In recent days, the topic of pre made meals has become the focus of public opinion. On the surface, the focus of the debate is on the definition scope, cognitive differences, and consumer choice issues of pre made meals. In fact, the core is still a very simple question - "going to a restaurant" is for "having a good taste". If going to a restaurant is like heating a meal bag at home, but you have to pay a higher price, then why go to a restaurant? Consumers enter restaurants to eat mainly because the food is "delicious". Frozen fish for 18 months, vegetables with a shelf life of 24 months, and instant hot meal packs do not quite meet the expectations of ordinary people for "delicious food". Even if the merchants argue that "the country does not allow the use of preservatives" and "the use of frozen and inert gas packaging for freshness preservation", it cannot change people's concerns about the freshness, taste, and nutritional value of such ingredients. At present, while prefabricated dishes improve efficiency and stabilize taste, they also bring the embarrassment of "one taste for a thousand dishes". On the other hand, Chinese pre made dishes still face challenges in terms of taste restoration, to the point where some consumers immediately recognize them as pre made dishes and find it difficult to swallow. In this case, if the merchant does not indicate "pre made dishes", consumers will indeed feel cheated. Professional people should be allowed to do professional things. Experiencing dining services in a restaurant is just as important as enjoying the taste buds. If chefs are only "operators" who cut packaging and use induction cookers for heating, consumers will lose their recognition of the inheritance of culinary skills and the spirit of chef craftsmanship, and restaurants will gradually lose their core competitiveness. The discussion on pre made meals will eventually subside, but the rules for building pre made meals are urgent. In March 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation and six other departments issued a notice on strengthening the supervision of pre packaged food safety and promoting high-quality development of the industry, which for the first time clarified the definition and scope of pre packaged food at the national level. However, from this intense exchange of opinions, it can be seen that the pre packaged dishes in the eyes of consumers, the pre packaged dishes in the mouths of merchants, and the pre packaged dishes in policy documents seem to be different things. Consumers may not understand the standard definition of pre made meals, but ingredients frozen for New Year's Eve do not meet the definition of "freshly made" by ordinary people. Based on life experience, judgments are often more deeply ingrained than industry jargon and should become an indispensable reference in the process of formulating national standards for pre packaged dishes. The original intention of the catering industry is to enable consumers to have a good taste. It reminds all practitioners that no matter how the times change or how business and service models iterate, only restaurants that can truly impress taste buds with taste and win trust with sincerity can stand undefeated in the ever-changing market competition. Because people's chopsticks ultimately vote for happiness and peace of mind on the tip of their tongue. (New Society)