Menus

Purpose
    The purpose of this paper is to assess the organisational readiness of small and medium scaled hotels to serve indigenous local cuisines and to segment the hotel properties for gastronomic tourism campaigning and destination marketing aims. The study also explores how the concept of organisational readiness relates to menu decision makers’ intentions, perceived benefits and organisational characteristics.
    Design/methodology/approach
    Organisational readiness was measured by three dimensions (culture, climate and capacity). Data were derived from a survey of primary menu decision makers from 187 hotels in Ghana. Using a combination of hierarchical and non-hierarchical (K-means) algorithms, the hotels were clustered into homogenous groups based on the original raw scores of hotel readiness indicators. The resultant cluster solution was then validated and profiled against relevant external variables.
    Findings
    Analyses reveal three clusters which distinguish hotels by the degree of readiness to serve indigenous local dishes. The resultant segments differ by hotel category (star rating) as well as by the job positions and perceptions of primary menu decision makers. Unexpectedly, lower class hotels displayed significantly greater levels of organisational readiness to serve indigenous cuisines than those in the higher class category.
    Research limitations/implications
    The study demonstrates that organisational readiness is related to perceived benefits and intentions. Among others, the findings advance the understanding of organisational readiness in hotels in the context of menu decision-making. Given the need to embed new practices in a fast-changing hospitality environment, insights drawn could also serve as a basis for future research. Generalisability of empirical findings may be limited by the socio-economic context as well as the study’s focus on small and medium scaled hotels.
    Practical implications
    This paper supports hotel businesses in understanding the concept of organisational readiness and its relation to organisational characteristics and menu decision-making. By highlighting the different clusters of hotels, the findings accentuate the need for destination marketers and gastronomic tourism campaigners to target higher classed hotels and draw attention to the potential benefits of serving indigenous cuisines while addressing latent concerns. The results further underscore the role of organisational culture and the necessity for such campaign activities to be directed towards those with ample influence within the hierarchical structures of hotels.
    Originality/value
    This is an initial attempt to examine the application of the organisational readiness concept to menu decision-making in hotels and to explore the implications for segmentation purposes. Further analysis revealed the critical role of organisational culture on menu decision-making patterns. Thus, the paper applies an important element of organisational development theory to the hotel industry and represents a valuable contribution to the scant literature on indigenous cuisines in hotel food service contexts.

OBJECTIVES: To shed light on the most frequent motives for adopting a vegan diet in developed countries (a review of literature); to evaluate the diet quality of young adult (19-30 years old) physically active Slovenian vegans and omnivores; to find out, if vegans’ chances to meet the dietary reference intakes (DRIs) for essential nutrients are lower than omnivores’ chances; to find out, if vegans consume legumes, seeds, nuts, fortified foods and nutritional supplements more often than omnivores; to develop a 7-day vegan menu (based on high quality menus of some participants) that meets the DRIs for all essential nutrients and stays within limits for overconsumed nutrients; to develop a vegan plate (a nutrition plate that provides detailed guidance on adopting a well-planned vegan diet for adults).

SAMPLE: We used a Facebook snowball sampling method to find enough participants. 48 participants met our inclusion criteria and fully completed the study (20 female vegans, 6 male vegans, 14 female omnivores and 8 male omnivores).

METHODS: A short web survey which included a food propensity questionnaire; two unannounced 24-hour dietary recalls per participant; a web-based application Open platform for clinical nutrition (OPEN); a computer program Microsoft Office Excel.

RESULTS: Vegans’ chances to meet the DRIs for essential nutrients were not lower than omnivores’ chances. Vegans’ chances to meet the DRIs were higher than omnivores’ chances for 10 nutrients and lower than omnivores’ chances for 6 nutrients. Vegans consumed legumes, seeds, nuts, fruits and nutritional supplements more often than omnivores. [-Evaluation of diet quality of vegans and omnivores with a web-based application-]

NAMEN DELA: S pomočjo pregleda literature pojasniti najpogostejše motive za prehod na vegansko prehrano v razvitih državah; ovrednotiti kakovost jedilnikov telesno dejavnih vegank, veganov, vsejedk in vsejedcev iz starostne skupine 19-30 let; ugotoviti, ali so jedilniki vegank in veganov manj skladni s priporočili za vnos esencialnih hranil kot jedilniki vsejedk in vsejedcev; ugotoviti, ali veganke in vegani v primerjavi z vsejedkami in vsejedci pogosteje uživajo stročnice, semena, oreščke, živila z dodanimi esencialnimi hranili in prehranska dopolnila; sestaviti primer enotedenskega varovalnega veganskega jedilnika, ki zadosti potrebam po vseh esencialnih hranilih in temelji na kakovostnih jedilnikih nekaterih preiskovank in preiskovancev; sestaviti praktična navodila (prehranski krožnik) za sestavljanje uravnoteženega veganskega jedilnika za odrasle.

VZOREC: Za pridobivanje preiskovancev smo uporabili spletno družbeno omrežje Facebook (vzorčenje s pomočjo snežene kepe). Število preiskovancev, ki so ustrezali kriterijem in so raziskavo opravili v celoti: 48 (20 vegank, 6 veganov, 14 vsejedk in 8 vsejedcev).

METODE DELA: Kratka spletna anketa z nekvantitativnim vprašalnikom o nagnjenosti k uživanju posameznih skupin živil, nenapovedana metoda dvakratnega poročanja o jedilniku prejšnjega dne, spletno orodje Odprta platforma za klinično prehrano (OPKP) in računalniški program Microsoft Office Excel.

REZULTATI: Jedilniki vegank in veganov niso bili manj skladni s priporočili za vnos esencialnih hranil kot jedilniki vsejedk in vsejedcev. Pri 10 hranilih so se jedilniki vegank in veganov izkazali bolje od jedilnikov vsejedk in vsejedcev; pri 6 hranilih pa so se izkazali bolje jedilniki vsejedk in vsejedcev. Veganke in vegani so v primerjavi z vsejedkami in vsejedci bolj pogosto uživali stročnice, semena, oreščke, sadje in prehranska dopolnila. [-Vrednotenje prehrane veganov in vsejedcev s spletnim orodjem-]

This article approaches the menus collection gathered by Rui Barbosa. The list of formal meals, often times loose and hidden in the archives documentation, shed light on the feeding practices in a specific historical period. Dating back from the second half of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th, these documents reveal not only what the guests ate, but also important aspects to the formation of a political network and the sociability in practice in the Republican Brazil.

O presente artigo aborda a coleção de cardápios de almoços e jantares reunidos por Ruy Barbosa. Os menus, muitas vezes esparsos ou “escondidos” nos fundos documentais, trazem à luz as práticas alimentares de determinado tempo histórico. Datados da segunda metade do século XIX e primeiras décadas do XX, esses documentos são fontes para o estudo das práticas alimentares. Examiná-los considerando da sua materialidade até as escolhas dos quitutes que comporiam a refeição, descortinam, não apenas, o que era de fato consumido pelos convivas, como também aspectos importantes do engendramento político e da sociabilidade praticada no Brasil Republicano.