The Culinary Institute of America's Department of Menu Research and Development

Background

Culinary arts curricula are evolving from traditional vocational training to a more academically rigorous education¹. This change in curricula is necessary to support increasingly technical and diverse issues encountered in the field of food service². The cross disciplinary field of Culinary Arts and Sciences (i.e. the modern field of Culinary Arts education) that is emerging, is broadly scoped, and includes: culinary technique, sensory evaluation of food, best business practices, physical and chemical properties of foods, food safety, cultural and social aspects of food and feeding, sustainable food service practices, history of cuisine, and educational strategies.

The CIA has started a new program, The Menu Research and Flavor Discovery Initiative (MRFDI) designed to foster cross-disciplinary, evidence based³, scholarly work amongst faculty and staff. This initiative will provide culinary and food service educators with a vehicle to bring their ideas and insight, through applied research, into the academic main stream, contributing to the overall betterment of our food systems.

Needs and opportunities for applied research

The food service industry has become dependent on new technologies, increasingly cross disciplinary, and global^2,4,5. Career opportunities for graduates of culinary school now include fields such as: product development, consumer behavior, marketing, business management, nutrition, food safety, quality control, and education (amongst others). Conducting focused, evidence based, scholarly work in these and related areas is essential for culinary educators to stay abreast of existing and emerging fields and contribute new knowledge. Ultimately these efforts will support new curriculum development in the Culinary Arts and Sciences, providing students with the necessary tools and critical thinking skills to become effective leaders in their chosen field in the food service industry. The MRFDI has been created to support new knowledge development, and provide a vehicle for CIA staff and faculty to conduct applied research that investigates food and consumer related issues.

The work that results from these efforts is intended for publication in peer review journals such as the Journal of Food Service, Journal of Culinary Science and Technology, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, amongst others.

Research areas

Requests for proposals are being considered in the following areas:

Best business practices, marketing and consumer behavior in food service

Topics can include: impact of menu descriptors on purchase intent, repurchase intent, over all sales, or customer satisfaction; effect of environmental factors in the restaurant (such as music, lighting, service, table orientation, and ambiance) on perceived overall quality and value of the food, and sales; efficacy of limited time offers; novel strategies for marketing healthy cuisines; implementation of Principles for Healthy Menu R&D.

Exploration and evaluation of world cuisines

Topics can include: scholarly documentation of a particular regional cuisine, style of cooking, or service technique; codification of healthful aspects of world cuisines and approaches for translating these cuisines for implementation in main stream food service operations.

Flavor discovery

Topics can include: science based investigations into food and beverage pairings; development of a common lexicon for the sensory attributes of foods; field-based sensory evaluation of foods (ie. in the dining context).

Functional properties of ingredients

Topics can include science based approaches to documenting the physical and chemical characteristics of kitchen ingredients and their functional properties in culinary practice.

Health and wellness strategies

Topics can include: development of recipes that reduce the amount of trans-fats, without negatively impacting product quality; reducing sodium concentrations without negatively impacting palatability; documentation of strategies for incorporating fruit and vegetables on the menu; methods for portion sizes reduction, without diminishing perceived consumer value.

Evaluation and application of new food service technologies

Topics can include science based approaches to evaluating the efficacy and utility of new or existing technologies such as: sous-vide preparations, rapid cooling devices, modified atmosphere packaging, and labor saving devices.

Food safety strategies for the food service environment

Topics can include: new techniques for minimizing cross-contamination; strategies for increasing hand washing; effective and efficient cooling/reheating of foods with minimal effects on quality; managerial and training strategies to educate food handlers about current emerging food safety issues.

Educational strategies in Culinary Arts and Sciences

Topics can include: evaluation of teaching tools; documentation of educational resources for Culinary faculty; description of educational needs and opportunities.

References