Hospitality And Gastronomy: An Analysis Of Alternative Paradigms And Future Implications

Discussion

The gastronomy is an integral part of the hospitality which is manly related with the eating function, drinking function or a combination of both (Albayrak & Caber, 2015). The gastronomy can be compared to the “art of living”, in which there is possession of knowledge and skills concerning foods and drinks (Albayrak & Caber, 2015). The pleasure associated with the eating as well as dinking forms the basis of gastronomic form of tourism (Albayrak & Caber, 2015). The hospitality industry has natural role in enhancing the taste buds of the customers and the provision of relevant information (Davis et al., 2013). There is a high requirement of the international cuisines in the different hotel establishments, particularly luxury hotels (Davis et al., 2013). The luxury hotels need to maintain their individual standards of service and need to give the optimum services to the customers. There are different kinds of luxury hotels in Singapore, which has a large requirement of food and beverages.

The thesis statement is the “food patterns on the different luxury hotels located in Singapore”. The hospitality industry in Singapore is extremely creative and caters to a large number of domestic as well as international guests. It is important to understand the nature, types and patterns of the food and beverage departments of the luxury hospitality groups. The hospitality industry provides the customers with a wide range of cuisines, which would be satisfy the taste buds of variety of customers. The objectives of the research essay are to focus on the different concepts of the hospitality related to gastronomy and different theories related to it. This essay would also strive to discuss the issues faced in the hospitality industry. The future impact on the hospitality sectors and the practical implications would also be discussed.

The term “gastronomy” has many forms of interpretations. It refers to the understanding of the different regulations or rules of the hotel industry that are used for treating the needs of one’s stomach. According to Solomon et al. (2015), the term gastronomy can also be regarded as the artistic act of the preparation of the foods and presenting the same for consumption to the guests. The term has close resemblance with the French “haute” cuisine, which is often used in the western world (Hakam, Wee & Yang, 2015). France has long association with the terms gastronomy and haute cuisine. They relate these concepts with cultural as well as economic significance (Hakam, Wee & Yang, 2015). This is also due to the fact that France has influenced the global hospitality industry in their culinary practices and aesthetics (Hakam, Wee & Yang, 2015).

The social history of the hospitality and gastronomy presents some interesting findings. The gastronomy concepts started with the fact that the people who travelled outside their homes had the desire to drink or eat (Hakam, Wee & Yang, 2015). This prompted the business entities to offer food as well as drinks to the people who opt for finding foods outside their homes. There is varying interests of the public, which has become more diverse, so the offerings of this sector have become more diverse too (Hakam, Wee & Yang, 2015). The luxury hotel’s food department is directly related with the other forms of catering business such as catering companies and event food coordinators (Henderson, 2017). The luxury hotels used to either produce their own food in their customized kitchen or outsource food from a third party (such as caterer, contractor) (Hakam, Wee & Yang, 2015). However, with time, this trend has changed and there has been considerable increase in the “in-house” kitchen facilities of the luxury hotels (Lu et al., 2015). The luxury hotels need to get food primary license for serving liquor in their business entities (Karim, 2015). The luxury hotels serve food for two kinds of customers. There can be in-house guests, such as the guests who are staying in the hotels. There can be guests coming from outside to eat food only and they leave after taking their food. This kind of customers does not stay in the hotel (Lu et al., 2015). There has been increased collaboration of the hotel chains as well as restaurant chains, which has led to reliable pairing of the restaurants as well as hotels. There has also been increasing number of vending as well as automated foodservices (Lu et al., 2015).

The Systems Theory has been applied in the context of hospitality sector in terms of food production and service systems (Lin, 2017). It emphasizes in the various food offering styles and inter-related service options of the hospitality industry (Lu et al., 2015). The food system term is usually used to denote the entire operations based on different job functions based on distribution, totality of production, consumption, retailing and the disposal of the food products. The theory emphasizes on the fact that the food systems are not mechanical in nature (Lu et al., 2015). Serendipity can play an important role in the action and the form of the systems. There are different food systems in different parts of the world and it may differ from one region to another (Lu et al., 2015). The food systems model proposed by Beardsworth and Kiel focuses on the fact that the food system model essentially comprises of different elements such as distribution, production, beliefs, consumption, modern and traditional systems (Lu et al., 2015). This theory operates in the socio-anthropological aspects, which gives utmost importance to the essence and cultural activities (Lu et al., 2015).

The modern day hospitality sectors are fast adopting the sustainable culinary systems in its truest sense (Hall & Gössling, 2013). They are designated for reducing the environmental impact and promote the agricultural products more. It is more concerned with integrating the farming/agricultural sector with the hospitality functions (Ngelambong et al., 2016). The food consumption as well as production systems are inclusive of the human-centric activities associated with the processing, production, transport, selling, eating and cooking of the foods. Special focus is being laid on different activities farming, agricultural sector, food processing industries, food storage, packaging and the resource inputs into the system (Ngelambong et al., 2016).

There are different categories of catering services available to the hospitality industry (Bhattacharya et al., 2016). They can be full-board, half-board or bed and breakfast. The full board plan comprise of the bed charges along with the charges of all the meals per day. The half-board comprises of the accommodation charges along with either lunch or dinner. The bed and breakfast option comprises of complimentary breakfast only (Ngelambong et al., 2016). The catering facilities usually take place at the restaurants of the hotels or in any event taking place in the banquet halls of the hotels (O’Halloran, 2014). When there is an event in the banquet halls of the hotels, there can be different kinds of table arrangements and food arrangements. There can be themes when there can be different table arrangements as per different colors and the decorations. In such occasions, the foods are made by fulfilling certain conditions and presented in an attractive manner to the guests (Gibson, 2016). The other aspects related with the food are also taken care of by the hotel authorities such as lighting, decorations and the table settings. This is because of the close association with the foods with the senses of tastes, sight and smell (Ngelambong et al., 2016). A plated dinner service requires more number of staffs than the buffet meals service.

A luxury hotel is considered as one of the institutions that provide ultra modern accommodation experience to the guests (Moscardo, 2017). The luxury hotels usually have five star ratings and they give better services than merely the five star hotels. They allow easy, fast and hassle free check-in and check out at the hotel. This kind of hotels offers the maximum customer satisfaction (Ngelambong et al., 2016). The customers are usually satisfied by the services, locations, classifications and the physical location of the hotel. These kinds of hotels also provide the best services by offering sumptuous breakfast and 24 hour room service (Ngelambong et al., 2016). They also provide additional facilities such as swimming pool, concierge, packing services, babysitting services and personal fitness center (Ngelambong et al., 2016). The characteristics of the luxury rooms include high quality of furnishings along with expensive touches and which give more attention to the aesthetic detail (Pilcher, 2016). They have adequate storage, reading chair, safe and food quality of flat television. The luxury rooms are characterized by luxury bathrooms such as bath tubs, sinks, enough counter space, artisan toiletries, high quality towels, ventilation and make up mirrors (Ngelambong et al., 2016).

There are significant numbers of trends that are sweeping the hospitality industry (Rauch et al., 2015). Times have changed and there have been significant changes in the expectations of the customers. There have been changes in the food preparation of the customers and the hotel industry in gearing up to give the best possible services to the customers (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). They are bringing the food delivery in the shortest possible time (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). The luxury service hotels are also coming up with luxury service carts in the hotel rooms for easy delivery of foods and linens. There has been large incorporation of technology in the hotel operations (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). The customers are increasingly using their smart phones to communicate with the hotel authorities or other necessities (Tom Dieck et al., 2017). The hospitality industry is also keen to create technology savvy guests, who would like to avail the technological offerings of the hotel. This often includes free Wifi and complementary satellite television channels (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). The hotel authorities are increasingly launching mobile applications (commonly known as apps) for providing their partners as well as customers real time access of their bookings and any subsequent price change at any point of time (Xiang et al., 2015). There is an emergence of the “complete ecosystems” in which the consumers are being offered “stay at home” opportunities for the purpose of availing foods (Hale & Miller, 2013). There is also an emergence of the boutique hotels, where they have profitable restaurant operations, since there is an absence of the banquet halls (Sbr.com.sg, 2017).

There are different kinds of foods that are served in the luxury hotels of Singapore (BostonGlobe.com, 2017). They contain elements from different ethnic groups since there are a large number of immigrant populations in Singapore (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). The luxury hotels present combination of various flavors that would satisfy the taste buds of the guests. The native Malays are the biggest influencers of food followed by the Chinese cuisines (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). The cuisines of other countries such as Indian, Indonesian, Thailand, Middle-East and Sri Lanka are also popular in the luxury hotels of Singapore (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). The county views food as an integral part to the national integrity and considers as an integral part of the culture (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). The luxury hotels offer vegetarian dishes. It also offers beef for the Muslim population and takes care of the fact that the Muslim populations do not eat pork (which is close connected with their religious sentiments) (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). They also serve the national foods of Singapore such as Hainanese Chicken Rice, Katong Laksa, Roti Prata and Chili Crab (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). The Tian Tian rice is also widely popular in the hotels of Singapore along with Char Kuey Teow and Kaya toast (use of kaya in the dish). The luxury hotels also serve some of the typical Malay dishes such as Mee soto, Nasi goreng and Mee rebus (Sbr.com.sg, 2017). They are also combined with the different Chinese cuisines such as tofu, taupok and others.

There is a changing need of the customers and there have been certain innovative features that are increasingly opted by the customers in relation to the hospitality industry (Kim, Vogt & Knutson, 2015). The digitalized dining is gaining mass acceptance. There is an increasing trend of the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), which is impacting the hospitality industry in a major way (Webershandwick.asia, 2017). The new age customers wish to monitor their calorie intake by monitoring them through the use of smart watch and smart phone. There is an increasing preference to the rooftop experience and the pop-up restaurants (Webershandwick.asia, 2017). There is an increasing preference towards the diverse dining experiences and people prefer to have different cuisines (Webershandwick.asia, 2017).  

There are a growing number of issues faced by the hospitality industry (Jones et al., 2016). There is an increasing lack of IT security support in the hotels, which often becomes non-existent in the workplace (Amankwa, Loock & Kritzinger, 2014). There is a lack of information security awareness and this issue is more prominent in the hospitality industry (Amankwa, Loock & Kritzinger, 2014). There is an increasing labor shortage in the sector, which often leads to difficulties in recruiting the qualified manpower. There is difficulty in recruiting the best chefs from the industry, which often leads to compromising the service quality (Blaikie et al., 2014). There is changing demographics of the customers, who prefer to eat different new flavors of food. This often leads to improper service from the hotel authorities as a result of the changed customer demands (Amankwa, Loock & Kritzinger, 2014). This may lead to deterioration in the food quality of the restaurants. There is an increase in the food prices as there are greater prices of the suppliers and the producers. The natural calamities may affect the prices of the food products and the raw materials associated with it (Blaikie et al., 2014). The climate change is also a major factor in determining the actual availability of the crops, which may lead to high prices of the raw materials (Blaikie et al., 2014). This may also raise the price of the food products. There may be increased competition from the other luxury and boutique hotels, as there are an ever-increasing number of premium hotels coming up. There can be issues with the profit margin of the hotels, which can be a serious issue for the hotel authorities.

The hospitality industry should focus on future construct development by analyzing the above trends. The hospitality industry is an amalgamation of various elements of drink, food, accommodation coupled with providing an ambience to the potential customers. This industry is primarily a service oriented industry, in which it is important to give attention to the production as well as delivery process (Kasim et al., 2014). The luxury hotels should strive to provide appropriate environment to the guests, which would require considerable amount of investments (Kasim et al., 2014). The ambience of the hotel industry should be optimum so that it attracts the guests coming for their meals. It would also lead to better forecasting as the hospitality industry often suffers from major fluctuations (Blaikie et al., 2014). It is important to strike a balance between the resource scheduling, operational capacity and demand patterns (Kasim et al., 2014). The hotel industry should also focus more on the recruitment of the talented manpower in their business entities. This would not only lead to better services but it would also help in improving the quality of food served. The hospitality properties should focus on the consistency of the service delivery and should be able to cater to a diverse set of audiences (Kasim et al., 2014). It is also important to take care of the different service staffs that play an important role in the future selling process. There would be more focus on the healthy food alternatives rather than oily and sugary foods. This is due to the increasing number of health conscious customers who are looking for fit and healthy lifestyle.

The hospitality industry has major shift towards the gastronomic requirements of the society. The customers are having changes in the preferences, which are compelling the hotel authorities to revamp the menu options (Kasim et al., 2014). The customers prefer international cuisines and luxury hotels which provide them with variety of food options to satisfy their taste buds (Omar, Ab Karim & Omar, 2015). The international tourists coming in Singapore also prefer local cuisines and hence the hotels need to incorporate local items in their menu too. A greater level of focus has been laid on presentation as well as delivery of the food items. This is because of the fact that the customers pay attention to the visual appeal of the foods and they would like to order foods which aesthetically appeal to them (Kasim et al., 2014). This is an increasing trend that can be seen within the affluent class, which is the primary target market of the luxury hotels. The hotel authorities should be more observant towards the taking care of the individualized needs of the customers and incorporate the same within their services (Kasim et al., 2014).

Conclusion:

The gastronomy is an important process evident in the hospitality sector. This research shows the different food patterns of the luxury hotels located at Singapore. The term gastronomy is regarded as the act of preparing foods to enhance the taste buds of the customers. The social history of the hospitality and gastronomy is discussed along with the different hospitality concepts. The systems theory has been discussed which emphasizes in the various food offering styles and inter-related service options of the hospitality industry. The focus of the modern hospitality systems is on the sustainable culinary systems. The different categories of the catering system are defined. The definitions of the luxury hotel are provided along with the significant trends that are influencing the hospitality industry. The various different kinds of food which are being served at the luxury hotels are discussed. The changing needs of the customers are being discussed. There are various number of issues, which are being discussed such as lack of IT security support, increasing labor shortage, difficulty in recruiting the best chefs, effect of the natural calamities and increased competition from the other luxury and boutique hotels. The trends of the hospitality industry are discussed along with the future construct development. The hospitality industry has major shift towards the gastronomic requirements of the society, which is discussed in this essay.

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