Restaurant Kitchen Research Articles

Exploring the genetic variability, virulence factors, and antibiotic resistance of Listeria monocytogenes from fresh produce, ready-to-eat hummus, and food-processing environments.

Listeria monocytogenes is ubiquitous in nature and persistent in food-processing facilities, farms, retail stores, and home and restaurant kitchens. Current research suggests ready-to-eat (RTE) products (including RTE hummus and fresh produce) to be of increasing interest and concern. These foods are typically stored at refrigeration temperatures suited to the survival of L. monocytogenes and are consumed without further processing. Since L. monocytogenes is ubiquitous in agricultural environments, the cultivation of fresh produce predisposes it to contamination. The contamination of RTE foods originates either from raw ingredients or, more commonly, from cross-contamination within food-processing facilities. Research on the food-processing environment has been recommended to reduce the incidence of L. monocytogenes in foods. The consumption of contaminated foods by immunocompromised individuals causes invasive listeriosis, with a 20% to 30% fatality rate despite treatment. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains has reduced the effectiveness of modern medicine and may increase morbidity and mortality. Without epidemiological surveillance and identifying trends in disease determinants, no action can be taken to improve food safety and mitigate the risk of such outbreaks.

Explorations of Integrated Multi-Energy Strategy under Energy Simulation by DeST 3.0: A Case Study of College Dining Hall

Buildings characterized by high energy consumption necessitate the implementation of efficient multi-energy complementary systems to achieve energy conservation and emission reduction objectives. College dining halls use a lot more electricity than typical residential buildings, despite their relatively small size. The dining hall at the Dongshan Campus of Shanxi University is employed as a representative case study in this research. By utilizing DeST 3.0 software, a comprehensive dynamic load analysis is conducted to estimate the annual energy consumption of the dining hall, with the ultimate goal of an energy-saving system being proposed based on the analysis results. Leveraging DeST 3.0 software, dynamic load characteristics were assessed, revealing an annual energy consumption of 2.39 × 106 kWh for the dining hall. Cooling accounted for 0.91 × 106 kWh, while heating requirements amounted to 0.24 × 106 kWh. These findings illustrate peak power consumption trends, seasonal variations, and potential avenues for energy conservation. To satisfy the heating, cooling, and electricity demands of the dining hall, an integrated energy system incorporating solar and wind energy, as well as utilizing restaurant kitchen garbage as a biomass source, was proposed. This study compares two solar energy utilization systems: photothermal and photovoltaic, with total capacities of 2.375 × 106 kWh and 2.52 × 106 kWh, respectively. The research outcomes underscore that Strategy 2, which integrates a photovoltaic system with wind and biomass energy, emerges as the optimal approach for load management. Ultimately, this investigation demonstrates the feasibility and promise of constructing a hybrid renewable energy system within a college dining hall setting, aligning with sustainability objectives and global trends toward environmentally responsible energy solutions.

Virtual Restaurants and Ghost Kitchens: A New Opportunity

This case study examines the rise of virtual restaurants and ghost kitchens as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the lens of organizational resiliency theory, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats surrounding these ventures and their viability is analyzed and discussed. The case study methodology was used to provide an in-depth, multi-faceted understanding of the virtual restaurant and ghost kitchen phenomenon. It was determined that minimal upfront investments coupled with data-driven support and the ability to test new concepts and increase a customer base serve as the strengths and opportunities afforded by virtual restaurants and ghost kitchens. Threats and weaknesses included a separation between the brand and the customer, an overcrowded market and a greater concentration of competition, as well as a more hands-off customer experience. This case leverages the tenets of organizational resiliency theory to explore the rise of virtual restaurants and ghost kitchens and provide educators and students with an explanation for how these concepts came to fruition, and how their existence can benefit the individual organization and impact the industry. Applications of the case in the classroom setting are also provided.

Pilot study: Occupational and public health consequences of elevated temperatures in restaurant kitchens

Restaurant kitchens are relatively warm and can be made even warmer when the outdoor temperature is excessive. Hot indoor conditions can lead to workers experiencing health effects such as heat stress as well as negatively impact food storage and food cooling. This study’s objective was to simultaneously identify potential occupational health and public health effects inside restaurant kitchens due to warm conditions. Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) measurements were collected and the results were compared to the corresponding Threshold Limit Value and Action Limit. Internal temperatures of refrigerators and freezers were gathered and observations were made of any food being held inside the kitchen. Eight premises in the Greater Toronto Area were included in this study. Five of the sites had average WBGT values at or above the Action Limit, which is when heat stress management programs are recommended. Most sites had refrigerators operating over the required 4°C and three sites had freezers operating above the requisite −18°C. Food was observed to be held at temperatures that can promote bacterial growth in 50% of the sites. This study found that hot kitchen environments could result in both heat stress conditions as well as compromise cold food storage and food holding.

Management of Dual-Channel Pricing Strategies for Restaurants Introducing Food Delivery Services

In recent years, with the rapid development of mobile internet and the widespread application of online payment technologies, an increasing number of brick-and-mortar restaurants are willing to join food delivery platforms to provide consumers with new purchasing channels. However, for these restaurants, offering food delivery services represents both opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, introducing food delivery services can expand the market coverage of restaurants, providing consumers with more purchasing channels. However, due to the limited capacity of restaurant kitchens, an increase in demand may lead to overcrowding, thus prolonging consumer wait times. On the other hand, with the introduction of food delivery services, restaurants need to manage two sales channels simultaneously, each with its unique characteristics. Coordinating and managing product pricing between these two channels has become a challenge for restaurants. To address this issue, this study focuses on the dual-channel supply chain composed of a restaurant and a food delivery platform, aiming to maximize restaurant profits. The study examines the issue of restaurant pricing strategy selection and investigates the impacts of consumer waiting costs and consumer heterogeneity on restaurant pricing, demand, and profits. The results indicate that under a uniform pricing strategy, as consumer marginal waiting costs increase, the restaurant can alleviate congestion by raising food prices, resulting in a shift in demand from the dine-in channel to the delivery channel. However, this approach cannot alter the downward trend in restaurant profits. In contrast, under a differential pricing strategy, the restaurant's food prices are unaffected by consumer marginal waiting costs. However, we find that regardless of the pricing strategy adopted by the restaurant, as the proportion of tech-savvy consumers increases, the restaurant should raise food prices for both channels.

Evaluation of the Handling Practices and Risk Perceptions of Dried Wood Ear Mushrooms in Asian Restaurants in the United States

In late 2020, dried wood ear mushrooms, a low-moisture food ingredient that had been imported and sold to restaurants, were linked to a foodborne outbreak of Salmonella Stanley, which sickened 55 individuals across the United States. These mushrooms are commonly used in Asian cuisine. It is unclear if the contaminated dried wood ear mushrooms that caused the foodborne illnesses were improperly handled during preparation. The objectives of this study are to assess the handling practices, risk perceptions, and food recall experiences of dried wood ear mushrooms in restaurant kitchens among Asian restaurant managers and chefs. We conducted a series of telephone interviews with managers and chefs of Asian restaurants in the United States who used dried wood ear mushrooms in making dishes. After reaching information saturation, a total of 25 restaurant managers and chefs participated in the interview. Our results showed that 76% of the participants did not keep track of package information, such as expiration date and lot number, and many participants reported using cold water for rehydration. Wood ear mushrooms were blanched before being used in all cold dishes and most stir-fry dishes, but less commonly in stew or ramen. Some participants (16%) did not view dried wood ear mushrooms as a raw food ingredient, and 16% did not perceive that low-moisture food ingredients constituted microbiological food safety risks. The majority of the participants had heard of food recalls, but only 17% knew about the dried wood ear mushroom recall, and even fewer had heard of food recalls of other low-moisture foods, like nuts and seeds (9%), and flour (4%). While this study shares similarities with previously published studies evaluating the handling practices of consumers and restaurant employees with respect to meat and poultry, it makes a distinctive contribution to the field of food safety as the first-of-its-kind to study the handling practices of a low-moisture food ingredient: dried wood ear mushrooms. This unique ethnic food ingredient has been associated with a past outbreak and multiple recalls in the United States. The findings of the study show the need to develop food safety educational programs that are tailored toward Asian restaurant food handlers and provide guidance to develop risk communication strategies for this niche audience.

FIKElectricity: A Electricity Consumption Dataset from Three Restaurant Kitchens in Portugal

Industrial Kitchens are very energy-intensive businesses, consuming between five and seven times more energy per square meter than other commercial spaces like office spaces and retail stores. Still, very little research has been carried out on improving the energy efficiency of this industry. This paper presents the FIKElectricity dataset, a collection of electricity data from three Portuguese restaurant kitchens during their daily operation. The duration of the datasets spans three to four weeks in each industrial kitchen and comprises aggregated and individual appliance consumption, collected at 1 Hz and frac{1}{5} Hz, respectively. The public release of FIKElectricity is expected to draw more attention from the research community to this overlooked industrial sector. The data collection and post-processing methods are thoroughly described in this paper, as well as the dataset organization. Examples showing the dataset’s quality and instructions for its reuse are also provided.

Investigation of a Salmonella Montevideo Outbreak Related to the Environmental Contamination of a Restaurant Kitchen Drainage System, Québec, Canada, 2020–2021

In May 2020, the Direction de santé publique du CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale (DSPu) received a report from the Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec of a cluster of three cases of Salmonella enterica enterica, serogroup C1, serotype Montevideo. The epidemiological investigation identified a total of 67 cases between January 1, 2020, and August 13, 2021, 66% of which were directly linked to a restaurant in the area. The Salmonella strains from most of these cases were found to be identical by whole-genome sequencing (cluster code 2005MontWGS-1QC). The initial inspection of the restaurant by the competent authorities (Ministère de l’agriculture, des pêcheries et de l’alimentation du Québec) – including the evaluation of hygiene and food safety, the search for cases of illness among workers and food sampling – was unable to establish the source of the outbreak. Environmental samples showed that the restaurant’s kitchen drains were contaminated with the same strain of Salmonella Montevideo as the cases in the outbreak. Several cleaning and disinfection methods were used repeatedly. When environmental sampling at the restaurant sites was repeatedly and consecutively negative, cases in the community stopped. The prior occurrence of a fire in the kitchen may have played a role in the contamination of the restaurant drains. In conclusion, public health professionals should consider drainage systems (plumbing) and possible aerosolization of bacteria as a potential source of a restaurant-related salmonellosis outbreak.

Religious Values of Chefs in Bali and Food Waste Awareness: A Preliminary Study

This study examines the perspectives of chefs in Bali on the influence of religion on their attitudes towards food waste management. This research is the initial research of a project called Environmental habitus of chefs and food waste minimization in restaurant kitchens. Environmental habitus of chefs and food waste minimization in restaurant kitchens itself has two main categories to study, namely Past and Current Period. This study focuses on Past event, which in this case is religious value as one of the other factors such as at home education, out of home education and on the job training. The sample studied was five chefs, and analyzed using a qualitative method approach. The result of this preliminary study is religious value to a greater or lesser extent affect the view of the chefs on their habit regarding to food waste management in kitchen’s restaurant.

Pollution characteristics and health hazards of PAHs in PM1.0 in the cooking environment

Cooking produces a large amount of particulate matter, which can adsorb PAHs and pose serious health hazards to humans. In this study, real-time monitoring of PM1.0 concentration and measurement of PAHs concentration in PM1.0 were conducted in the urban residential building kitchen, farmhouse kitchen, fried chicken restaurant kitchen, fried stinky tofu restaurant kitchen, Yunnan cuisine restaurant kitchen, Northeast cuisine restaurant kitchen, charcoal grill restaurant kitchen, and electric grill restaurant kitchen, respectively, and the carcinogenic risks of PAHs in the air of the above eight cooking environments were analyzed. In the residential kitchen, the concentration of PAHs produced by cooking and heating with solid fuels in the farmhouse kitchen is about 5.85 times higher than that of the urban residential building kitchen. In the commercial kitchen, the highest concentrations of PAHs were found in the charcoal grill restaurant kitchen and fried chicken restaurant kitchen. Charcoal and electric grill restaurant kitchen mainly produced low to medium-ring PAHs monomer. The fried chicken restaurant kitchen mainly generated high-ring PAHs monomer. The health risk assessment found that PAHs in eight cooking environments posed a high carcinogenic risk to both males and females. The risk of cancer caused by PAHs through the skin was the highest, followed by the intake route. The carcinogenic risk of the inhalation route was negligible. The high carcinogenic risk in males and females through the skin and ingestion was only associated with BaP and DBA.

MENSURAÇÃO DOS NÍVEIS DE PRESSÃO SONORA EM UMA COZINHA DE UM RESTAURANTE LOCALIZADO NO INTERIOR DO ESTADO SÃO PAULO

The aim of the present study was to measure the sound pressure levels generated in a restaurant kitchen located in the countryside of São Paulo - SP. This is a field study whose measurements were made in the internal spaces of a restaurant kitchen and in four cardinal points and a center one, before, during and after customer service. The material used comprised in a Minipa decibel meter. The results revealed a statistical difference between the sound pressure levels measured before and during customer service, and during, the levels were higher. It is possible to conclude that the sound pressure levels obtained are above the allowed by ABNT-NBR 10.152 rule. Noise control measures are necessary, in order to provide better acoustic comfort to workers.

The number of women in the cooking profession is low: Is it just because of gender discrimination?

The number of women in the cooking profession is low: is it just because of gender discrimination? Although kitchens have traditionally been the domain of women, it is seen that the number of female cooks in industrial kitchens is very few compared to male cooks today. In various studies, it is stated that female cooks face gender discrimination and career barriers. The aim of this study is to determine whether the barrier to women working in restaurant kitchens is discrimination or their reluctance towards the profession due to the difficulties of the culinary profession. An online questionnaire was applied to 227 both male and female cooks who are members of various culinary associations in Turkey. The results of the research indicate that cooks in Turkey think that female applicants and workers are subjected to gender discrimination during the recruitment process. Pregnancy is perceived as the most significant reason for gender discrimination against women. In addition to believing that they are exposed to discrimination, there are other reasons why women do not choose this profession. One reason is that women consider that they do not have the physical and mental competencies required to be able to do the cooking profession as much as men. The second, and most striking, reason is that women do not fit the image of the cooking profession to themselves. While the literature confirms that women are exposed to gender discrimination in business life and do not participate in the workforce due to discrimination, there are few scientific studies that mention that there may be factors that have as much effect as, or even more than, discrimination. In addition to gender discrimination, which is an obstacle for women to enter the culinary profession, this study also discusses the image of the profession and the physical and mental competencies required by the profession.

Micro and macro analysis of restaurant wastewater containing fat, oil, grease (FOG): An approach based on prevention, control, and sustainable management

The number of restaurants is increasing day by day in almost all the developing countries, causing the increase in the generation of restaurant wastewater. Various activities (i.e., cleaning, washing, and cooking) going on in the restaurant kitchen lead to restaurant wastewater (RWW). RWW has high concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), nutrients such as potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, and solids. RWW also contains fats, oil, and grease (FOG) in alarmingly high concentration, which after congealing can constrict the sewer lines, leading to blockages, backups, and sanitatry sewer overflows (SSOs). The paper provides an insight to the details of RWW containing FOG collected from a gravity grease interceptor at a specific site in Malaysia, and its expected consequences and the sustainable management plan as prevention, control, and mitigation (PCM) approach. The results showed that the concentrations of pollutants are very high as compared to the discharge standards given by Department of Environment, Malaysia. Maximum values for COD, BOD and FOG in the restaurant wastewater samples were found to be 9948, 3170, and 1640 mg/l, respectively. FAME and FESEM analysis are done on the RWW containing FOG. In the FOG, palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1n9c), linoleic acid (C18:2n6c) are the dominant lipid acids with a maximum of 41, 8.4, 43.2, and 11.5%, respectively. FESEM analysis showed formation of whitish layers fprmed due to the deposition of calcium salts. Furthermore, a novel design of indoor hydromechanical grease interceptor (HGI) was proposed in the study based on the Malaysian conditions of restaurant. The HGI was designed for a maximum flow rate of 132 L per minute and a maximum FOG capacity of 60 kg.

The Application Of Hygiene And Sanitation To Processed Products In Restaurant Kitchen Around Tourism Destination Area In Toba District

Hygiene and sanitation in food storage is an effort to control risk factors for food contamination in the food storage process. Processing of food ingredients according to standards will slow down food spoilage so that food quality is maintained. The purpose of this study was to observe the application of internal sanitation hygiene to processed products in restaurant kitchens in Balige City, Toba Regency. As for this type of research with qualitative descriptive methods, the data collection methods used are observation methods, interview methods and documentation methods. From the results of research and field observations where the three restaurants sampled in this study have implemented hygiene and sanitation standards, especially in processing products that are in accordance with standard provisions such as washing, peeling and slicing

How Leadership Moments are Enacted within a Strict Hierarchy: The case of kitchen brigades in haute cuisine restaurants

This paper employs a strong process approach to leadership – one that focuses on leadership moments in action – to explore how collaborative leadership emerges within a hierarchical context. Drawing on observation in three haute cuisine restaurant kitchen brigades – highly hierarchical teams that deal with intense time pressures – we document empirically in the ongoing flow of experience how leadership moments reorient collective action as a response to an unstable environment. Moreover, we show how collaborative leadership emerges from a hierarchical structure, counterintuitively, during the most critical period of the service. Our contribution is twofold. We offer a novel conceptualization of the emergence of plural leadership within a hierarchical context, one that highlights the capacity to reframe the way of working together during the most critical moments of an unfolding situation. In addition, our work contributes to the strong process approach to leadership through the methodology adopted: rather than exploring how turning points are discursively enacted, we focus on these as manifested in action and in the non-verbal aspects displayed at such moments.

Analysis of Domestic and Foreign Standards and Conditions for the Prevention of Fire through Ducts

Ducts penetrating the fire compartment are passageways for spreading the flames and smoke of igniting deposits attached to the inside or fires from outside. Fires through ducts have a fast flame propagation speed and are difficult to extinguish quickly because of the high-temperature heat. Therefore, in this study, to improve the fire risk of ducts, the need for institutional improvement is confirmed by analyzing fire cases, comparing domestic and foreign laws and standards, and analyzing the current situation. As a result, a blind spot is evident in domestic law at the location of the fire damper installation because of the mitigating condition of fire compartments. There is also a gap regarding the need to prepare preventive systems such as maintenance standards inside ducts and installation standards for fire suppression systems in commercial restaurant kitchens.

Consumers’ valuation of a live video feed in restaurant kitchens for online food delivery service

With the rapid development of online food delivery (OFD) service around the world, food safety issues are emerging. Traditional information-provision methods cannot alleviate the information asymmetry between consumers and restaurants in OFD service; therefore, a new approach must be found to increase consumers’ information and gain their trust. Live Kitchen, a live video feed in restaurant kitchens, offers a new idea for providing food safety information through network technology. Using data from 683 respondents in Beijing and Shanghai in China, we examine consumers’ valuation of Live Kitchen for OFD service by utilizing choice experiments and random parameter logit models with error components in WTP space. The results suggest that (i) consumers are willing to pay for Live Kitchen, more than traditional information-provision methods of license publicity and food safety supervision publicity, (ii) Live Kitchen can convey food safety information on OFD service to consumers, allowing them to draw a positive inference about the food safety of OFD service, and (iii) the application cost of Live Kitchen is much lower than the implied welfare gain.

A Review Of Food Toxicity And Kitchen Air Pollution: Cooking Food In The Hospitality Industry

Indoor air pollution has a huge negative impact on human health around the world. Hazardous substances emitted due to human activity indoors, such as commercial cooking causes a wide range of health issues and can possibly be fatal. Empirical studies confirm that indoor air quality can be very poor in restaurant kitchens simply from cooking, similar, to a woman cooking food for her family over a smokey stove that is slowly killing her in a sub-Saharan Africa. Commercial cooking has higher intensity and severe instantaneous cooking pollution from volatile organic chemicals compared to home cooking, making health risk awareness of occupational exposure for chefs a priority (Huang et al, 2021), as occupational diseases are often neglected by the managers and practitioners themselves. Keywords: Air Quality, Cooking, Cuisine, Frying, Fuels, Pollution

Handling practice as a critical point influencing the transmission route of campylobacter throughout a commercial restaurant kitchen in China

Foodborne illness constitutes a substantial health and economic burden on society, and most cases are believed to be due to mishandling of food practices. This study aimed to establish the relationship between food handling practices and Campylobacter contamination in commercial restaurant kitchens. The handling practices of chefs during chicken preparation were observed and recorded. Thirty-three chicken samples and 39 environmental samples were collected to detect the presence of Campylobacter. In total, 75 Campylobacter jejuni isolates and 14 Campylobacter coli isolates were identified. All C. jejuni isolates were characterized by whole genome sequencing (WGS) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Campylobacter was positive on chickens with a ratio from 50% to 66.67%. In washing and cutting areas, the Campylobacter positive ratio varied from 33.33% to 100%. Hands, boards, and countertop showed the highest loads of bacterial counts. WGS and MLST results indicated that all isolates were grouped into 17 genetic clusters. Isolates belonging to the same sequence type were highly homologous and our findings indicated that C. jejuni was likely transmitted from chicken to other areas within the kitchen. Improper handling practices (i.e., using cloths, washing hands without soap, cleaning boards with knives) caused the surfaces contamination of Campylobacter. Our results indicated that handling practices were a critical point of Campylobacter cross contamination in commercial kitchen premises. Therefore, more attention should be focused on proper handling practices in commercial kitchens to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

Processed Modernity: Cooking Ingredients and the Materiality of Food

In this paper I examine the meanings and values articulated through the use of preserved and (ultra)processed foods in everyday cooking in Mérida, Yucatán. Most studies on the practices deployed in the kitchen have tended to focus on cooking instruments and appliances, as well as on the part played by cookbooks and other instruments in the reproduction of culinary knowledges and practices. In contrast, here I focus on the very ingredients used in by cooks, arguing that through their materiality and their aesthetics, cooking ingredients contribute to the objectification of local values. The choice of ingredients by one or another cook expresses values such as “modern” and cosmopolitan, and simultaneously support claims of “authenticity” and “tradition,” and thus are lived as constitutive of regional identity. The use of preserved and processed foods is a common practice in Yucatán’s domestic and restaurant kitchens, which, as elsewhere, has historical grounds. There have been in the city of Mérida, since the turn of the twentieth century, industrial plants making beer, cookies and crackers, vegetable oils, soda drinks, chili pepper sauces, and recados (different pastes of spices). More recently, local industries have begun to package local dishes to sell them frozen, canned or vacuum-packed in plastic containers. I argue that these ingredients are important in transforming the local taste of and for Yucatecan food, and that, as objects that receive and give meaning to regional culinary culture, they become an important locus for the discursive and praxis-based negotiations of local forms of “modernity.”