The research presented in this article focuses on factors that form customers' meal experiences in á la Carte restaurants. The intention of the study is to reveal new aspects of the meal experience from the customers' points of view based on empirical data. Following a modified version of grounded theory approach, empirical data are based on seven semi‐structured interviews of experienced restaurant customers in two Norwegian cities. A main result of the study is the development of an overall conceptual model that integrates the most important meal experience categories revealed. The five main categories are the core product, the restaurant interior, the personal social meeting, the company, and the restaurant atmosphere. The study generally offers an increased understanding of the complexity of customers' meal experiences. The knowledge gained from this study may give restaurateurs a better understanding of and insight into important factors about the customers' choices of restaurants. It also offers indications of what to focus on in the desire to influence the perceived service quality of restaurant visits. Finally, it could be useful as a basis for a future quantitative study to test the validity of the categories developed.

During the last two decades, SERVQUAL and DINESERV have been widely used to measure service quality in the hospitality industry. At the same time, interest in and research of meal experiences have increased. This article develops a measurement tool for meal experiences by combining SERVQUAL, DINESERV, and meal experience models. By measuring the meal experience, eating establishment owners should be able to increase the number of customers returning to their restaurants. Three sets of statements based on SERVQUAL were discussed in terms of six meal experience aspects, resulting in 14 new statements covering different parts of the meal experience; 11 were included in the new set of statements. Both old statements and new statements were assembled into a list of 89 statements and then randomized; the entire list was presented to three professional experts in the hospitality industry who favored statements that would cover an entire meal experience. This resulted in 29 new and old statements that together cover six meal experience aspects: core product, restaurant interior, personal social meeting, company, restaurant atmosphere, and management control system. This article develops new statements that will be adjusted to meal experience and its complexity in eating establishments. This instrument needs testing in real settings, which will be reported on in future research.

The problem of unsustainable food consumption among vulnerable residents of nursing homes who suffer from dementia is often multifaceted. From an individual perspective, people with dementia who do not finish their meals are likely to encounter serious health issues associated with malnutrition. Moreover, at the institutional level, nursing homes generate tons of nonrecoverable food waste each year, impairing not only their economic position but also the natural and social environment at large. The purpose of this study is to explore the possibility of reducing food waste in Norwegian nursing homes by appraising how large this reduction could be as one replaces traditional dining white porcelain with plates with diverse color combinations. A quasi-experimental method was adopted. The results of the pilot study were extrapolated to the annual amount of food wasted at the national level. The findings indicate that, on average, 26% of food was thrown away when served on white plates compared to only 9% when served on one of the colored plate options tested. Nationally, approximately 992.6 tons of food per year could potentially be saved with only a single change, ultimately ameliorating the unsustainable food consumption problem among residents of nursing homes.

There is a tendency towards greater expectations of consumer goods and services in society—what was once judged as ideal may now be a bare minimum. This presents a challenge for food providers in the upcoming decades. As the more demanding baby boomer cohort ages, health institutions of the future will face challenges meeting their food expectations. The purpose of this study was to explore expectation type dynamics and function with updated empirical material on aging consumers expectations of institutional food and advance our current understanding of how consumers evaluate their expectations. This qualitative study employed in-depth semi structured interviews with 14 informants between the age of 58–79. Content analysis was performed to capture the informants’ food expectations based on the expectation hierarchy proposed by Santos and Boote. Analyzing the content and relationship between different expectation types led to three main findings: expectation functions and content, interconnectedness, and the role of affect. Based on the findings, this study contributes by making several propositions for future research and proposes an updated expectancy–disconfirmation model. Importantly, this study provides novel knowledge that can help health institutions understand and meet aging consumers expectations of institutional food.

Purpose: The Porcelain for All project was an initiative by Figgjo AS, a porcelain factory in Norway, which needed more research on different coloured porcelains. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach: The study aimed to gain new knowledge about how different décor and dinner plate colours can positively influence dementia sufferer food intake and appetite. The intervention period lasted three weeks. Four days were randomly picked during that period. Each plate was photographed before and after the resident had eaten, researchers conducted observations during mealtimes. Two CurroCus® group interviews were used to collect additional empirical data. In total, 12 dementia sufferers (five females) between 65 and 85 years were observed during dinnertime. Findings: Plates with a white well, yellow lip and red rim seemed to be preferred regarding food intake. Three main categories were noted from the observations and group interviews: mealtime dignity, porcelain design and appetite. Research limitations/implications: Future research could incorporate well-being in people with dementia regarding food weight, testing different meal room environments, user involvement, food presentation and should include more nursing homes and residents. Practical implications: This study only encompasses a small sample (12 residents), all diagnosed with dementia. Social implications: Outcomes may help to prevent undernutrition among elderly people. Originality/value: Combined coloured porcelain, food intake and residents with dementia is scarcely investigated.

In a relationship, it is natural that one person lives longer than the other, leading to many challenges, including the possibility of loneliness. This article focuses on how food and meals can help reduce loneliness among the elderly. There are many reasons for loneliness or emptiness, including being a widow or a widower, illness, and poverty. As the number of elderly people is greatly increasing in all welfare states, meals are an important function that should be maintained throughout life. This study used CurroCus® group interviews, or fast focus groups. Nine CurroCus® groups were conducted, lasting for 37–56 min (average = 45 min). Altogether, 76 persons participated, ranging in age from 60 to 87 years; participants were predominantly female (> 80%). The collected empirical data were recorded, transcribed, and entered into NVivo 11.0. Interviews were analysed using a grounded theory approach. The main findings of this article fall into two main categories: togetherness and life action. Based on the interpretation of respondents’ answers, elderly people make both conscious and unconscious choices that help reduce loneliness. They also gather around food and meals to experience more togetherness. In future research, loneliness strategies carried out unknowingly should be investigated more closely. In addition, elderly participants should self-report on meal activities throughout the day.