Michelin-star restaurant meal experience -research

[Jules2006]

Hello,

Apologies for my first post being a request for your help, but I need some data regarding your experiences of Michelin star restaurants, specifically the meal experience you encounter/ed for an academic research paper I am writing.

The paper is in serious need of some primary data ideally from Michelin-restaurant diners. All responses are confidential.

I have compiled a very short survey (8 questions, 1 page, tick box) which I would like to ask Michelin-restaurant diners (only) to complete please. The link below should take you directly to it.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=jrbX...ZnLXIOBdw_3d_3d

Ideally I need 50+ responses so the more people who can participate the better, however, you are only permitted to complete the survey once.

Thank you in anticipation of your assistance with this project.

[prasantrin]

I took a look, and I would have taken the survey had the survey been better written.

Question 1: This implies dining at a Michelin restaurant is a regular experience. For many who have dined at such restaurants, it may only have been once or twice in their lifetimes. Which reply would be best for such people?

Question 2: Wouldn't "multi-sensory experience" mean "all of the above"? How is it different from rating the food, service, atmosphere, environment, etc. separately?

Question 3: How are you defining "satisfier"? It seems inappropriate in this context. How can "other guests" be a satisfier?

Question 4: What's the difference between "'extraordinary' meal experience" and "the provision of excellent food"? For some people, a meal is simply the food.

Basically, I think you need to define your terms better for your audience. Yes, I could take the survey as it is, but I'd prefer to take one which was better formulated. (and in case you were wondering, I do have experience writing surveys so I know a little of what I speak)

[Matthew Grant]

I'd also add that my responses would differ depending on the type of Michelin starred restaurant I was talking about. e.g. My criteria eating a Japanese meal might be different to that of a French or Italian meal. My reposnses would also differ dependant on how many stars the restaurant had. e.g Q4 if I was in a 3 star restaurant I would answer yes, If I was in a one star restaurant I might answer no.

[Jules2006]

I appreciate your feedback. It's intended as a 'snapshot' of Michelin diner's views on their overall experiences of Michelin restaurants.

Clearly there are a number of variables in dining out, some mean more to people than others. Also, some questions are linked to previous research carried out, albeit not always in the fine dining sector, so some of the questions may seem rather unconnected.

The intention is to get an overview, from sophisticated diners, on their experiences of fine dining and to identify any areas/aspects that are worthy of further investigation.

Admittedly the survey may appear a rather crude attempt at getting information, and may not be perfect, but short of standing outside such restaurants with a clipboard, it is an expedient and convenient way to gather primary data from the target audience I am aiming at.

I'm sure the responses will be enlightening and further the debate surrounding aspects of the meal experience in fine dining restaurants which still appears to be a rather under-researched area.

[Matthew Grant]

Unfortunately I can't generalise a Michelin experience, for me experiences at 3 or 1 star are totally different things and I couldn't give you an "overall" answer to some of those questions

[PhilD]

I appreciate your feedback.  It's intended as a 'snapshot' of Michelin diner's views on their overall experiences of Michelin restaurants.

Clearly there are a number of variables in dining out, some mean more to people than others.  Also, some questions are linked to previous research carried out, albeit not always in the fine dining sector, so some of the questions may seem rather unconnected.

The intention is to get an overview, from sophisticated diners, on their experiences of fine dining and to identify any areas/aspects that are worthy of further investigation.

Admittedly the survey may appear a rather crude attempt at getting information, and may not be perfect, but short of standing outside such restaurants with a clipboard, it is an expedient and convenient way to gather primary data from the target audience I am aiming at. 

I'm sure the responses will be enlightening and further the debate surrounding aspects of the meal experience in fine dining restaurants which still appears to be a rather under-researched area.

←

I agree with the previous posts, this survey is very tricky to complete and walk away with the confidence the answers really reflect my thoughts.

Q1: I don't eat 52 Michelin meals a year, but I do eat far more than 12. It may be better to have a numeric scale Once: 2 to 5; 6 to 10 and so on.

Q2: Is OK if "multi sensory experience" is a defined term i.e. a Fat Duck "sound of the sea" like experience. Although are there many others?

Q3: Does cuisine mean quality of the food, or the type of food i.e. French, Italian, or Indian Other guests? Do you mean my mates or the people at other tables?

Q4: I agree with Matts comment

Q5: Too much room for interpretation in the question. I would write a narrative answer.

Q6: This will correlate with Q1, more experience results in greater variation.

Q7: Wouldn't it be better to use a 7 point scale for each factor as innovative and memorable are highly unrelated factors. I have had wow meals that are innovative, that are memorable and that are both innovative and memorable.

I too would be happy to help with your research if I had more confidence in the survey design. If questions are ambiguous I am nervous about filling them in. I think you will find sophisticated diners are pretty sophisticated about lots of things so your survey needs to be pretty tight to start with. I don't believe you need to stand outside restaurants, simply build a more sophisticated survey that gives us room to respond accurately.

[genuineness]

and to expand on this a bit, there is also the problem of inconsistencies especially at 1* level because the 1* rating is very broad. For example, St. John's, Sportsman and Tom Aikens all have 1* but what you I would expect in each of the restaurants differ dramatically.

Perhaps the questionnaire could be expanded on to cover 1,2 and 3*s because what most ppl would expect from each would drastically differ.

Edited June 23, 2009 by genuineness (log)

[Jules2006]

Ok, some amendments have been made to the questionnaire from the feedback so far which should allow participants to more easily/accurately express their views.

I accept there is a big difference between 1* and 3* restaurants - this survey is not really looking into this distinction however.

The argument I originally had was that Michelin restaurants, whilst providing excellent cuisine (in most cases) sometimes don't quite match up to customer expectations in terms of service, the 'wow' factor, creativity, etc. but as has been mentioned in the survey, Michelin ONLY consider the quality of food on the plate, but to a lesser degree the inspectors may be influenced by some of the intangible aspects. I had a read of Derek Bulmer's post on here from a few years back and he had some interesting comments on the whole assessment process particularly regarding creativity in 2 and 3* restaurants.

One could debate whether Michelin restaurants aim to satisfy the inspector or the customer?

Anyway, 25+ people have responded to the survey in just a few hours and I'm grateful for your feedback and interest thus far.

[PhilD]

Ok, some amendments have been made to the questionnaire from the feedback so far which should allow participants to more easily/accurately express their views.

I accept there is a big difference between 1* and 3* restaurants - this survey is not really looking into this distinction however. 

The argument I originally had was that Michelin restaurants, whilst providing excellent cuisine (in most cases) sometimes don't quite match up to customer expectations in terms of service, the 'wow' factor, creativity, etc. but as has been mentioned in the survey, Michelin ONLY consider the quality of food on the plate, but to a lesser degree the inspectors may be influenced by some of the intangible aspects.  I had a read of Derek Bulmer's post on here from a few years back and he had some interesting comments on the whole assessment process particularly regarding creativity in 2 and 3* restaurants.

One could debate whether Michelin restaurants aim to satisfy the inspector or the customer?

Anyway, 25+ people have responded to the survey in just a few hours and I'm grateful for your feedback and interest thus far.

←

A definite improvement, thanks. Will you publish your findings here?

[Jules2006]

Thanks.

I'd be happy to post a link to the finished article once completed - the aim is to get it published in one of the food-related academic journals (eg. Journal of Foodservice, Appetite, Journal of Food Service Business Research, etc).

I recently presented a conference paper entitled 'Providing an Extraordinary Meal Experience: Does the Michelin-star restaurant really cut the mustard?' which also created a degree of discussion from the audience!

After an initial peer review of the paper, it was suggested that some primary research would be helpful in order to strengthen the 'original contribution' it needs to make to the academic literature already in existence surrounding the meal experience.

(If anyone is particularly interested in reading it, I'd be happy to email it. Just get in touch via the contact details on my homepage found on my member profile).