Åsa Öström

Drivers of customers’ service experiences : a study in the restaurant industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify, portray and analyse the frequent drivers of customer service experiences as described by customers in their own words – the voice of the customer ...

Sensory description labels for food affect consumer product choice

Purpose - This observational study set out to investigate the effect of sensory description labels on consumer choice of apples in a grocery retail store.Design/methodology/approach - An independen ...

Culinary arts and meal science as an interdisciplinary university curriculum

Abstract The philosophical stance adopted in the Culinary Arts and Meal Science (CAMS) education at the Department of Restaurant and Culinary Arts at Orebro University is outlined. This is an interdisciplinary approach, based on the Aristotelian tradition of episteme, techne and phronesis knowledge forms and operationalised through the FAMM (Five Aspects Meal Model) model, bearing in mind the overall biopsychosocial nature of each individual experience. CAMS has moved forward using FAMM as the basis for dealing with the complex, multifaceted nature of producing and studying the meal.

Preference for full-fat over low-fat foods among individuals suffering from coronary heart disease and healthy controls

Dietary behaviour can modify the risks for coronary heart disease (CHD). Dietary fat contributes to the sensory characteristics of many foods, but there are individual differences in liking for regular and reduced fat products. Preference for dietary fat might differ between healthy individuals and those of diagnosed CHD status. Preference for full-fat versus low-fat foods was assessed in a group suffering from CHD (N=24) and a healthy control group (N=41). Preferences were evaluated using a series of paired preference tests including 34 food pairs. Further, patterns across fat preference and a range of known risk factors for CHD were examined. The study was conducted in Sweden; March 2004 until May 2006. Overall the full-fat food items were preferred to the low-fat alternatives by both patients and control participants. The pattern of preference responses diverged significantly between patients and controls on only four of the 34 food items, in both directions, why preference related to total fat content per se is not confirmed as differentiating significantly between a group diagnosed with CHD compared to a healthy control group.

Effects of -linolenic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid from linseed and algae, respectively, on reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.) muscle fatty acid composition

Abstract In an earlier study, we concluded that pellet-fed reindeer could not elongate 18:3n − 3 (α-linolenic acid – ALA) sufficiently towards long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC PUFA) and need supplementation of LC PUFA. The present work investigated that the addition of n − 3 LC PUFA to feed in combination with ALA would increase the LC PUFA in the meat. Two groups of reindeer were fed pellets containing either linseed cake or linseed cake combined with algae (Nannochloropsis oculata) for 6 weeks before slaughter. Dietary n − 6/n − 3 ratio had a distinct influence on meat fatty acid (FA) composition when comparing linseed and linseed algae-fed animals with animals fed a conventional diet. Increased dietary proportions of ALA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) increased these FA in muscle and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and docosahexaenoic acid in the polar lipid fraction compared to the conventional-fed animals. We concluded that an increased proportion of dietary EPA might lead to an increased elongation towards DPA in muscle. Algae and linseed are possible additives to reindeer feed in order to assure a similar valuable FA composition as in pasturing animals.

Dynamic changes of taste experiences in wine and cheese combinations

ABSTRACT The ideal cheese and wine combination might be relatively subjective, depending on personal preference, context factors, previous knowledge and experience of food and wine. The aim of this study was to (I) explore consumer liking for wine and cheese pairs; to (II) explore whether either wine or cheese dominates a combination and to (III) understand the relationship between consumer liking and the dynamic taste experience. Consumer testing was performed in a restaurant setting where 45 consumers evaluated liking and dominance of combinations of cheese and wine as a part of a conference lunch. In a laboratory, Temporal Dominance of Sensation (TDS) was used to analyse the dynamic responses of five wines and Roquefort Société tasted in a mixed tasting. Results show significant differences between the wines for dominance and liking for the wines and cheese. A sweet and fruity dessert wine together with the cheese scored high for liking and no dominance was indicated of either wine or cheese. TDS is found to be a useful method to provide additional information about sensory attributes that give a high liking score, showing the dynamic in the eating process.