Food-Elicitation and Photo-Elicitation: Novel approaches to understanding authenticity with gastronomic experiences

Bill GregorashFollow

Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Dr. Bill J. Gregorash

Bill J. Gregorash is a certified Chef du Cuisine and has a background in Hotel and Restaurant Food Service. In 1987 he created and owned a successful fine dining restaurant specializing in Northern Italian Cuisine before turning to academia in 2001 when he was hired as professor at Confederation College (Thunder Bay, ON, Canada) to teach in the Hospitality Programs. He has a Master’s Degree in Tourism Management from Royal Roads University and a PhD from the School of Management at the University of Leicester UK. Bill has experience in Hospitality/Tourism research and restaurant consulting, academic curriculum development, and apprenticeship training. Bill’s research interest is with gastronomy and food tourism. Currently he is teaching in tourism and business marketing and works part time in the contract training division.

Abstract (150 Words)

Trying to differentiate from the competition across the street or across town is one goal of hospitality professionals; another goal of destination marketing organizations is to create a unique taste of place for a region; in short, culinary (food) tourism involves building a brand to sell. Selling food tourism experiences can be a successful marketing tool that creates positive gastronomic memories. To determine how gastronomic memories are created, this study included interviews with participants using auto-driven photo-elicitation, the process of which explored trigger points within the tangible and intangible attributes of the presented experience. A focus group was also held where an avant-garde meal was served to ‘foodies’ (food-elicitation). This chapter is about how authenticity was presented in the narratives of the participants, and how authenticity played a role in their creation of participants’ memorable gastronomic experiences. The findings show that memorable experiences are genuine, but opinions swung widely when asked for definitions of authentic experiences and authentic foods? In addition, a discussion on perceived authenticity in gastronomic experiences is in the “eyes of the beholder” is presented and how globalization and technology affects these perceptions based on involvement. A final argument questions if “foodies” are taking away the mystique from dining-out by over analyzing the product by posting what they eat and therefor creating ‘non-events’.

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Food-Elicitation and Photo-Elicitation: Novel approaches to understanding authenticity with gastronomic experiences

Trying to differentiate from the competition across the street or across town is one goal of hospitality professionals; another goal of destination marketing organizations is to create a unique taste of place for a region; in short, culinary (food) tourism involves building a brand to sell. Selling food tourism experiences can be a successful marketing tool that creates positive gastronomic memories. To determine how gastronomic memories are created, this study included interviews with participants using auto-driven photo-elicitation, the process of which explored trigger points within the tangible and intangible attributes of the presented experience. A focus group was also held where an avant-garde meal was served to ‘foodies’ (food-elicitation). This chapter is about how authenticity was presented in the narratives of the participants, and how authenticity played a role in their creation of participants’ memorable gastronomic experiences. The findings show that memorable experiences are genuine, but opinions swung widely when asked for definitions of authentic experiences and authentic foods? In addition, a discussion on perceived authenticity in gastronomic experiences is in the “eyes of the beholder” is presented and how globalization and technology affects these perceptions based on involvement. A final argument questions if “foodies” are taking away the mystique from dining-out by over analyzing the product by posting what they eat and therefor creating ‘non-events’.