Food Restaurants Research Articles

Organic food consumption at casual and fine dining restaurants in the Uk: Restaurant managers’ perspectives

This research explores the phenomenon of organic food consumption in UK restaurants from restaurant managers’ perspectives. The research collected primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected from restaurant managers and secondary data was collected from restaurant websites, menus and social media platforms. Twelve semi-structured interviews were carried out with restaurant managers in London. Thematic analysis and content analysis were adopted to analyze the qualitative data. Findings: From the viewpoints of restaurant managers, there is a growing organic dining trend and rising consumer demand for organic. The trend towards organic food consumption in UK restaurants is influenced by a number of substantial factors. Consumer health concerns and prices were identified as significant factors influencing diners’ behavior towards organic food in restaurants. Media coverage of the benefits of organic food, including taste and quality, are key influencing factors. Restaurant operations including social media engagement, and availability of organic and labelling practices are important determinants. These factors were all identified as significant in terms of understanding diners’ organic consumption behavior in restaurants. Being one of the first attempts to explore the factors influencing organic consumption behavior in restaurants in the UK from the perspective of restaurant managers

Domestic Tourists' Perceptions of Education-Based Tourism Products at Bali Bird Park

Tourist perception is a tourist's view, understanding of a tourist towards a tourist destination. Educational tourism products are activities that integrate learning experiences with recreation to provide added value to tourists. This study was conducted at Bali Bird Park with the aim of determining the perception of domestic tourists towards educational tourism products at Bali Bird Park. This study is quantitative with a sample of 100 respondents who have visited Bali Bird. The data obtained were processed using SPSS with Descriptive Analysis, Validity Test and Reliability Test. Based on the average of each variable, the accessibility variable has the highest average value of 4.54 with a very good category. Based on the accessibility variable indicator, tourists really like access to the Bali Bird Park tourist attraction because it makes it easy for tourists to find the location of Bali Bird Park. While the variable that has the lowest average value is the price variable with an average of 4.13 in the good category. This is because the prices given are still quite expensive such as food and drinks due to the lack of restaurant facilities or food stands.

From Click to Cuisine: Navigating the Landscape of Customer Satisfaction in Online Food Delivery Apps

Technological advancements have revolutionized the food industry, enabling restaurant food delivery to homes. In Malaysia, families with children prefer online food delivery apps (OFDA) over singles, citing crowd avoidance, time-saving, and craving satisfaction. This research analyzes sociodemographic factors (age, income, gender, occupation, marital status, education, order frequency) influencing OFDA satisfaction. Through convenience sampling with 447 responses obtained via Google Forms, results indicate no significant differences in satisfaction based on age, income, gender, occupation, or education. However, marital status and order frequency show distinctions. The research concludes with limitations, recommendations, and implications for practitioners.

Can Sales Revenue Mediate the Relationship Between Market Share and Food Waste Management Practices at Restaurants in Banyumas?

Indonesia, with its substantial population, faces a critical issue with food waste. The country's high food waste generation is concerning and necessitates action for sustainable development. Banyumas, a region experiencing a rise in restaurants and significant food expenditure, is particularly affected. In 2022, the restaurant sector in Banyumas emerged as the second-largest business sector, underscoring its significance and the need for focused attention. To effectively address food waste, it is crucial for restaurants to understand the interplay between sales revenue, market share, and waste management practices. This research explores the relationship between these factors within Banyumas' restaurant industry. Utilizing a quantitative approach, the study surveyed 102 restaurants in Banyumas Regency and employed SEM-PLS for model testing. Findings indicate that higher sales revenue positively influences food waste management practices, suggesting that increased income enables restaurants to better implement waste management strategies. This insight highlights the need for government efforts to enhance knowledge and coordination regarding restaurant food waste management.

Vocational students in the hospitality industry explain guests’ sexual harassment

This study’s purpose is to contribute knowledge which can be used as a basis for vocational teachers in hospitality when they discuss sexual harassment with their students. We therefore explore how students in training for vocations in the hospitality industry explain why some guests subject staff to sexual harassment. The empirical material consists of focus group interviews with students in the Swedish Hotel and Tourism programme and the Restaurant Management and Food programme. Twenty-two focus group interviews were conducted, 2–8 students participated in each group. The interviews took place in ten different municipalities in southern Sweden. The students’ explanations are that the sexual harassment is an issue linked to the generation, an issue of information, an issue of personality, an issue related to alcohol, an issue to do with male nature, and an issue of guests taking advantage of their status. These different explanations are linked to overarching discourses. Several of these are historical discourses that have been repeated for a long time. For teachers in the hospitality vocational education programmes a pedagogical point can be to highlight all the explanations and discourses in order to examine together with the students the assumptions on which their explanations rest.

From Taste Buds to Loyalty: How Food and Service Quality Influence Customer Satisfaction and Repeat Intentions in Hotel Restaurants

Customer satisfaction with food and service quality in hotel restaurants is a crucial driver of repeat intentions, directly influencing guest loyalty and long-term business success in the hospitality industry. This study examines the factors that affect customer satisfaction with hotel restaurant offerings and the subsequent impact on customers' intentions to return. The researchers gathered the data for this study using a quantitative research design and customer questionnaires. A 95% response rate was collected and analyzed using SPSS software. Next, the researchers quantitatively analyzed the survey responses using statistical methods to measure customer satisfaction levels and identify key variables influencing repeat intentions. The results of this study have practical implications for hoteliers and restaurant managers looking to improve customer satisfaction and encourage repeat business. Emphasizing continuous staff training, maintaining high food safety standards, and creating a welcoming ambiance are key strategies to enhance customer experiences. Ultimately, understanding the dynamics of customer satisfaction and its direct link to repeat intention can assist hotel restaurants in building enduring guest relationships and establishing a competitive edge in the hospitality market

Assessing the Validity of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels for Evaluating the Healthiness of Mediterranean Food Choices: A Global Comparison.

In response to growing public health concerns, governments worldwide have implemented various nutrition labelling schemes to promote healthier eating habits. This study aimed to assess the consistency and effectiveness of these labels in an out-of-home context, specifically focusing on restaurant, hospitality, and institutional food service settings. In total, 178 different dishes from Spain were analysed using labels from the Mazocco method, the UK's traffic light system, the Health Star Rating (Australia), Nutri-Score (France), multiple traffic lights (Ecuador), and warning labels (Chile and Uruguay). The results demonstrated a generally low level of agreement among these labels (K < 0.40), indicating notable variability and a lack of consensus, which could hinder consumers' ability to make informed food choices in out-of-home settings. Nutri-Score classified the highest number of dishes as unhealthy (38%). This study underscores the need for an easy-to-understand labelling system tailored to each country's culinary and socio-cultural contexts to improve consumer decision-making in various dining environments. Future research should focus on developing and testing qualitative methods to more accurately gauge the nutritional quality of cooked dishes in diverse out-of-home settings, thereby enhancing public health outcomes. By addressing the specific needs of the home, restaurants, hospitality, and institutional food services, tailored labelling schemes could significantly improve consumers' ability to make healthier food choices.

Developing and testing a theoretical model of food donation behavior

The global challenges of food insecurity, coupled with the large scale of food waste generated by the restaurant industry, necessitate collaborative efforts from both individuals and businesses. Drawing upon the behavioral reasoning theory, this study develops a model investigating the influence of both “reasons for” (“altruism”, “social norms”, “egoism”, and “tax incentives”) and “reasons against” (“financial burdens”, “inconvenience”, “insufficient information”, and “liability concerns”) on the food donation behavior of restaurant managers. The model is tested on a sample of 300 restaurant managers in South Korea using structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that “altruism” and “social norms” exhibit a positive influence on both attitudes and intentions toward food donation, while “inconvenience” has a negative impact on both. Moreover, “tax incentives” and “insufficient information” emerge as significant predictors of intentions to donate food. In addition, “trust in food banks” significantly mitigates the negative impact of “reasons against” on food donation intentions, although its effect on attitudes is not significant. These findings provide novel implications to advance the existing knowledge and develop more effective strategies for promoting restaurant food donation practices.

Restaurant food waste valorization by microwave-assisted hydrolysis: Optimization, typological and biochemical analysis

Annually, a substantial volume of food waste is being released into the environment. Restaurant food waste (RFW) valorization using microwave-assisted hydrolysis (MAH) is a sustainable approach to produce fermentable sugars. However, RFW is composed of different foodstuffs with different physicochemical, nutritional, and degradation rates. This study explored the typological, chemical, and elemental analysis of RFW. Results revealed that the four main types of RFW were vegetable (33.2 %), meat (19.3 %), rice (15.2 %), and bread waste (11.0 %). The key parameters impacting the MAH of typologically sorted RFW were identified using the Plackett–Burman design (PBD). Then the central composite design (CCD) with 30 runs was used to increase reducing sugar content (RSC). The optimized condition was as follows: temperature 96.0 °C, microwave power 340 W, HCl concentration of 1.45 %, and microwave heating time 11.1 min. The derived hydrolysates were characterized for their biochemical and monosaccharide composition.

Food Tax Substitution Effects

Diet-related illness in the U.S. has risen to crisis levels, with today’s parents projected—for the first time—to enjoy longer lives than their children. Policymakers have responded with a range of novel proposals, many revolving around the assumption that increasing the relative price of unhealthful foods via taxes on soda, fat, sugar or caloric density will encourage more healthful eating. Yet there is little evidence that diet-targeted price interventions have had a meaningful impact on health outcomes. The reason for this, I argue, is both expected and largely overlooked in the academic and policy literatures: consumers have been motivated by price interventions to eat differently, but differently isn’t necessarily better. Price interventions created and crafted solely on the basis of the nutritional value of the targeted dietary item(s) are vulnerable to health-neutral substitution effects, wherein a price intervention motivates consumers to substitute items of similar dietary value—candy or beer for soda, for example—leading to little net change in overall dietary quality. This Article proposes a novel food tax strategy, one that focuses on substitution effects. Instead of targeting foods with the least or most nutritional value, legislators and other policymakers should direct taxes to foods with the least or most relatively healthful substitutes. As proof of concept, this Article introduces a specific substitution-based food tax proposal, supported with empirical results from an original randomized controlled trial: food taxes should seek to motivate substitution between grocery food and the relatively less healthful option of restaurant food. The health impact of such a shift will likely exceed that of a direct tax on soda, fat, sugar or calories given the high cross-elasticity of demand for restaurant food and its significant health inferiority. And because this shift may be accomplished by subsidizing groceries, by lowering taxes on groceries or by increasing taxes on restaurants, it presents a more politically flexible intervention than traditional consumer-side food taxes.

Exploring Front-of-House and Back-of-House Manager Perceptions, Attitudes, and Motivations of Restaurant Food Waste Mitigation: A Qualitative Study

This qualitative study explored and compared the perceptions, attitudes, and motivations towards restaurant food waste mitigation among front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) restaurant managers. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted with FOH (n = 6) and BOH (n = 7) managers at restaurants in the southeast of the United States. The findings indicated that the participants were highly aware of restaurant food waste and its contribution to food waste; furthermore, they displayed negative sentiments towards it. Additionally, most participants’ awareness was heightened upon acquiring foodservice management positions. Cost reduction was found to be the primary motivation to reduce food waste among most participants; however, most BOH participants were highly motivated by an appreciation for and involvement with the food itself. Guided by the Upper Echelons Theory, the findings provide insight into the underlying cognitive base and values behind restaurant managers’ perceptions, attitudes, and motivations towards restaurant food waste mitigation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in detail.

Farm-to-Table Initiatives in Restaurant Food Production: Benefits, Challenges, and Consumer Perceptions

Farm-to-Table Initiatives in Restaurant Food Production: Benefits, Challenges, and Consumer Perceptions

Rancang Bangun Sistem Informasi Katering Berbasis Web Menggunakan Code Igniter

One of the basic human needs is food for consumption. The food consumed can be divided into 2 types, firstly is food that must be cooked and secondly is food that can be consumed directly without cooking. Families can get cooked food by cooking the desired food themselves. Apart from that, cooked food can also be obtained by buying food in canteens, cafetaria, restaurants or catering. Food obtained from canteens, cafetaria and restaurants is generally obtained by purchasing directly on site. Meanwhile, food obtained from catering is generally obtained by ordering a menu from the catering business. The ordered menu can be a single menu or a package menu. Mentari Catering aims to optimize the use of information technology so that customers have the freedom to order the food offered. The aim of this research is to build a web site-based information system to manage orders from Mentari catering customers. The system development method used in this research is the waterfall model. In this research too, CodeIgniter is used to create web applications quickly and easily. The result of this research is a website-based system to make it easier for catering customers to order both package menus and single menus. Apart from that, customers can also provide testimonials about the food menu and services provided. Testimonials can be a consideration for potential customers who want to order.

Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Restaurant Food Handlers in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia.

Improper food handler (FH) practices in food service areas, such as restaurants, can result in foodborne diseases (FBD). To reduce FBD cases, the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of FHs working in restaurants in Jeddah City and the correlation between their sociodemographic information and KAP scores were investigated in this study. A self-administered questionnaire comprising four parts (socioeconomic information and food safety KAP) was distributed among 389 FHs. Out of the FHs surveyed, 94.1% were male and 68% were certified. The average scores were 9.3 ± 1.8, 9.3 ± 1.3, and 8.9 ± 1.1 for KAP, respectively. Most FHs (82.2%) belonged to the good KAP group, and the rest (17.7%) were in the poor KAP group. FHs aged 50 years and above (9.6 ± 0.6), those with over 10 years of working experience (9.2 ± 0.9), and are married (9.1 ± 1.1) had the highest scores for practice compared with other FHs (p = 0.01 for all). Salary is directly correlated with food safety attitudes (p = 0.04). The findings confirmed a high score for KAP among FHs working in Jeddah. Nevertheless, more focus must be given to training younger, single, and less-experienced FHs, necessitating education courses with practical and theoretical aspects. Further studies from all regions of Saudi Arabia are necessary to generalize the study findings.

Health Risk Assessment of Synthetic Tartrazine Dye in some Food Products in Qom Province (Iran)

Background:: There is extensive evidence of tartrazine dye being used in foodstuff of Qom markets in Iran. Objective:: This study evaluates the synthetic tartrazine dye in some food products and the health risks caused by tartrazine consumption in Qom province. Methods:: The study has two stages: First, 125 food product samples, including confectionary products (e.g., candy (Nabat), Poolaky, Charkhandi, cream, and non-cream sweets) and restaurant products (barbecued chicken), were tested. In the second stage, the risk of exposure to tartrazine was evaluated. Results:: The results showed that 36.8% of samples in confectionery products (15.8 ± 5.1 mg/kg) and 41.3% of samples in restaurant food (41.5±7.9) were colored with tartrazine dye. Based on the obtained results, all values of tartrazine levels in the food samples had not exceeded the maximum tartrazine limit (mg/kg) in food products. Also, the results of exposure estimation and hazard quotient of tartrazine in age groups revealed that the HQ for age groups was smaller than 1. Therefore, they show no considerable risk for tartrazine dye intake according to the food samples in Iran’s market. The probability of total risk (95%) was calculated using Monte Carlo simulation. Finally, the mean risk calculated for childhood (5 -12) and adult years (36-55) were determined as 9.35 E-5 and 9.24 E-5, respectively. Conclusion:: This study showed the nonsignificant health risk of exposure to tartrazine in all study groups according to the amount and frequency of exposure. However, it is recommended to raise awareness among people concerning the health risks of artificial dye (especially tartrazine in food), conduct more research for risk assessment of tartrazine, and monitor related data.

Online Food Delivery Apps: Customer Perception towards Restaurant and Home-Made Food Delivery in Chennai

This study delves into the landscape of online food delivery applications, examining their impact, trends, and potential avenues for growth. Through an empirical research method employing a questionnaire, data was collected from a diverse sample of 400 individuals in Chennai, exploring the preferences, habits, and satisfaction levels of users. Firstly, demographic factors such as age and gender exhibit a direct correlation with customer satisfaction or preferences, indicating individualised landscape of preferences. Swiggy emerges as the preferred platform among respondents, primarily attributed to its safe and quick delivery options. The study proposes the incorporation of home-made food deliveries, not only as a consumer benefit but also as a source of new employment opportunities, particularly for homemakers. This study provides understanding of the online food delivery landscape, offering actionable insights for companies to navigate the challenges, capitalise on emerging trends, and foster sustainable growth in this dynamic and competitive industry.

Autonomous delivery robots on the rise: How can I cut carbon footprint for restaurant food deliveries?

This study examines customers’ intentions to select an autonomous delivery robot (ADR) for off-premise restaurant delivery services, in response to the growing concerns about carbon emissions. Drawing upon Valence-Instrumentality-Expectancy theory, this study demonstrates how knowledge of transport emissions, awareness of carbon emissions, the perceived environmental performance of ADRs, and ADR usage intentions are interrelated. This study also explores differences between two groups: ADRs as high risk versus low risk. Using PLS-SEM and PLS-multigroup analysis with data from 418 participants, the study results show that more knowledge of transport emissions and higher awareness of carbon emissions are associated with more positive perceptions of ADRs' environmental performance and greater intentions to use ADRs. This study highlights the importance of ADRs’ reliability, which should be prioritized alongside environmental concerns. This study has theoretical contributions and practical implications, including policymaking, for stakeholders in the food delivery business.

Environmental Antecedents of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks, United States, 2017–2019

Foodborne outbreak investigations often provide data for public health officials to determine how the environment contributed to the outbreak and on how to prevent future outbreaks. State and local health departments are responsible for investigating foodborne illness outbreaks in their jurisdictions and reporting the data to national-level surveillance systems, including information from the environmental assessment. This assessment is designed to describe how the environment contributed to the outbreak and identifies factors that contributed to the outbreak and environmental antecedents to the outbreak. Environmental antecedents, also referred to as root causes, are specific reasons that allow biological or chemical agents to contaminate, survive, or grow in food. From 2017 to 2019, 24 jurisdictions reported 1,430 antecedents from 393 outbreaks to the National Environmental Assessment Reporting System. The most reported antecedents were lack of oversight of employees/enforcement of policies (89.1%), lack of training of employees on specific processes (74.0%), and lack of a food safety culture/attitude towards food safety (57.5%). These findings highlight the critical role that employees play in restaurant food safety and are heavily influenced by restaurant management, who can exercise active managerial control to manage these antecedents. Identifying antecedents during investigations is essential for understanding the outbreak’s root cause and implementing sustainable corrective actions to stop the immediate outbreak and future outbreaks.

Sociodemographic characteristics help predict Canadian urbanites' acceptability of restaurant food environment policies.

Public acceptability of policies aiming to improve the healthfulness of the restaurant food environment is key to their successful implementation. Yet, the acceptability of these policies remains ambiguous, especially across diverse population groups. This study aims to examine associations between sociodemographic characteristics and acceptability levels of three restaurant food environment policies of varying degrees of intrusiveness across 17 urban Canadian jurisdictions. Data was extracted from the THEPA survey, one of the largest and most jurisdictionally comprehensive surveys on intervention acceptability (N = 27,162). To account for potential jurisdictional differences in acceptability, for each policy, multilevel logistic regression models were developed. Results indicated that, on average, those in complete agreement with the implementation of the targeted policies represented 20.3%-26.9% of participants, depending on the policy. Acceptability varied according to policy intrusiveness, jurisdiction, and participants' sociodemographic characteristics. Women, individuals with household incomes of <$40,000/year, immigrants from a high-income country other than Canada, and Indigenous peoples were more likely to express complete agreement with all policies, versus men, participants with household incomes of $40,000-$79,999/year, Canadian-born individuals, and non-Indigenous individuals. A lower likelihood of expressing complete agreement with all policies was observed for those with a $80,000-$119,999/year household income, versus those with a $40,000-$79,999/year household income. For selected policies and models, other sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., age, education, and being born in a low-or middle-income country) predicted acceptability. The examined sociodemographic characteristics did not explain jurisdictional differences in acceptability. Understanding jurisdictional differences in acceptability merits further research. Policy implications involve engaging diverse sociodemographic groups in conversations about acceptable ways in which their restaurant food environment could be rendered more healthful.

From Kitchen to Air: Emissions from India’s Thriving Restaurant Food Service Sector

From Kitchen to Air: Emissions from India’s Thriving Restaurant Food Service Sector