Intermezzo

I know that was a lot to digest so I thought that I would give you, my readers, a brief break from theory to examine the work of actual practitioners.  For your intermezzo today, I'd like to discuss a fascinating concept out of the Netherlands - The Restaurant of the Future ("ROF"). Earlier this semester a colleague of mine, Andrea Jang (read her blog here), told me about this learning laboratory after hearing its founder speak at Taste3, a conference bringing together a variety of stakeholders in the foodservice industry.  In many ways, this concept represents much of what I have been proposing thus far although it approaches the topic of consumer behavior from a very different perspective.

How does the ROF work?  Each day students, researchers, and visitors to the Wageningen University and Research Centre patronize the ROF, which serves as the organization's central cafeteria.  During their meal, they are observed using cameras to measure a variety of key metrics (e.g. meal duration, amount and order of food/drink consumed, etc...).  Significantly, all visitors to the ROF must consent to being recorded in order to enter the premises, thereby decreasing the establishment's exposure to privacy concerns.  In addition to the casual observation described above, the ROF also houses a sensory lab in which focus groups are convened to evaluate potential new products.  By observing diners in structured and unstructured settings, the ROF enables corporations to gain insight into both food preferences and consumption behavior.

How can the ROF help the majority of restaurateurs who clearly do not maintain advanced research labs within their establishments?  The sheer existence of the lab suggests that it has produced valuable findings for the foodservice industry, thereby imbuing its observational methodologies with validity for future application.  And fortunately for restaurateurs, observations are easy to come by and cheap to obtain.  Owners should therefore encourage management to consciously take note of consumption characteristics - what people do and do not eat on a particular dish, how long it takes for them to eat, how quickly they finish their drinks, etc... In the future, this knowledge could assist chefs with menu development, servers with selling opportunities, and managers with quality control.  Though futuristic in its use of technology, the ROF is not really so forward thinking at all.  By reminding us of the power of observation, the ROF demonstrates how an age-old research technique can be applied to the 21st century.