A recipe development process model designed to support a crop’s sensory qualities

The aim of this study is to apply a recipe development process designed to unfold how to start from a crop ‐ especially less known landraces and varieties ‐ and maximize its culinary utility. How can such a recipe development process be modelled? What more than the recipe itself can be obtained from the recipe development process? In this study, the objective is to create a basic recipe for grey peas that supports the crop’s sensory qualities, and test it in different food products. Using the recipe development process model, our results suggest that minced grey peas, which have authentic nutty flavours, pronounced chewing resistance and a combination of soft and hard textures, can be used to create appealing plant-based patties. When minced grey peas are fried in oil, greater taste intensity, spiciness, umami and complexity are achieved. Additional applications of minced grey peas were also identified, suggesting that the recipe development process can yield information on how to develop another food product with the same basic recipe. The recipe development process we suggest ‐ the culinary funnel ‐ can thus be used to explore the culinary possibilities of lesser known landraces and varieties

Social interactions as drivers of customers' service experiences

Conference: The LaLonde Conference in Service Management, 11th International Research Seminar in Service Management, Marketing, Strategy, Economics, Operations and Human Resources: Insights on Service Activities. LaLondes Les Maures, IAE Aix en Provence, Graduate School of Management, University Paul Cézanne, France. 2010 Proceedings: 771-790, reviewed conference paper.</p

Performance of hospitality within restricting meal frames : An observational study of four hospital wards in Sweden

Hospitality is a social phenomenon expressing relationships between a host and a guest. This relationship can be seen in its most extreme form within a hospital setting, where the guest is a patient staying within an establishment where the core activity is not to provide the patient with food and drinks but to treat medical conditions. The aim of this study is therefore to explore how hospitality was performed by nursing staff and meal hosts in the dining room environments at four hospital wards and to explore the specific role of the room and its artefacts in facilitating or hindering acts of hospitality. In total, twenty non-participating observations were conducted across four wards within two Swedish hospitals. The dramaturgical theory proposed by Goffman was used as theoretical lens. Field notes were analysed in accordance with qualitative content analyses and yielded two overarching themes: (1) Hospitality and hospitableness through acts of caring and (2) The dining room environment’s potential to promote or hinder acts of hospitality. The findings suggest that the dining room environment facilitated timely service for the patients when the materiality within the room followed the principles of mise en place and included the constant presence of a staff member. This is seen as an important finding in relation to what needs to be addressed when planning hospital dining room environments and to the patients’ ability to consume a meal within a frame that acknowledges and assists the patients during their meals

Embodied aesthetic movements during mealtime : a provocative method for design innovation of culinary utensils

In 2010, the project MER was funded be The Knowledge (KK) foundation. Lars Eriksson, associate professor in applied aestetics and creative events at Grythytte Academy Örebro University, initiated the project MER which focuses on the way people move and interact in the environment around the meal. This project has conducted a number of studies about the meeting between utensils, food and the guest in motion, creating the culinary experience. The poster presents a summary of a provocative method applied in all of the different studies

Breaking the silence : A pilot study investigating communication skills of sommeliers and chefs after analogical training

The pilot study reported here involved empirically investigating how analogical training, involving reflective wine- and spirit-tasting sessions and the reading of classic literature, affected the ability of sommeliers and chefs to holistically communicate complex sensory experiences. Analogical training occurred in dialogue seminars, during which participants' progress in communicating sensory experiences was examined following diverse methods of descriptive sensory analysis and, later, by analysing the use of analogies, metaphors and practical examples in tasting contexts. Among the results, dialogue seminars with analogical and reflective tasting exercises stimulated the participants’ ability to associate and apply personal keywords and experiences in making more precise sensory assessments. By exploring personal memories during sensory experiences, participants found commonalities that allowed them to develop a common language during dialogue seminars. Such findings suggest that dialogue seminars, by allowing participants to examine and share their experiences with and reflections on complex sensory experiences with reference to tasting activities, can afford intellectual space for discovering tacit knowledge and practical skills within groups of professional tasters.Funding Agency:Absolut Company AB/Pernod Ricard Sweden </p

Consumers’ attachment to meat : Association between sensory properties and preferences for plant-based meat alternatives

For the sake of both the environment and human health, it is necessary to reduce meat consumption. However, increased consumer adoption of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) will only occur when such products are attractive. PBMAs with meat-like sensory attributes and those that can be cooked similarly to meat are known to be preferred, but the preference for meat-likeness varies depending on the consumer’s attitude towards meat. This study determined the relationship between consumers’ level of meat attachment (MA) on their sensory perceptions of and preference for commercial PBMAs, and their drivers of liking. MA was measured by the Meat Attachment Questionnaire (MAQ); consumers with either low or high MA (LMA and HMA, respectively) were invited to participate in the study (n = 99). The sensory characteristics of seven PBMAs were evaluated using a rate-all-that-apply (RATA) questionnaire, along with an ideal profile and product hedonics. Consumers with LMA had significantly higher overall, aroma, and taste liking, compared with consumers with HMA. Both LMA and HMA consumers similarly discriminated among the sensory properties of PBMAs and the ideal profile. Nevertheless, a further adapted penalty analysis showed subtle differences in consumers’ penalisation of sensory attributes depending on MA level. These findings could be used for future research and the development of PBMAs based on consumers’ MA; they could also be extended for application in a meal context where the PBMAs are consumed. This work was supported by FORMAS, the Swedish government research council for the environment, agricultural sciences, and spatial planning (reference no. 2020-02843).</p

The Five Aspects Meal Model: a tool for developing meal services in restaurants

Preparing, planning and serving meals require several important steps before you can enjoy a meal. The meal takes place in a room (room), where the consumer meets waiters and other consumers (meeting), and where dishes and drinks (products) are served. Backstage there are several rules, laws and economic and management resources (management control system) that are needed to make the meal possible and make the experience an entirety as a meal (entirety – expressing an atmosphere). These five factors are the major ones for developing meal service in restaurants, and together form the Five Aspects Meal Model (FAMM). Several studies have shown that the context of a meal is important for the acceptance and consumption of a meal. Accordingly, the context has to include the food product itself, the consumer and the environment. These three factors need to be considered in an integrated manner, because they affect each other. A qualitative study of restaurant consumers found that there are at least eight main categories of importance for the experience of the meal: restaurant atmosphere, core items of consumption, restaurant scene, personal service encounter, staff quality, visitors, restaurant decision process and individual circumstances. These categories can easily be related to the 'Five Aspects Meal Model'. The essence of each factor is dependent upon different forms of knowledge, such as science, practical-productive, aesthetical and ethical