Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
carousel horses with the kitchen designed to look from the outside like a
circus ring. Patrons visit this restaurant for the fun experience.
Eating habits also change with age. Generation Y are changing the way
restaurants are developing, Generation Ys look to more tapas-style eating
and expect to be able to eat whenever they want. They want funky restaur-
ants with a less formal atmosphere.
Culinary Tourists Want To Eat Local
Culinary tourists want to eat local food. Providers of food should know what
is local and what is in season. Alas, many food providers often fail the cus-
tomer in this key area.
There are many topics written on how to set up and manage restaurants
and this is not the aim of this topic. We will focus on the aspects that are spe-
cific to food tourism.
We all have our favourite restaurants and it is well worth visiting them
both physically and online to see what tips you can pick up. One of our fa-
vourites is Babylonstoren (
http://babylonstoren.com/food)
near Cape Town
in South Africa. This is a great example of how a restaurant can develop a
food tourism niche. This restaurant offer includes its own edible garden food.
It starts with the menu
The first exposure to the food offer for the majority of consumers is the
menu. Consumers will make a decision on the whole food experience just by
looking at the menu. Planning a menu is critical to the success of the business
and we advise, if you are about to provide a food offer from scratch, you start
with the menu.
The following vital factors should be taken into consideration:
•
Consumers are looking for healthy, nutritional food in a relaxing envir-
onment, that has been prepared either locally or on site;
•
Find out what local produce is available seasonally and decide how it
can be incorporated into the menu design. Consider how seasonality of
produce will affect the menu design;
•
How often will the menu need to be changed to keep the seasonality and
variety of the menu?
•
What menu balance will be required and what nutritional qualities will
consumers be looking for?
•
Have a variation to cope with consumer allergies, dietary requirements,
calorie counts and different eating habits;
•
What do potential diners want to eat; are they coming for a snack or a full
menu?
•
What are the gaps in the market place that you have discovered and how
can you cater for them?
