Versión de HTML Básico
TOURISM&CREATIVE INDUSTRY WORKSHOP
Sustainable tourism, cultural tourism, creative tourism, culinary tourism, heritage & tourism
101
analyse whether these patterns deviate with the published findings that were
discussed in the first part of this article.
When considering the research limitations, it must be emphasized that the
Valencia region where we carried out the field study doesn´t stand out for
its gastronomic quality or culture. It has only 13 Michelin starred restaurants
(with 1 and 2 stars) while the Basque region has 15 (with 1, 2 and 3 stars),
Madrid has 12 (with 1 and 2 stars) and Catalunya has 47 (with 1, 2 and 3
stars). Therefore this fact must be taken into account when comparing the
field results.
The last alternative includes on line services, new dish formats and menus
and the table organizations. This conclusion confirms that already mentioned
by authors such as Gomez and Bouty (2009).
The locus of creativity for our chefs is usually their customary kitchen room.
Only a minority carries out their innovative sessions in special kitchen or
cooking lab. Our research shows chefs who innovate more in teams and
have a lower innovative leading profile. The chefs seem to be inspired by
their own team, by competitors and fairs or Cuisine exhibitions and seldom
by their customer’s suggestions. Their cooperation with institutions such as
university labs is relevant and growing. This cooperation is outstanding when
comparing it with other firms from services or industry and marks a difference
.
The chef ’s leadership, innovative culture and motivation are the main drivers
for culinary innovation and one of the main motivations is the chef ’s search for
differentiation from its competitors. In general, it seems that innovative chefs
consider innovation a strategic tool and tend to formalize its management
and document their innovation outcomes This conclusion coincides with the
findings of Ottenbacher and Harrington (2007, 2007b). Innovative chefs
are sceptic in relation to their perception of the economic impact of their
innovative activity. The financing of their innovation is based in their own
means. Precisely this lack of access to financing is considered one of the
main barriers to innovation as well as the risk and costs associated. Some
mentioned also the lack of receptivity of customers to innovative ideas.