Organisations are more and more aware of the need to really understand the motives, needs and desires of their guests in order to be hospitable. Offering food in a physical environment is a service which influences how people feel. The two (pilot) studies presented in this paper resulted in a first step towards a quantitative instrument for measuring people’s experience: the effects of a culinary concept on the perceived experience of elderly living in a home for the elderly were measured. The instrument combines experience of service (staff, menu choice), environment (ambience and design), as well as emotions and products (food). Further research is needed to validate the instrument.