The eyes eat first : an experimental study on the plating effect of traditional Maltese food on foreign guest's dining experience

Abstract

This study explores the significance of plating within a traditional food dining experience. This was attempted in order to bridge the gap between tradition and innovation, whereby a middle-ground could be unveiled. This enables establishments that either serve traditional Maltese food or serve finely presented food to take a step with the times and opt for serving traditional Maltese dishes in a modern and innovative manner with respect to the original recipes. The initial set of Primary research was gathered through the use of surveys whilst the second set of data was gathered through a focus group in the form of a dining experience. Results of these efforts show that tourists would still refer to an innovatively presented traditional Maltese dish as traditional. A discussion was implemented in order to elaborate on certain responses that evoked interesting remarks over others in greater detail. Within this chapter, the difference between responses regarding change within the participant’s country and change within the touristic context is pointed out. Conclusively, the findings, together with reference to reviewed literature were conjoined in summary as a concluding chapter. This ties all chapters together whilst proposing ideas that could be researched further based off this study.