Do culinary competitions have any real benefit? Culinary competitions

Do culinary competitions have any real benefit

Do managers actually walk the talk? Gender equality in hotel careers in Aotearoa New Zealand

This article offers insights into factors that affect hotel employees’ decisions to make a career in hotels. They are important as there are differences between men’s and women’s career expectations. Career progression in the hotel industry tends to be linear, from entry-level positions to senior management positions globally (Wang, 2013). Employees’ career expectations and values are important, as they drive individual career choices and influence (Kong et al., 2015). Factors such as personal interests, family background, educational level, and gender/race/ethnicity (Metz et al., 2009) all shape individual career hopes, and industry and geographical context change actual outcomes

Millennials’ intentions to buy plant-based meat alternatives: insights for quick-service restaurants.

Rapid population growth, shifting consumption patterns, and environmental stresses are challenging food security, raising concerns about the global food system's ability to sustainably feed the projected 9.3 billion people by 2050. Additionally, the increasing demand for Quick-Service Restaurants (QSRs) (also known as ‘fast-food chains’) intensifies environmental concerns. Their large-scale food production and factory farming practices contribute significantly to environmental degradation and animal welfare issues. In response to growing consumer awareness of environmental issues, QSRs have begun incorporating plant-based meat alternatives into their menus to align with sustainability objectives and appeal to eco-conscious consumers, particularly millennials. However, these alternatives face acceptance challenges due to perceptions of being highly processed and potentially containing genetically modified organisms. It is therefore essential to have a better understanding of the market’s purchasing intention to effectively market plant-based meat alternatives and advance QSRs’ sustainable practices

Editorial : Volume 7 Issue 1

Kia ora koutou Welcome to our first issue of 2023. It has once again been a turbulent start to the year, and our hearts are with the communities faced with rebuilding lives and livelihoods after the extreme weather events in Aotearoa. As the industry responds to ongoing change, we hope that our industry practitioners will find the articles relevant and helpful. Our first piece looks at the resilience of our wine industry and whether the trend of buying local will continue. The second article discusses how the popularity of speed dating can be beneficial for hospitality venues. Our third article focuses on the lack of accessibility information on New Zealand’s luxury lodges’ websites, and how a few simple changes could support the access needs of different kinds of users. Past and future is bridged in the fourth article, which addresses the disconnect between industry and hospitality training providers, and what is required to alter the status quo. Finally, the last article suggests that the boundaries of hospitality studies are expanding, and it is time to reimagine what hospitality could be. Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua. I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past.   &nbsp

Are older workers a saviour for recruitment problems in the hospitality industry?

This opinion piece discusses the potential for older workers to help alieviate recruitment problems in the hospitality industry. These problems have been made worse by the Covid-19 Pandemic and, in the UK, by Brexit and changes to immigration rules. There are many advantages of employing older workers in the hospitality industry but there is a persistent paradigm that older workers are resistent to change, have higher levels of absenteeism and possess poor IT skills. As many of the issues associated with barriers to the employment of older workers are due to negative stereotying and subtle bias, the author advocates the application of Implicit Bias Theory to uncover and subsequetly help address discrimination against older workers

A seat at the table: Can the hospitality industry work together to find a sustainable way forward

Aotearoa's post-COVID19 hopitality industry is in a sate of flux. COVID19 has seen the industry tipped upside down and this disruption has highlight structuial issues that lay below the surface. To build toward a sustainable, more rewarding future the industry needs to come together, reflect, communicate and plan. But does the industry have the ability or desire to do so? &nbsp