The Open Kitchen Design - Essay Example

The Open Kitchen Design The Concept of Open Kitchen Design In any given industry there is always a need for development and advancement as time goes by so as to offer better quality goods and services and to retain customers. The hospitality industry has not been left behind in this journey of advancement in the 21st century. Some of the developments it has been experiencing lately are things such as use of genetically modified foodstuff, use of Molecular gastronomy, use of local produce as well as strategies to save water and energy, (Alonso & O’Neill, 1). Among the range of advancements however, of particular interest is the concept of Open Kitchen Design. This concept has been attractive to many restaurateurs for not only its entertaining factor, but also because customers can be able to see exactly how food is being prepared and as such they are more likely to prefer it as opposed to situations where they cannot tell what is being put into their plate. This increases the level of hygiene that is involved and lowers the chances of occurrence of food poisoning. So what exactly are the views of customers on the Open Kitchen design? This paper analyzes the work of Alonso and O’neill, Exploring Consumers’ Images of Open Restaurant Kitchen Design, where a research has been conducted on this area so as to find out what the customers really want and as such give them exactly that in this era where customer satisfaction is the recipe to the success of every business. The Background Research has revealed that consumers in the United States have a preference for food prepared outside the home setting, (Alonso et al, 2). On average, a consumer will take five meals in a week in a restaurant as opposed to home. On the same note, it has been noted that consumers obviously attach a lot of importance to the hygiene and safety of the food they eat though this is something that most restaurants ignore. Further, hygiene and cleanliness of food is closely related to the design of the kitchen that a restaurant decides to have thus the design of a kitchen can play a big role in ensuring food safety, reduced number of accidents as well as efficiency in operations. This idea in itself will attract customers as it gives them the satisfaction that they are having a meal that is properly prepared by merely looking at the physical setting of the kitchen. An attractive kitchen design will also encourage employees to carry out their duties with utmost care in providing high quality food. Reports indicate that more and more restaurants are embracing the open kitchen design and it has been responsible for booming business for small enterprises despite meager materials through research, (Alonso et al, 4). Thus the work of Alonso and O’neill aims at bringing more light on the subject. Methodology Used Consumer data was obtained through questionnaires distributed within duration of four months at a university in the United States from individuals attending a baseball sport during the season. The reasons for choosing a university for the collection of this data was the convenience of collecting data from a large number of individuals composed of different groups in terms of gender and age and then making comparisons. The success of the research was also facilitated by the fact that the researchers also belonged to the university in question and therefore it was easy for the respondents to identify themselves with them. The content and design of the questionnaire was prepared according to the little available data from research previously conducted on the image of consumers on the idea of Open Kitchen Design. The research also took into consideration the demographic factors of the respondents, experience and frequency of consumers, type of restaurant visited, factors affecting consumers’ tastes and preferences and to what extent the design of the restaurant affected their choices. Instructions on how to go about the research questions were also provided. The potential respondents were briefed on the aims and objectives of carrying out the research and were provided with pre-paid address details. This was done to ensure that as many respondents as possible returned their responses to the research headquarters without having to reveal their identities. The response of those who never ate out (only one in number) was struck out of the research data for not being relevant to the research. Even though the respondents were not a true representation of the state the research was conducted, it was considered adequate for this particular nature of study. The data was analyzed and grouped according to content. The demographic factors as well as other characteristics were also analyzed. The Findings The responses revealed that all the respondents except one eat out, 90% of them having a frequency of at least once per week thus regularly having to go to a restaurant. Most of them were also familiar with open or closed kitchen designs, (Alonso et al, 5). When asked about how they felt about open kitchen designs for restaurants, the answers showed that they associated them with positive aspects and cleanliness. A small number associated them with ethnic cuisine scenarios while others associated them with diverse themes such as the beauty of watching cooks do their thing. Only a single respondent associated them with unhygienic environment where there is a large probability of spread of germs across as compared to a closed kitchen setting. They were also considered to be entertaining and transparent in their way of preparing food. Among the negativities associated with open restaurant kitchen is the concept of noisy pans and pots thus potentially distracting the customers during their social visits and thus affecting proper flow of communication. The responses also indicated that the respondent only had limited information on the area as well as exposure to the concept. The existent of predominant Japanese restaurants in the area of research was also evident in the responses where some claimed that open kitchen was associated with ethnic restaurants. The fact that 10.5% believed the open kitchen design to provide clean food emphasized the importance of hygiene among restaurant operators. Only 5.8% thought that the open kitchen design was of little relevance for their meal choices, (Alonso et al, 6). Conclusion Restaurant design has a role to play in proper functioning of a restaurant and for satisfaction of customers. Therefore it is important that restaurant operators, in designing the kind of restaurant they want, to take this factor into consideration. The open kitchen design, on top of being entertaining to customers but it also gives the customers the idea of hygienic and safe food, something that goes a long way in attracting and retaining customers. However, more research should be conducted in this area to provide more information to restaurant operators as well as the consumers. So a restaurant that wants to create consumers’ trust in the quality and cleanliness of the food they offer can start investing in Open Kitchen Design as a sure way of achieving their objective. Work cited Alonso, Abel Duarte and O'neill, Martin A. “Exploring consumers' images of open restaurant kitchen design.” Journal of Retail & Leisure Property9. UK: Palgrave Macmillan, A3 (Aug 2010): 247-259. Read More