7. Two stances in food service innovation
Currently, innovations in marketing concepts dominate the food service sector. The
concentrated efforts of marketing departments in research and development are usually
associated with less technologically sophisticated organisations (Souder, 1997). Equipment
suppliers are pursuing incremental improvements as a reaction to customer complaints,legislative requirements or operational problems. This represents a defensive stance in
innovation (Table 4). Radically new ideas such as the 2zones2 kitchen design described
earlier are examples of offensive innovation. Creative evaluation of developments in
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Table 4
The examples of the two stances in food service innovation
Defensive Offensive
Meeting legislative requirements to monitor and record
temperatures
Unusual shapes accommodating optimum air flow
patterns derived by modelling
Even air flow
Better process control Radically new preparation methods (injecting hot oil
into food, localised cooking, cooking by extrusion,
etc.)
Improved cleaning/sanitation
Improved aesthetics
Energy saving
Labour cost reduction Controlled cooking by detecting desired flavour
Waste reduction
Modularity and flexibility
Reduction in cooking time Robotisation of food preparation and service
Speed of service
Personalised service
Minimising nutrients loss New food service systems (sous vide, freeze-chilling,
aseptic packaging, etc.)
Continuous product flow (2zones2
) kitchen design
Fig. 2. Human-like robot (NASA, 2005).
S. Rodgers / Hospitality Management 26 (2007) 899–912 909
‘‘cutting edge’’ manufacturing industries can result in their adaptation to food services of
the future. Gas detectors (Madsen and Grypa, 2000) can be ‘‘trained’’ to recognise the
‘‘cooked’’ aroma and switch a unit from cooking to holding mode when food is ready in
terms of its culinary quality. Fire-resistant materials developed for applications in space
may replace expensive stainless steel in production and service equipment. In tourism,
sophisticated dishes and creative technology-driven serving methods can complement
futuristic developments such as hotel Burj Al Arab or the underwater luxury resort
Hydropolis (‘‘Sunken City’’) in Dubai (Saudi Arabia). The technical competency of
operators is an essential ‘‘ingredient’’ in the shift to offensive ‘‘high tech’’ revolutionary
developments.