality of the food, not what oil the fries were cooked in. I remember a fantastic restaurant 

in Old Pasadena called Club DeLacey 41, long gone now. The manager once told me they used three 

different meat purveyors and bought from whichever one brought in the best price that week. That 

approach might work for linens, but not for steaks. Customers notice quality, and sometimes change 

made for cost savings isn’t always an improvement. 

That got me thinking about my days at Robin’s Woodfire BBQ. We cut our French fries fresh everyday and cooked them in peanut oil. The fries were terrific. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. 
Customers loved them. 

Then came the complaints. 

Parents would ask if we used peanut oil because their children had peanut allergies. Looking back, Idon’t remember hearing much about peanut allergies when I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s. 
Maybe they existed and we just didn’t know about them. Today, restaurants have to think about everyingredient and every possible allergy before a dish even leaves the kitchen. 

That’s a big change. 

Then there’s Starbucks. 

For years I was a regular customer. Recently they changed their chai recipe, making it less sweet. I gave 
it a try. Maybe some people love it. For me, it tasted bland. I haven’t been back in months. 

At first I was annoyed. 

Then I did the math. 

By skipping my daily Starbucks habit, I’m probably saving over $100 a month. More importantly, I’m 
avoiding hundreds of calories every day. In a strange way, Starbucks may have done me a favor. 

That’s the funny thing about change. 

Sometimes we resist it. Sometimes we complain about it. Then six months later we realize it wasn’t 
such a bad idea after all. 

Restaurants walk a fine line. Customers say they want new menu items, but heaven help the restaurant 
that changes a favorite dish. A chef tweaks the recipe, switches a supplier, or makes somethinghealthier, and suddenly loyal customers are demanding answers. 

“Why did you change it?” 

“Who asked for this?” 

“Bring back the old version!” 

I’ve seen it happen more times than I can count. 

As restaurant owners face rising food costs, labor costs, insurance costs, and customer expectations, 
change becomes inevitable. Some changes make things better. Some don’t. But standing still usuallyisn’t an option. 

My father, Elmer Dills, used to remind me that restaurants are one of the toughest businesses in 
America. Looking back, I think part of the challenge is that restaurant owners must constantly change 
while convincing customers that nothing has changed at all. 

That’s not an easy assignment. 

So the next time your favorite restaurant changes a menu item, removes a dish, or starts cooking with 
a different oil, remember there is probably a reason behind it. 

You may not like the change. 

Then again, it might end up saving you a few dollars, a few calories, or perhaps introduce you to 
something even better. 

And if not, well, that’s why menus have more than one item. 

Email me thechefknows@yahoo.com listen to the dining with dills podcast 


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