Abstract
Dining is the process of consuming food, regardless of the setting; however, human behaviors appear to vary depending on the setting. A model of dining is considered when viewed through the lens of dining at home, in the local community, and while traveling far away from home. The concepts introduced by Roberts and Shea (2017) are advanced in this conceptual article with the goal toward generating a model of dining behaviors.
At a fundamental level, to dine is to eat. While the act of dining typically involves the same human function of ingestion, where we dine appears to influence what and how we eat (Roberts & Shea, 2017). There are three primary settings in which we dine: at home, in our local community, and while traveling far away from home. In each of these settings, our range of dining activities varies along with our behaviors.
When we eat at home, we take on the multiple roles of (1) identifying the food we wish to eat; (2) securing the desired provisions; (3) equipping our kitchens with cooking and food storage facilities such as ovens, microwaves, sinks, refrigerators, cupboards, and pantries; (4) providing tools such as pans, plate ware, and utensils; and (5) learning some basic culinary skills. We then (6) produce the meal and (7) consume it. After eating, we (8) clean everything and (9) store unused portions. When we eat away from home, either in our local community or while traveling afar, we engage in only two of these functions: (1) identifying the food we wish to eat and (7) consuming it. The other steps are provided by the foodservice vendor (see Table 1).
Meal Production and Consumption Steps by Venue
As straightforward as this description might be, it does not capture the differences of what we eat and how we eat it when dining. For example, what we eat at home might be limited by our culinary skills and dietary knowledge. We could choose to eat carefully, mindful of a healthy diet, or we could eat to excess. Innovations in foodservice, such as prepared meals to be cooked at home, do create variations for some of the nine steps, but fundamentally, the steps are the same overall.
Dining Venues
At home, how we eat the food might be quite casually done, such as drinking directly from the milk carton or spooning cottage cheese from the container. Or we might prefer to always use cups, bowls, plates, glasses, and silverware to consume our food. Where we consume the food at home can vary widely, from sitting on the sofa watching a favorite television show to a somewhat more traditional venue of sitting with family members at a formal dining room table. What we wear while eating at home can vary tremendously, too. We could be in our work clothes, ready to face the public, or still in our pajamas. Within the privacy of the home, what we eat, how we eat it, and where we do it can happen within a very wide range. Our choice is unrestricted within the home.
In contrast, when we eat away from home in our local community, we must certainly be dressed appropriately and ready to engage others in a socially acceptable manner. What we eat could easily be different from what we consume at home. Our meal selections could be items beyond our culinary skill set or simply not practicable for us to procure and produce in a home setting. We are often willing to experiment, selecting either items that are new to us or items that we cannot produce well at home.
We may dine out because either we are not near our homes at meal times or we choose to honor a special moment in our lives. For example, many families and groups of friends will elect to meet in a restaurant to celebrate a member’s birthday or some other special occasion, such as a promotion at work. A couple may become engaged to be married while having a fine dining experience. When we gather for such celebrations, the meal becomes less important, as the focus is on the event. However, we do care what we eat so the meal continues to play an important part of our celebration experience. We often make a food selection that interests us and that potentially adds to the sense of celebration and our memory of the event.
Furthermore, we are mindful that others who know us could be watching. Unlike the privacy of our home, neighbors, friends, coworkers, our own customers and suppliers, and so on, could be in the same public setting, and our behaviors could be observed when we eat in local restaurants. To maintain social acceptance, we typically behave in a manner that complies with social norms. We not only do this for social reasons but also want to be welcomed back to the same restaurant. We usually want to be perceived as desirable customers by the restaurant staff so that we can return in the future. Thus, we behave in a manner that meets local social norms while continuing to explore new dining sensations.
While traveling away from home, we must still eat; however, we no longer have the option to use the facilities and the privacy that we provide in our home. Also, we could be in an area with a distinctive culinary culture, and we might wish to sample that unique cuisine. For example, a visitor to Boston may want to eat fresh lobsters or a visitor to New Orleans may want to enjoy tasty Creole dishes. The distance from home seems to be a rationale that we use to allow ourselves to explore culinary experiences. We rely on clichés such as “When in Rome, do as the Romans” or believe that we need to sample the local cuisine in order to really understand a place.
There is a new dimension present when traveling that is missing while dining in local restaurants: We are very much less likely to be observed by those who know us. We often view ourselves as strangers to the people around us since we are many miles from home. Thus, we feel much less inhibited by social norms and are therefore much more likely to indulge, be adventurous, or even “act out” inappropriately, perhaps under the influence of alcohol or just simply because we are more willing to be extroverted.
The dining venue (home, local community, or traveling) appears to be a foundational element in influencing us when we consume food. The venue appears to have a direct impact on what we eat and our social behaviors related to how we eat. These factors are expressed in Figure 1.
Social View of Dining Venues
Model Development
Babbie (2013) described theory as “systematic sets of interrelated statements intended to explain some aspect of social life” (p. 44). These differences in dining behaviors are employed to create a model in order to better understand ourselves. The model was built using the preceding discussion about venue, food selection, and social behaviors (see Table 2). The three venues are used to create categories for grouping patterns of food selection choices and social behaviors.
Model of Dining
Through the expression of these ideas in a model, we can reflect on our past behaviors and likely recognize, by category, how the venue was a factor in what we selected to eat and how we behaved when consuming it. We are then able to understand the underlying factors that could help explain the variations in our public and private dining behaviors. This reflection results in more self-awareness of our individual culinary behaviors.
The model could be of use to the restaurant industry. They can apply the concept to predict their guests’ behaviors by venue and adjust their product positioning appropriately. For example, a firm operating a restaurant in a typical domestic setting would expect patrons to be in Category 2: dining in the local community. They could anticipate reasonable behavior from guests adhering to social norms and would likely see repeat patronage. The same firm offering their restaurant product in a resort destination, such as near Disney World in Orlando, Florida, could expect patrons primarily in Category 3: dining while traveling. The guests are far away from home and likely to be seeking new experiences and willing to engage in adventures. They may feel less restricted socially and desire to explore the unfamiliar. The patrons are unlikely to become repeat guests to that particular restaurant. The firm may want to create variations in menu selections, alter the interior design, or adjust the staff training to better align their menu and management style with the regional cuisine and the less socially restrictive behaviors of these adventurous guests.
This is an initial step in theory development. The proposed model is just that: proposed. It is an initial exploration of the concept. Scholars are invited to review the model, consider alternatives, and offer suggestions for improvement. Rejoinders and commentary are welcomed. The goal is to capture the aspects of dining behaviors in order to increase our understanding of this dimension of the culinary experience.