Interviews were performed with three participant groups: those who actively engage in community outreach and offerings, those who eat out at least once per week but rarely participate in community activities, and those who rarely eat out or participate in community events.

 

A survey was designed to understand attitudes around eating out and participating in events outside of the home. There were 43 respondents. 

 

Contextual observations of restaurant, in-home and take-out experiences were conducted over one month.  

 

This research showed that people prefer micro-level experiences when dining outside of the home. They care less about the broad history of different cuisines and more about where a specific recipe, ingredient or visual interior element came from.

 

This is likely due to the disconnect between various cultures. When personal stories associated with obtaining recipes were shared, participants were able to find parallels to match their own. For instance, we all have family, and we all have experienced "walking down the street one day". These parallels were found to help participants relate to the person and their culture or sub-culture easily because it is grounded in their own reality.

 

Participants and respondents enjoy some interaction with the preparation of their dining experience, but don't feel the need to witness or participate in the whole process. Far from it, a majority of survey respondents stated they'd prefer the interaction be 5 minutes or less. 

 

People were also interested in connecting with other people over food, but not all the time - this is something that participants would prefer was scheduled so that they can prepare for it.

 

Additionally, people are not always brave enough to try new foods on their own, and would like guidance from people who know how to prepare and eat foods outside their norm.

 

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