More awareness is needed in food service and culinary schools for the effect of the chefs’ smoking behavior on their salt use. Smoking is known to affect taste perception. Restaurant dishes are often high in salt and smoking might play a role in this. We show that prevalence of smoking among Dutch chefs is above the population average. It seems that work pressure plays an important role in this high prevalence of smoking. Although not statistically significant, results do provide indications that smoking chefs use more salt as compared to non-smoking chefs. Thus, if chefs smoke less, this is not only beneficial for their own health, but it also has potential health effects for guests since reducing levels of salt in restaurant dishes can contribute to a lower risk of high blood pressure and related cardiovascular diseases.
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Purpose: This paper aims to present and reflect on a phenomenological research process used to elucidate the nature of creativity and innovation in haute cuisine. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth unstructured interviews and field notes capturing subjective experiences were employed to elucidate the experiences of 18 top chefs from the UK, Spain, France, Austria and Germany with regards to creativity and innovation. Findings: The findings are twofold: first, an empirical sample finding is presented in order to contextualize the type of findings obtained; second, key methodological findings are presented explaining the process of elucidating the nature of creativity and innovation through iterative learning from the descriptions of the interviewees and the subjective experiences gathered. Research limitations/implications: The underlying phenomenological study is limited to male haute cuisine chefs in five European countries. Future research is planned including female and male chefs from other countries in order to learn whether similar empirical findings can be obtained. Practical implications: The paper presents a research process for elucidating cognitive and nebulous phenomena such as creativity and innovation to make them accessible to managers, researchers, students and policy makers. Originality/value: The findings explain the process of elucidating the nature of creativity and innovation through iterative learning from the descriptions of the interviewees and the subjective experiences gathered. Further conceptual and methodological development emerges from investigating interviewees representative of the notion of the extraordinary.
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Purpose: This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of molecular gastronomy by conducting empirical research focusing on renowned chefs. Design/methodology/approach: The approach taken is a literature review summarising past culinary innovations then the paper focuses on the origins and evolution of molecular gastronomy, followed by 18 phenomenological interviews with a snowball sample of world class chefs from across Europe. Findings: There is far greater confusion about what molecular gastronomy might be than is implied in previous studies. The term has become wrongly used to describe a possible culinary movement mainly as a result of media influence. Leading chefs, whose new restaurant concepts have become associated with it, reject the term. Research limitations/implications: With only 20 years of history molecular gastronomy is still a comparatively new phenomenon. This initial research presents a clear picture of its evolution so far and the increasing confusion the use of the term has created. It is still far too early to decide if these are heralding a new gastronomic movement. Practical implications: Although molecular gastronomy itself may not provide a foundation for a genuine and lasting development of cuisine it is generating fascination with the fundamental science and techniques of cuisine and showy culinary alchemy. As with nouvelle cuisine poor quality copycat chefs could bring into disrepute the reputation and practices of those who are at the vanguard of culinary and restaurant innovation. Originality/value: This paper is the first widespread primary study, across five countries, into recognised exceptional chefs' understanding of molecular gastronomy. It clarifies that molecular gastronomy was never intended to be the foundation of a culinary movement and identifies four key elements for the development of lasting cuisine movements and trends.
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Most beginning food forests face the following challenge: how do we get the harvest to the consumer? At food forest 't Mortelke they had the same question. The following research presents the answer to the following question: 'What are potential outlets for the harvest of Voedselbos 't Mortelke and how can these collaborations be realized?' The research provides more clarity on the needs of the market regarding potential collaborations with Voedselbos 't Mortelke. Interviews with interested parties (restaurants, country stores, organic supermarkets, individuals) revealed that the most appropriate form of cooperation with the food forest lies with fine-dining restaurants in the Eindhoven area. To initiate these collaborations an experimental phase is needed in which the chefs can get to know the products of the food forest. As a result of this research, several collaborations with restaurants have been initiated! Due to privacy reasons, certain parts of the research have been removed from the publication version.
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The focus of the thesis is an exploration into students’ vocational knowledge in the context of Dutch vocational education and training (VET). The reason students’ vocational knowledge requires exploration is because there is no consensus among scholars in the field of VET about how to theorise the nature of students’ vocational knowledge; most (not all) scholars rely on dichotomous conceptualisations, such as theory versus practice, general versus specific or explicit versus implicit. However, such commonly used dichotomies are not very helpful to understand the complex nature of vocational knowledge. Vocational knowledge is more than putting bits of theoretical and practical knowledge together, it is characterised by sometimes-intimate relationships between knowledge and actions. As a result of the above-mentioned gap in the VET literature, there is little empirical research on how VET students develop vocational knowledge and the extent to which this is occupation-specific knowledge. To understand students’ vocational knowledge, four different aims are formulated and carried out in four studies. The aim of the first study is to identify powerful vocational learning environments to enable the selection of a case that represents high quality vocational learning and teaching. With an eye on analysing students’ vocational knowledge, the second study aims to conceptualise the nature of vocational knowledge that avoids dichotomies. Therefore, two conceptual frameworks are integrated; the idea of contextualising is introduced which is based on cultural-historical theory to highlight the crucial role activity plays in knowledge development and to understand the relationships between the mind (i.e., what people think (and feel)), and action (i.e., what people do). Secondly, the theory is supplemented with ideas from inferentialism, a philosophical semantic theory of meaning to provide a useful way to focus on students’ processes of knowing and to reveal students’ vocational knowledge in terms of ongoing reasoning processes. The third study uses the conceptualisation of vocational knowledge to explore how students develop vocational knowledge in occupational practice, and to illustrate the process of contextualising. The forth study aims to describe what characterises students’ vocational knowledge using an analytic framework that distinguishes between occupation-specific knowledge components and qualities. This thesis contributes to research scholarship in the field of VET and an understanding of students’ vocational knowledge in practice. The theoretical framework of contextualising supplemented with inferentialism provides an alternative way to focus on students’ processes of knowing and helps to reveal students’ vocational knowledge in terms of reasoning processes. The empirical explorations and illustrations of students’ vocational knowledge contribute to the scholarly literature and practice on understanding the nature of vocational knowledge, how students develop vocational knowledge and what characterises their vocational knowledge. The intention to introduce the idea of contextualising is not about reinventing the wheel but rather an attempt to understand how it turns and how it functions. The intention of this thesis is to encourage dialogue and move the debate about the nature of vocational knowledge further, and hence, to provide some “food for thought”.
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De Stichting EYOF Utrecht 2013 en Official Partner Achmea hebben besloten om rondom het European Youth Olympic Festival 2013 onderzoek te laten uitvoeren rond de thema’s: maatschappelijke betekenis; economische betekenis/beleving evenement; het organisatieproces met betrekking tot maatschappelijke betekenis. Het onderzoek naar de maatschappelijke betekenis is uitgevoerd door de Hogeschool Utrecht (Kenniscentrum Sociale Innovatie). De economische betekenis en de beleving van het evenement is door het Mulier Instituut in kaart gebracht (in nauwe samenwerking met de Werkgroep Evaluatie Sportevenementen, WESP). Het onderzoek naar de organisatie van het evenement met betrekking tot de maatschappelijke betekenis is uitgevoerd door de Universiteit Utrecht (USBO). Het onderzoek werd gecoördineerd door het Mulier Instituut. Over de drie onderzoeken is separaat gepubliceerd in drie deelrapporten. In deze overall rapportage brengen we de uitkomsten uit de drie deelonderzoeken bijeen en formuleren we de belangrijkste conclusies en aanbevelingen. De reactie op de onderzoeken vanuit het bestuur van de Stichting EYOF Utrecht 2013 is als bijlage in het rapport opgenomen
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In veel teksten als rapporten of scripties moet je een conclusie formuleren en die weten te onderbouwen met bijvoorbeeld onderzoeksresultaten. Uiteindelijk wil je natuurlijk dat je met jouw tekst de lezers zult overtuigen. Om dat te kunnen moet je conclusie(s) en argumenten voor je lezers helder weergeven. Dat vinden veel studenten erg lastig. Het kan helpen voor je rapport of scriptie een argumentatiestructuur op te zetten. Hierin geef je jouw conclusie(s) en de bijbehorende argumenten schematisch weer. In deze tekst probeer ik duidelijk te maken hoe.
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Het bedrijfsleven hecht waarde aan de attitude van de individuele werknemer ten opzichte van kwaliteit. Met name klantgerichtheid, voortdurende procesverbetering en team-work-capaciteiten staan daarbij hoog in het vaandel. Echter de belangrijkste doelstellingen worden in het hoger onderwijs niet of onvoldoende nagestreefd, blijkt uit het onderzoek van Evans. Een tweede onderzoek in de VS van Weinstein, Petrick en Saunders ondersteunt in feite deze conclusie. De auteurs doen verslag van hun onderzoek in het kader van Leonardo, waaruit blijkt dat de situatie in Europa niet anders is. Meer bewustzijn van de door het bedrijfsleven gesubsidieerde opleidingen en verbeterde cursussen voor het bedrijfsleven zou nagestreefd moeten worden.
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