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This article follows research carried out by the author on the semiotics and pragmalinguistics of restaurant menus. The context is a training experience about how to teach LSP (Language for Special Purposes) in a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) environment with teachers in Istituti Alberghieri. The final output is the compilation of a multilingual menu, in the shared conviction that a communicatively effective menu in different languages can enhance the quality of restaurants and make them successful with tourists. The “little texts” composing dish names prove to be interesting under the lexical and the syntactical viewpoints: these are the language levels playing the most significant role in the info-marketing strategies adopted by menus and the ones presenting the greatest difficulties in translating from Italian into French or English. A careful Error Analysis conducted on a corpus of a hundred menus from the Italian region of Lazio proves a successful scaffolding strategy and a practical metalinguistic tool to lead learners—CLIL teachers and students alike—to the production of their own menus, even more when combined with cooperative learning, gamification, graphic facilitators and… lots of fun!

The intent of this study was to assess the caloric and sodium contents in Children's meal provided by forty selected limited service and casual dining restaurants. Meals from casual dining restaurants exceeded in both kcal and sodium limits compared to the limited service restaurants. Only 17.5% of the casual dining restaurants and 53.1% of the limited service restaurants met the kcal limit, whereas 1.8% of the casual dining restaurants and 5% of the limited service restaurants met the ≤ 500 mg limit for sodium. Strong correlations existed between caloric and sodium content in children's meals offered by both types of restaurants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bengali food, especially in the domestic context, has received much attention in recent academic scholarship, but there is a relative scarcity of studies on cultures of public dining practices in restaurants. This paper attempts to address this gap by exploring how a burgeoning ethnic restaurant industry serving Bengali food in Kolkata conditions class-inhered food practices. Based on in-depth interviews of 46 respondents who assessed the content of restaurant menu cards, this paper examines the branding of a local cuisine and the moulding of a neo-ethnic 'global' identity by steeping tradition and authenticity in an aura of the global. The acts of eating out in Bengali restaurants manifest an attitude of 'gastro-cosmopolitanism', practiced mostly by Bengalis who live or are perceived to live in the scope of a transnation. The paper observes that while the global latitude in the culinary order has paved the way for blending of cultures, as evident in fusion cuisine, it has simultaneously reproduced a revalorisation of an ethnic cuisine as heritage, exotic and exclusive. Further, class inflections have opened up more options to select from diverse multicultural food items revealing gustatory antinomies among consumers, who are eager to stake a global cosmopolitan identity while attempting collaterally to align with a past that is only alive in their imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The position of food items on supermarket shelves or dishes on restaurant menus seems to influence consumers' choices. However, it is still unclear which position is the most favourable, respectively which factor can explain the variety of different position effects observed (e.g., centre-stage effect). We assume that this factor is based on whether or not "your love" (or your preference) for the cuisine of the restaurant (e.g., Italian) where you have dinner plays a role regarding your dish choice or not. Hence, in a computer-based study, participants had to choose dishes, appetizers, entrées and desserts from menus whose cuisine they most (e.g., Italian) or least preferred (e.g., Japanese). We found that regarding the meal type entrées, preference indeed played a role. Regarding menus from their most preferred cuisine, participants chose significantly more often entrées positioned in the centre of the menu. No such effect could be found regarding menus from their least preferred cuisine. Regarding the meal type appetizer, preference did not seem to play a role; hence, participants did, regarding both preferences, choose more appetizers positioned at the top of the menu. Regarding desserts, no effects could be found. A developed theoretical framework tries to illustrate how preference comes into play, by changing the way the dishes within a meal type are perceived, and hence modulates the different position effects observed. The framework should provide choice architects with guidelines about where they could place healthier dishes on a menu to fight the current overweight and obesity crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bartin University Journal of Faculty of Economics & Administrative Sciences / Bartın Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Bartin University, Faculty of Economics & Administrative Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain the impact of innovation characteristics (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity and perceived risk) and individual differences (inertia, technology anxiety, need for interaction and previous experience) on customer intentions to adopt tablet-based menus in various restaurants settings. Design/methodology/approach: An experimental design was used in this study to explore tablet-based menu acceptance intentions across three restaurant settings: quick-service, midscale and upscale. A total of 415 participants were randomly assigned to one of the three scenarios describing a dining experience. Each scenario placed participants in a restaurant setting where a tablet-based menu was a part of the guests' dining experience. Findings: The study results indicated that out of the four innovation characteristics, compatibility and relative advantage are strong predictors of adoption intention of tablet-based menus. Among customer individual differences, technology anxiety and need for interaction were not found to have a statistically significant impact on intentions to adopt tablet-based menus. It was also found that customers dining at quick-service and midscale restaurants are more likely to adopt tablet-based menus than customers dining at upscale restaurants. Practical implications: Managers in quick-service and midscale restaurants may consider investing in tablet-based menus, as customers of these restaurant types demonstrate higher adoption intentions compared to the customers of upscale dining establishments. The results of this study suggest that upscale restaurants should plan carefully before switching to table-based menus. Originality/value: The findings of this study may assist restaurant managers in recognizing the importance of customer acceptance of new technologies such as tablet-based menus, which will lead to informed decisions about implementing tablet-based menus in their establishments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers typically make choices based on a menu that lists a variety of food items. Prior research has shown that the position of food items within a menu (center vs. edge) can impact choices (e.g., edge preference and edge aversion). This research extends the literature by demonstrating that the display format of a menu (horizontal vs. vertical displays) can determine the relative impact of these influences. Two experiments find that the middle options are preferred when food options are displayed horizontally (vs. vertically), whereas the edge items are preferred under a vertical display (vs. a horizontal display). These differences extend to different types of foods (food vs. beverage), and to even and odd numbers of options (e.g., four vs. five). These findings increase the understanding of how food item displays can influence consumer choices, and provide important implications for practitioners and policymakers, including how to effectively position food items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Menu calorie labeling is now required nationwide for chain restaurants in the United States; however, a number of studies have found that calorie labeling does not reduce average calories ordered. This research examines how different food value orientations are associated with divergent consumer responses to restaurants providing calorie information on menus and menu boards. Results from two pilot studies and two experiments, including a restaurant field experiment, indicate that calorie labeling is effective in decreasing the number of calories ordered by health value–oriented consumers. However, for quantity value and taste value–oriented consumers, menu calorie labeling may result in an increase in calories ordered. These influences counterbalance one another, leading to an overall nonsignificant effect of calorie labeling on calories ordered in restaurant settings. These findings offer a compelling explanation for the many studies showing nonsignificant effects of menu calorie labeling and inform ongoing policy debates regarding chain restaurants nationally implementing menu calorie labeling. The conceptual contributions and implications of these findings for public policy and consumer well-being are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Translated restaurant menus facilitate tourism and consumerism, but menu translation remains a peripheral area of professional translation and translation studies. This has economic consequences, because translations that exclude a dish's ingredients, cooking methods, or cultural associations may deter consumers. This article analyses translated menus featuring Chinese dishes in order to establish the extent to which intersemiotic, image-based approaches are used to complement written translations; the level of consistency with which ingredients and cooking methods are translated; and the frequency of culturally specific dish names that are challenging to translate. A corpus-based methodology is used to compare 3,000 Chinese dish names and their translations from China, Taiwan and abroad. The data reveals very limited intersemiotic translation in existing menus, inconsistent translations of ingredients and cooking methods, and a high percentage of dishes with culturally specific names. However, these are often omitted in translation, or lack supplementary information concerning their ingredients. It is proposed that a multimodal translation approach incorporating Jakobson's tripartite theory can enhance menu translation. Menus featuring Pinyin as an intralingual translation can engage learners of Chinese who use this method; interlingual explicitation clarifies a dish's ingredients, cooking methods and cultural specificity; and intersemiotic, image-based translation conveys culinary artistry clearly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Restaurant customers' acceptable premium price levels of organic menu items was investigated for different consumer segments at two types of restaurants (casual dining vs. fine dining). • The moderating effects of level of health consciousness, gender, and age on the relationship between premium price levels and purchasing intentions were examined. • Overall, the acceptable price premium percentage level for organic food was about 12% for casual dining restaurants and 10% for fine dining restaurant. • For casual dining restaurants, level of health consciousness, gender, and age were identified as moderators influencing consumers' purchase intentions in relation to different levels of price premiums. For fine-dining restaurants, level of health consciousness and gender were identified as moderators. • For organic menu promotion, casual dining restaurants can consider the overall price premium levels of 12% or less and specifically target older customers, women, and people with high levels of health consciousness. Upscale restaurant can consider the price premium levels of 10% or less and target females and consumers with higher levels of health consciousness. Abstract This study identifies acceptable premium price levels that customers would be willing to pay for organic menu items at restaurants in the United States. Previous literature indicates that health-related and socio-demographic characteristics significantly influence consumers' intentions to purchase organic food. To advance our understanding of how different consumers respond to changes in organic food prices, this study examines the moderating effects of the level of health consciousness (high versus low), gender (male versus female), and age (young versus old) on the relationship between premium price levels and purchasing intentions. In addition, this study further investigates acceptable premium price levels for different consumer segments at two types of restaurants (casual dining versus fine dining). The results of this study provide guidelines for menu design and strategies for restaurateurs to devise effective price premiums for organic menu options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing calorie counts on restaurants' menus/menu boards is one of the most prominent policy interventions that has been implemented to combat the obesity epidemic in America. However, previous research across multiple disciplines has found little effect of providing calorie counts on calories ordered, leading some to call calorie provision a failed policy. The authors propose that this failure is partly due to not considering how people process information when making food choices: Americans read from left‐to‐right, processing calorie information only after processing the food item's name. Thus, the authors test a simple way to improve the effectiveness of calorie counts: display calorie counts to the left (vs. right) of food items. A field study and a laboratory study with American participants found that calorie counts to the left (vs. right) decreased calories ordered by 16.31%. A final laboratory study demonstrated that this effect is reversed among Hebrew‐speakers, who read from right‐to‐left, providing further evidence that the order in which calorie information is processed matters. Accordingly, calling calorie labeling a policy failure may be premature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Gastronomic interventions are an innovative initiative that enriches the work of the nutritionist and add value to prepared meals. Objective: The objective of this research was to perform gastronomic interventions on the menu of a university restaurant in the city of Belém, state of Pará, to analyze the acceptability, the rest ingestion and the appearance of the meals. Methods: This is a descriptive and qualitative-quantitative study, in which a gastronomy team observed the production of three usual menus of the university restaurant in the pre-intervention subsequently applying gastronomic interventions such as cutting type, cooking methods, among others. Before and after the application of the interventions was performed an acceptability test, rest ingestion, and photographic record. Results and Discussion: The survey had an average participation of 84% of the customers in both stages. The photographic record showed few differences in appearance, since the changes occurred in palatability. With the interventions, the acceptability test showed that there was a reduction in the users' dissatisfaction with the main dishes, besides raising the percentage of acceptability of the menus to above 85%, which is the minimum percentage according to the reference values. After the interventions the rest ingestion was reduced and the dirty leftover food reached zero. The results were positive and similar to other studies that performed gastronomic interventions on the menu. Conclusion: Although there were no visual alterations of the meals on the trays, it was the modification of the taste and texture of the food that contributed to the success of the results. Associating the knowledge of Nutrition with the gastronomic practices promotes improvement in the menus, besides awakening and encouraging studies with this subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article follows research carried out by the author on the semiotics and pragmalinguistics of restaurant menus. The context is a training experience about how to teach LSP (Language for Special Purposes) in a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) environment with teachers in Istituti Alberghieri. The final output is the compilation of a multilingual menu, in the shared conviction that a communicatively effective menu in different languages can enhance the quality of restaurants and make them successful with tourists. The "little texts" composing dish names prove to be interesting under the lexical and the syntactical viewpoints: these are the language levels playing the most significant role in the info-marketing strategies adopted by menus and the ones presenting the greatest difficulties in translating from Italian into French or English. A careful Error Analysis conducted on a corpus of a hundred menus from the Italian region of Lazio proves a successful scaffolding strategy and a practical metalinguistic tool to lead learners--CLIL teachers and students alike--to the production of their own menus, even more when combined with cooperative learning, gamification, graphic facilitators and... lots of fun! [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed considering the ubiquitous presence of sodium in restaurant menus, the rapid growth of U.S. fast food operations globally, the impact of fast food on human health, and recent legislative steps to label sodium content. A strong correlation was found between calories and protein content versus sodium contents. Similar brand named menu items had different nutrient and sodium content in selected countries. When portion sizes of meat and cheese are controlled sodium can be reduced without sacrificing the flavor of the foods and in addition reducing the calories provided by selected menu items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the primary factors associated with online restaurant menu design, including trust, familiarity and recognizable patterns, branding consistency, psychological triggers, and utility (or ease of use). In order to assess the causal link between online menu design and consumer behavior, conjoint value analysis was employed. Sample menus were modeled such that the attributes of the five factors represent the independent variables with the responses indicating consumers’ preferences serving as the dependent variable. The study’s findings suggest that trust is paramount, followed by familiarity and recognizable patterns. Surprisingly, our analysis indicates that utility was the least important factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Higher fixation was linked to dish choice with basic and sensory menus. • The fixation-dish choice relationship was not found in the nutritional menu. • Liking and choice were not affected by the type of menu. Digitalization is considered the industrial revolution of the 21st century, helping companies to become more efficient and value-driven. This trend also reaches the restaurant sector, being present in all its spaces and activities, from the kitchen to customer service. The present study aimed to determine if the eye-tracker is a suitable tool to predict diners' choices in the context of a restaurant. Three menu presentations were designed for the study: a basic menu with the name of the dishes and the prices; a menu that included the same information of the basic one, and a descriptive information of each dish; and a menu with an infographic of nutrition-related composition. A total of 180 consumers participated in the study (n ≈ 60 per menu), who evaluated one of the menus presented on a tablet with an integrated eye-tracker. Then, consumers completed a questionnaire indicating their dish choice and their opinion about the menu. Results showed that, when basic or descriptive information was displayed, the eye-tracking could be used to predict consumer's decisions in the restaurant. A higher fixation duration resulted in a higher probability of choice when consumers looked at the basic menu and at the one with descriptive information, but the inclusion of an infographic with nutritional data diminished the prediction ability of the eye-tracker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Calorie selection from fast food menus partially driven by visual food cues. • Visual food cues increase calorie selections for those higher in perceived stress. • Perceived stress alone does not predict increased calorie selections. Individuals who report perceived stress often eat more unhealthy foods and more calories than those with lower stress levels, though individual differences and contexts are important. This study investigated how visual food cues on fast-food menus may increase calorie consumption intentions due to their potential motivational influences. A 2 (presence or absence of visual cues) x 4 (exemplar fast-food restaurant menu) fractionated experiment administered online (N = 325) indicated that when participants viewed menus with visual cues, they selected a greater number of calories to consume. Additionally, data showed an interaction effect of perceived stress and visual cues revealing that visual elements incentivized participants reporting higher stress to select more calories whereas visual cues did not have this effect for people reporting lower levels of perceived stress. Though important limitations exist, a key takeaway is that food cue exposure is another important factor to consider when predicting how stress may affect eating decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]