Online communities and the sharing of extraordinary restaurant experiences

Online communities and the sharing of extraordinaryrestaurant experiences

Pamela Watson, Michael Morgan and Nigel Hemmington

School of Services Management, Dorset House, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole BH12 5BB, UK

Correspondence:Pamela Watson, Schoolof Services Management,Dorset House, TalbotCampus, Fern Barrow,Poole BH12 5BB, UK.Tel: (01202) 965562;Fax: (01202) 515707;E-mail: [email protected]

Keywords:experience, food blogs,foodies, onlinecommunities, restaurants,virtual ethnography

Abstract

The use of an experiential, postmodernist approach to studying hospitalitymarkets opens many opportunities for research with an emphasis on theconsumer, not on the product. This paper uses virtual ethnography to explorehow a community of foodies creates meaning, understanding and identity asa consumer ‘tribe’, through nuances in communications on an Internet blog.These foodie customers derive added value from their ‘skilled consumption’,and this is evident in their knowledgeable contributions to discussion andsharing of their experiences of restaurants. The existence of the community towhom the experience will be reported alters the nature of the experiencebefore, during and after the act of consumption, and gives additionalmeaning, as a symbol of shared values and identity.

Introduction

Most research on eating out suggests that it isa social activity first, and that the food itself isof lesser importance (Warde & Martens 1998;Hanefors & Mossberg 2007). There is, however,a segment of people for whom the food is themajor reason to dine in a particular restaurant.These people will book months or years inadvance (Yee 2005a; Mesure 2007), or travel longdistances (Long 2006), simply to eat a mealcooked by a particular chef (The Independent2006), made with certain ingredients or in a par-ticular location (Ross 2003). Such foodophiles arepopularly known as foodies. This paper usesvirtual ethnography to explore how a communityof foodies creates meaning, understanding andidentity through discussing their experiences onan Internet web log.

It takes a postmodernist, experiential perspec-tive to analyse foodie consumer behaviour by

focusing on the personal experience of the con-sumer, rather than taking the more traditionaltransactional viewpoint. Venkatesh et al. (1993,p. 217) point out that postmodernism ‘empha-sises culture over economy and consumption overproduction as the site of contemporary discourseand human behaviour’. It is therefore contendedthat experience is the ‘core of consumption’(Addis & Podesta 2005, p. 405), and ‘emphasisesthe uniqueness, diversity, plurality and idiosyn-cracy of each and every individual’ (Brown 1993,p. 26).

Literature review

Who are foodies?

The term foodie was coined by Harpers & Queenmagazine (Barr & Levy 1984, p. 25), but came toprominence in the humorous paperback The Offi-cial Foodie Handbook.

Original article

© 2008, The Authors

Journal compilation © 2008, Blackwell Publishing Journal of Foodservice, 19, pp. 289–302

DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-0159.2008.00110.x

289

A Foodie is a person who is very very veryinterested in food. Foodies are the ones talkingabout food in any gathering – salivating overrestaurants, recipes, radicchio. They don’tthink they are being trivial – Foodies considerfood to be an art, on a level with painting ordrama (Barr & Levy 1984, p. 6).

Barr & Levy’s (1984) definition pointed out thethen presumed differences between a gourmet anda foodie: a gourmet was seen typically as an older,upper-class gentleman; foodies were described as‘children of the consumer boom’ (p. 7), usuallyyounger couples ‘from the ambitious classes’(p. 6), who pronounced judgement on food theyhad eaten in a restaurant, and attempted to rep-licate at home. Foodies ‘collect’ food experiencesand visits to celebrated restaurants, much as tour-ists collect souvenirs. More recently, Weston(2006) tells us that the term foodie has come toreplace words like epicure or gourmet, with theirconnotations of snobbishness. She declares that‘anyone can be a foodie’. Ambrozas (2003) sug-gests that ‘foodies tend to be cultural and socialspecialists who use cultural forms of distinctionover socio-economic form; in Bordieu’s termsthey tend to use “ostentatious simplicity” insteadof conspicuous consumption’.

As Kozinets (2001, p. 67) points out, it iswidely accepted that ‘consumers’ identities,actions and relationships’ grow out of the mean-ings and practices that structure the groups theybelong to. Indeed, Firat & Shultz (1997, p. 193)suggest that in a complex, fragmented, postmod-ern world, many individuals seek identity through‘belonging to permanent and tightly-knit groups’.

These groups are increasing, formed aroundparticular products, brands or activities of con-sumption, which provide what Cova & Cova(2001, p. 69) call the linking value, which unitesthe members. Such subcultures of consumptiontend to be self-selected, and share an ethos arounda particular type of consumption activity(Schouten & McAlexander 1995) – in this case,eating in restaurants. According to Kozinets(2001, p. 68),

the term ‘culture of consumption’ is used toconceptualise a particular interconnected sys-tem of commercially produced images, texts

and objects that particular groups use –through the construction of overlapping andeven conflicting practices, identities and mean-ings – to make collective sense of their environ-ments and to orient their members’ experiencesand lives.

As a result of the Internet, the values of manyconsumption communities are no longer dictatedby ‘experts’ broadcasting on mass media, but areadvocated by ‘self-appointed’ online critics. Thisso-called democratisation of content creation andcriticism (Lichtenberg 2007) allows the skilledamateur (Stebbins 1992) to develop their leisureactivities with a level of knowledge and expertisethat approaches that of the professionals theyseek to emulate.

Serious leisure and the amateur

According to Stebbins (1992, p. 5), serious leisureand casual leisure are types of activity that indi-viduals may engage in during their discretionarytime, and which exist at the opposite ends of theleisure spectrum. A serious leisure activity is dis-tinguished by perseverance; the existence of acareer, or development, in a participant’s involve-ment in their leisure activity; significant personaleffort based on the need to gain skills, knowledgeor training; durable benefits including self-actualisation and feelings of accomplishment; thedevelopment of a unique ethos within a subcul-ture; and a strong identification by participantswith this subculture (Rojek 2005, p. 178). Theseskills are often developed and displayed throughthe sharing of the experience within a communityof like-minded people (Scitovsky 1976; Beard &Ragheb 1983). The motivation to be involved inserious leisure is therefore a complex mixture ofescapism, socialization and self-actualisation(Ryan 2002).

Serious leisure is further segmented by Stebbins(1992, 2006) into amateurs, hobbyists and volun-teers. Stebbins (1992) suggests that ‘the term“amateur” should be used only with those activi-ties that also can constitute, for others, a profes-sional (his italics) work role’ (pp. 41–42). In thecase of the amateur, however, he or she is under-taking the activity purely for the love of it.Twenty-first century amateurs have access to

290 Online Communities and Restaurant Experiences P. Watson et al.



extensive leisure time and the ability to developthe knowledge and technique necessary tobecome skilled, in comparison to others hedescribes as ‘superficial participants – dilettantesor dabblers’ (Stebbins 1992, p. 42).

Postmodernism, experience and the ‘new’ media

The emergence of communities of consumptionwho create their own values through the interac-tion of skilled amateurs rather than acceptingthose decreed by experts and mass media can beseen as a facet of a postmodern society. Postmod-ernism has emerged as a critique, which denies therationality of grand theories (Venkatesh et al.1993; Firat & Venkatesh 1995; Addis & Podesta2005; Teschl 2007) or metanarratives, with whichsociety attempts to provide universal and ‘scien-tific’ laws or theories to explain all aspects of life(Brown 1993; Patterson 1998; Goulding 2003;Addis & Podesta 2005). One such metanarrativeconstrains our understanding of the supposeddistinctions between consumers and producers.Instead, the postmodernist approach acknowl-edges fragmentation and multiplicity in markets(Venkatesh et al. 1993; Firat & Venkatesh 1995;Goulding 2003; Addis & Podesta 2005), equalityand participation (Brown 1993, p. 22), and par-ticularly the lived experience of the consumer(Venkatesh et al. 1993). The porous boundariesand interdisciplinary nature of postmodernism(Goulding 2003; Addis & Podesta 2005) allowthe researcher to cut across the theoretical anddisciplinary boundaries set in place by modernistthought. By emphasising consumption experi-ences, a postmodernist approach provides anopportunity for the researcher to study the con-sumer within the context of their culture (Douglas& Isherwood 1979). According to Firat & Shultz(1997, p. 188),

The postmodernist position is generally thatsince all social experience is founded on a nar-rative – that is, a story constructed by a socialgroup about life, its conditions and its require-ments – in which a community believes and, byacting upon such belief, transforms it into thesocial reality it experiences, no narrative oughtto have a privileged status.

What is significant in the context of foodie cultureis that postmodern society is seen as being filledwith spectacle (Rojek 1993; Venkatesh et al.1993), dominated by the media and technology(Venkatesh et al. 1993; Berthon & Katsikeas1998; Goulding 2003), hyperreality (Eco 1987;Rojek 1993) and consumption (Baudrillard 1988;Brown 1993; Venkatesh et al. 1993). An impor-tant part of postmodern spectacle is hyperreality.The term hyperreality was coined by Jean Baud-rillard to mean products or experiences thatmagnify or ‘improve upon’ reality, until they seemmore real than reality itself (Rojek 1993;Venkatesh et al. 1993; Ward 2003). Quintessen-tial examples of hyperreal spectacles includetheme parks such as Disneyland, Las Vegascasino-hotels, such as Caesar’s Palace, and PlanetHollywood restaurants (Eco 1987; Fullerton1998). According to Rojek (1993, p. 280), ‘hyper-reality suggests that the distinction betweenreality and fiction in consumer culture is non-existent, or at very best, rather weak’. Further-more, fragmentation suggests that there is nocentral coordination (Rojek 1993, p. 285;Berthon & Katsikeas 1998, p. 152) and no suchthing as authenticity (Rojek 1993). From the per-spective of liberatory postmodernism (Firat &Venkatesh 1995), this opens new avenues of expe-rience in which individuals can create their ownmeanings and interpretations of reality. Webblogs are a good example of this process of inter-pretation taking place in a public medium.

The structural fragmentation of the mediabrought about by radical changes in technologyand the subsequent changes in human behaviourover the past two decades have resulted in evermore specialist products but also wider access tomore flexible sources of information and enter-tainment. Broadcasting has moved to the muchmore closely defined market segments of narrow-casting (Fullerton 1998; Goulding 2003),exemplified in the proliferation of digital radiostations, and cable and satellite televisions (Patter-son 1998). Ever more specialist Internet sites(Kozinets 1999) and magazines are continuallyappearing. Berthon & Katsikeas (1998, p. 149)contend that, whilst being present in all media, ‘itis in the Web that postmodernism finds its mostquintessential dis-embodiment’. The Internet isconsequently the medium through which cultures

291Online Communities and Restaurant Experiences P. Watson et al.



of consumption tend to be expressed in the 21stcentury.

Blogs

Food has been a popular topic for discussionon the Internet since its early days. The Usenetgroup rec.food.cooking, a text-based, asynchro-nous discussion forum, has been in existence since1986 (Google Groups 2007). Online journals,known as web logs (or blogs), are not a newphenomenon, having been around for a decade(Johnson 2007). Some blogs are so sophisticatedas to be almost indistinguishable from profes-sional websites (Berne 2005). A recent US survey(eMarketer 2007) found that the term blog wasfamiliar to a large majority of people in all agegroups, although fewer people agreed that theyread a blog on a regular basis. Besser (1995, p. 65in Berthon & Katsikeas 1998, p. 150) contendsthat ‘a significant amount of the material placedon the Internet is designed to reach a singleperson, a handful of people, or a group of lessthan 1,000’. Indeed, 67% of blog readers gener-ally discover new blogs from other blogs (eMar-keter 2007). If this is indeed the case, despite theglobal reach of the Web, then perhaps web logsshould be seen as a medium for reaching nichegroups more effectively than conventional media,but not as a way of reaching a large non-specialistaudience.

Methodology

According to Morgan & Watson (2007), the needfor new methods to research the consumer expe-rience has been a theme of the literature sinceHirschman & Holbrook (1982) first drew atten-tion to the emotional drives, subjective meaningsand dynamic evolving processes involved. If aservice experience, such as a restaurant meal, isinherently interpretative, subjective and affective,then this suggests a qualitative approach isrequired to understand it (Andereck et al. 2006;Morgan et al. 2007). ‘Culture, language, aesthet-ics, narratives, symbolic modes and literaryexpressions’ (Goulding 2003, p. 156) are all at theheart of postmodernism. A qualitative, post-modern research approach gives the researcherthe opportunity to return consumer behaviour

research to fit around the ‘symbolically rich pat-terns of creative self expression and identity con-struction’ of the liberated consumer (Goulding2003, p. 152), rather than forcing them into pre-conceived, modernist moulds. The so-called newconsumer behaviour perspective (Belk et al. 1989;Belk 1995 in Catterall & Maclaren 2001, p. 228)moves away from the traditional view of custom-ers as rational, cognitive information processorstowards a more appropriate understanding ofthem as participants in a socially connected, emo-tional world of their own construction. A post-modernist stance acknowledges the multiplicity ofpossible realities exhibited by personal narratives,and celebrates the difference, but also admits that‘it always generates only one part of the possibleknowledge’ (Addis & Podesta 2005, p. 403).

Kozinets (2006) argues that the mass adoptionof networked personal computing since the mid-1990s has seen the development of new culturalformations that are novel because of their onlinecontext, and so consequently require newresearch methodologies. He describes netnogra-phy as

ethnography conducted on the Internet: aqualitative, interpretive research methodologythat adapts the traditional, in-person ethno-graphic research techniques of anthropology tothe study of the online cultures and communi-ties formed through computer-mediated com-munications (CMC). (p. 193)

The methodologies typically used to researchexperiences, such as interviews, diaries and focusgroups, have a number of drawbacks includingrespondent inhibition (Elliott & Jankel-Elliott2003), researcher influence (Curtin 2005) andbiases of self-censorship (Arnould & Epp 2006).Curtin (2005) found that after revealing to fellowmembers on a wildlife tour that she was aresearcher, their interactions with her changed.People became more guarded in their comments,or left her out of their conversations altogether.Elliott & Jankel-Elliott (2003) commented thatpeople would sometimes try to give an answerthat was what they anticipated the researcherwanted them to say, rather than give their actualviews. Alternatively, people would give responsesthat they believed would put them in a better




light. The advantage of using blogs and otherInternet sources is that it is not only less time-consuming and costly than traditional techniques,but also less obtrusive and provides a windowinto naturally occurring behaviours in a contextthat is not fabricated by the researcher (Potter1996; Kozinets 2002).

Some authors believe that using netnography asa research method can impose ethical dilemmas(Hine 2000, 2005; Kozinets 2001), particularly asthe concept of informed consent becomes lessclear than in a traditional in-person ethnography(Paccagnella 1997; Kozinets 2006). A major ques-tion for the researcher then becomes whether heor she should disclose their presence to the com-munity being observed. A cautious approach isrecommended by some authors (e.g. Kozinets2002) with full researcher disclosure, explanationof the research and an offer of anonymity andconfidentiality to the participants, especially if theresearcher intends to become immersed in thecommunity themselves (e.g. Hine 2000, p. 23;Shipway & Jones 2007). On the other hand,Langer & Beckman (2005) thought that such anapproach would inhibit participant responses.Morgan (2006) argues that this decision dependson whether access to the site is restricted or not:communities that require passwords are obvi-ously intended to be private, whereas manymessage boards and blogs can be read by anyoneand are therefore in the public domain. Beaven &Laws (2006) suggest that for public communica-tions media, similar ethical procedures should befollowed as in the content analysis of readers’letters in newspapers. When there is an archive ofmaterial available online, basing the study on theexisting material that cannot be influenced by theresearcher is one possible way of avoiding suchdifficulties. Online interactions are often auto-matically archived, and become part of perma-nent records that can be accessed by researchersas they occur, or at a later time. The blog used inthis study, for example, has an openly availablepublic archive dating back to April 2004, which isavailable to be searched, read and commented on.

In response to the factors previously discussed,the overall model chosen for the study was amarketing-oriented virtual ethnography (Hine2000) or netnography (Kozinets 2002; Catterall& Maclaren 2001). As Arnould & Wallendorf

(1994, p. 484) explain, ‘a marketing-oriented eth-nography refers to an ethnographic focus on thebehaviour of people constituting a market for aproduct or service’. The researchers observed theonline community over a period of a year to gainan understanding of the roles, relationships andinteractions of the members. The data were ana-lyzed using a form of discourse analysis recom-mended by Muncie (2006) for multimedia texts.In this context, the term ‘text’ means not only thewritten part of the blogs but also the pictures andother graphics, hyperlinks to other web pagesand the asynchronous discussion with the blog-ger’s audience, which occurs after the initialposting. It seeks to identify the interpretiverepertoires with which the community expressesthe shared understanding and values placed onobjects and events (Gilbert & Mulkay 1984;Potter 1996; Wetherell 2006). According toHjørland (2006), such interpretative repertoiresor discourses are ‘part of the symbolic capital ofmembers of the relevant “interpretative commu-nity” and constitute(s) the textual and interpreta-tive codes available to them’. Some communitymembers use these codes to produce texts forother members (as Yee does when writing herblog), whilst those members who make up theaudience for such texts use their interpretativerepertoires to create an individual meaning forthemselves (Potter 1996).

To uncover the meanings and structures under-lying these repertoires, we use a form of discourseanalysis based on Muncie (2006) to identify thekey elements of the community’s discourse:1 What does the text reveal about the author?2 Who are the primary readers assumed to be?What assumptions are being made about theaudience?3 Who and what are viewed as normal or legiti-mate? What alternative readings might bepossible?4 What are the social and cultural conditionsfrom which the text emerges?

Case study: Grab Your Fork visits Tetsuya’s

A Google search on the term ‘foodie blogs’returned 253 000 000 results (05 April 2007).The vast majority of online foodie sites are aboutrecipes and home cooking. This case study




however is an example of a restaurant experienceblog. Grab Your Fork is an almost daily journal inwhich Helen Yee shares her experiences of restau-rant visits, mostly in Sydney, Australia, with acommunity of like-minded foodies from aroundthe world.

This case study concentrates on a restaurantvisit, which Yee has categorized on her site asone of her most memorable – a meal at themultiaward-winning Tetsuya’s restaurant inSydney, Australia, on 6 April 2005 (Yee 2005a).The narrative consists of 130 lines of text inter-spersed with 17 high-quality colour digital pho-tographs. At the end of the blog is an interactivesection, where readers can make comments on themeal or the text itself, and Yee responds to these.There are 36 comments, the most recent being on27 January 2007. (All quotations in the followingsection are from Yee 2005a and its commentssection, unless otherwise cited).

Analysis

The blog and comments were analyzed using thefour questions for discourse analysis identifiedearlier.

1 What does the text reveal about the author?

NarratorThe author’s own explanation of her role is self-deprecating and maternal:

Rather than consider this a restaurant reviewwebsite, Helen likes to think of it as a personalphoto album of gastronomic memories. Sheclucks over each photo like a proud mother,recalling each encounter with a wistful smile.

Yet the blog is written in the form of a restaurantreview, similar in style to those of A. A. Gill, aregular contributor to the Australian GourmetTraveller magazine, considered to be the Austra-lian ‘foodie Bible’. His reviews begin with a long,storybook introduction to set the scene, prior toany comment on the food itself.

This narrative style shows that the intention isto entertain as well as inform or provide a critiqueof the food. It uses the first person to draw the

reader into sharing a sense of anticipation andexcitement. The story begins by explaining to anyunfamiliar readers how celebrated this restaurantis within the community, clearly making a defini-tion between community insiders and the uniniti-ated or outsiders:

At $175 a head, Tetsuya’s is perhaps seen asthe gastronomic Mecca for Australian foodies.‘One day I’ll go’, is the repeated mantra. ‘It’sjust so expensive . . .’ (lines 1–3)

The language becomes religious andhagiographic.

Their pupils dilate in disbelief. But they don’tunderstand. This is not just ‘a meal’. This isart. This is ten courses of culinary genius. Thisis the inner temple of gastronomy. This is Tet-suya’s. (lines 6–9)

Anticipation for the review that is to follow isbuilt up through the author’s own sense of expec-tation. She explains that after reserving her table4 months in advance, she became excited simplyby walking past the building. This section isaccompanied by an exterior shot of the heritage-listed modernist building, with its high walls andsteel gates.

What gastronomic treasures lay beyond thehidden fortress? I would wonder as I dawdledpast. I felt like Charlie Bucket peering throughthe gates of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory,as I daydreamed about the delicious treatshoused within. (lines 16–19)

Although the Willy Wonka reference will beunderstood by most English speakers as a refer-ence to the Roald Dahl (1964) children’s book,blog insiders will also recognize that Yee’s onlinealter-ego is Augustus Gloop (AG), another char-acter from the novel. In this context, however, Yeedoes not see herself as the rich and greedy AG,rather as the poor Charlie, dreaming of the unat-tainable. This suggests that for this particularreview, she is abandoning her usual persona.Despite her skilled amateur status as a foodie,Helen Yee appears to feel that in the presence ofchef Tetsuya Wakuda (‘The Master’), she has been




reduced to being a child. Furthermore, the lockedgates and the mystique of the building add to theanticipation. As one of the community’s commentsshow, Tetsuya’s is seen as outside of normal life –almost another country, even for foodie insiders.

From the outside Tetsuya’s actually looks likean embassy, what with gates and all. Maybethey should rename it ‘The Republic of Tet-suya’s’. (krangsquared, 09 Aug 2005)

Thus, the author is casting herself as the hero onan archetypal quest, journeying into an unknownmagic country in search of enlightenment at thefeet of the master. The restaurant is described interms from an imaginative fiction that deals withmagical or spiritual realms, creating a sense ofhyperreality.

Whereas a professional journalist critic wouldregard the restaurateur as at best an artist-craftsman whose performances were to be evalu-ated critically, Yee regards Tetsuya with awe as analmost divine figure with magical gifts to bestowon the faithful. Readers of the blog echo Yee’sreverential language.

Wowww. Can’t wait for the day when I’vesaved up enough to eat there! Thank god I’vegot 5 years here to save up for my tets pilgrim-age. (Gwenda, 04 Jul 2005)

PhotographerYee’s discussion of the meal itself begins in atypically self-deprecating way.

But I know, I know – you just want the foodphotos. *sigh* (line 30)

Her description of each of the courses is accompa-nied by one or more photographs in a style similarto those found in foodie magazines, concentratingon the presentation of the food on the plate. Noneof Yee’s photographs include herself or her diningcompanions. She concentrates purely on the food,apart from two atmospheric shots of the restau-rant space. To outsiders, this need to capture thefood on camera may seem odd, but at PaulBocuse’s famed restaurant in Lyons, diners areprovided with disposable cameras to record theirfood and their experience (Gillespie 2001).

ReviewerTurning to the meal consumed, Yee’s writingbecomes highly descriptive, using many adjec-tives, and poetic, sensuous language.

Freshly baked, warm, fluffy, crust andslathered in black truffle salsa butter. (lines33–34)

The trevally sang with lemon. (line 55)

As you bit into each shiny firm globule, thetrout roe burst their briney goodness all overyour dancing tongue. (lines 66–67)

. . . the highlight for me was the basil ice creamand cold corn soup. Cold, salty and explodingwith basil flavour . . . (lines 55–57)

This can be seen as an attempt to express andcelebrate the actual experience, but there is self-awareness, an attention to every mouthful inorder to describe it, which suggests she was think-ing about her review and her audience in the veryact of eating. That she uses a literary languageborrowed from professional reviews confirms herself-image as a skilled reviewer.

Yee’s activities in foodism and blogging dem-onstrate the characteristics of a serious leisure(Stebbins 1992) career for which she has devel-oped skills of appreciation and a terminology ofexpression.

2 Who are the primary readers assumed to be?

These skills are displayed and developed in herinteraction with an online community of con-sumption. This can be seen in the way she uses ashared interpretative repertoire (Potter 1996) ofculinary terms. She does not explain unusualingredients or cooking methods, and clearlyexpects the members of the online foodie commu-nity to understand the terminology and have agood knowledge of food flavours, and how theycombine.

Encrusted with finely chopped konbu andhighly salted, at times I felt the sweetness of thetrout was overwhelmed by the flavour ofseaweed. (lines 62–64)




Underneath the spatchcock bundle was a discof simmering daikon radiating earthy miso fla-vours. (lines 77–78)

The Wagyu was actually a paper-thin scroll.(line 80)

Her audience comment on the blog, complimenther on her photographs, and talk about how theyfeel when viewing them, sometimes using emoti-cons to overcome the stilted appearance of a text-based medium. Blog insiders use Yee’s onlinepseudonym, AG.

Sigh and sigh again. That’s all I could managewhile reading this post. Whatever I eat fordinner tonight, it will taste bland, bland,bland. Appreciate the writing and photos, AG.(Oslofoodie, 04 Jul 2005)

Ooh, and aah, was all I could manage as Idrooled over the pics and read your commen-tary. What can I say, AG? I’m speechless withenvy. :) (Julia, 04 Jul 2005)

The food looks soooooo good. grrrrr. I am sojealous! And such a wonderful effort of takingeach and every single course you guys had!*yum* :p (pinkcocoa, 04 Aug 2005).

Others comment that they had taken photographsat this restaurant too, as they wanted mementosof what they anticipated would be an extraordi-nary meal experience:

Went to Tetsuya’s for my wife’s birthday, and itwas simply magical. And I’m really glad I tookphotos of our food! Wasn’t really that embar-rassed as I noticed other people started takingout *their* cameras and taking pics of theirfood. (krangsquared, 09 Jun 2005)

Some of the blog readers show their ownskilled amateur status by contributing knowledgeand advice on the comments page. Such posts arewelcomed by Yee, as sharing is an importantcomponent of the relationships within thecommunity. Notice also Yee’s humility whenquerying Chef Tetsuya’s signature dish – sheautomatically assumes that she is the one who is

wrong, despite her high level of knowledge insuch matters.

We’re still puzzling over why this was called aconfit when the ocean trout appeared to beuncooked. (lines 60–61)

. . . but who am I to argue with The Master.(lines 64–65)

noticed that you wondered about the ‘confit’part of the confit of ocean trout – tetsuya’ssignature dish. I had the same question whenwe celebrated our 10 year anniversary therelast week, and the waiter explained that it is‘cooked’ for either 4 or 6 hours (can’t recall) inwarm (not hot) oil so that it looks like it is raw,but technically isn’t. If ‘confit means long andslow, this certainly qualifies, but still even afterthe explanation, I’m still amazed! (schmen-drick, 28 Jan 2006)

Hi Schmendrick – thanks for letting me know.That does make sense now. I knew Tets wouldnever lie =)

As with any community, nuances of status andrelationships become apparent as the researcherbecomes familiar with the characters and lan-guage of the respondents. For example, Yee rein-forces her own status in the foodie world, bymentioning to her audience that not only does sheregularly eat out at prestige restaurants, but thatshe also attends foodie events with the intentionof improving her own cooking.

This dish felt like an old friend after seeingTetsuya create this dish at a DJs Food Hall1

demonstration and then racing home andattempting it myself. (lines 50–54)

A hyperlink from this entry to another dated 10February 2005 (Yee 2005b) allows the reader tosee her post about the cooking demonstration,whilst another dated the following day showsYee’s own attempt – Augustus Gloop’s take onTetsuya’s salmon sushi (Yee 2005c).

1David Jones’ is an upmarket department store inMarket Street, Sydney.




Evidence that there are in fact different levelsof community membership is revealed in Yee’sresponses to readers’ comments. In the majorityof cases, the community uses pseudonyms; onseveral occasions, however, it is clear that Yee hasa different relationship with this person as sheaddresses them by another name to the oneappearing on their message.

A professional food reporter2 is acknowledged,but also treated as an equal, and given an emoti-con wink.

Looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing:) (CherryRipe, 04 Jul 2005)

Hi Cherry Ripe. It was delicious. Glad youenjoyed the post. Have I convinced you? ;)

In the following examples, Yee reveals her knowl-edge that the reader does not live in Australia, andher consciousness that she is writing as part of aninternational community.

[burning with envy] you lucky, lucky gloopyou. (Santos, 04 Jul 2005)

Hi Santos – aww, but Guam is where it’s atain’t it? =)

I went to Tetsuya’s a couple of yearsago . . . Glad to find a foodie who likes foodand writing! :-) Like the others, am impressedyou took photos at a place like that! (runaway-mind, 05 Dec 2005)

Hi runawaymind – Glad to hear you enjoyedreliving your experience. As for taking pho-tos . . . ahh it was the least I could do for myinternational food bloggers!

3 Who and what are viewed as normal andlegitimate?

Outsiders are generally welcomed into the com-munity. In this example, an obvious outsiderappears in the discussion, although they use

the convention of addressing the author’spseudonym:

Hi AG, The food looks so delicious, but Ihighly doubt that I’d go out for a $175 perhead meal. When I saw the name I thought thiswould be a Japanese restaurant, complete withtatami mats, but do you think it’s more fusion?I think if I went to a place like that I’d be afraidto take pictures! (Reid, 04 Oct 2005)

Rather than exclude him, she tries to bring himfurther into the community by explaining the res-taurant’s ethos, the food itself and that

. . . the flash was off so there was minimal dis-turbance to diners anyway.

In another exchange, she gives advice on whatto wear and how to prepare for the experience.

But Reid’s comment previously also articulatesunease at one of the underlying assumptions ofthe discourse of the blog – that these experiences,which to an outsider would be seen as conspicu-ous consumption, are a legitimate use of leisuretime and are worth paying large amounts ofmoney for.

Helen Yee’s own attitude is shown in thisexchange with a regular:

Awesome! I’ve never managed to make it alongto Tet’s as I’m sure I’d have to wine match andof course one needs company, so $500 alwaysmanaged to scare me away (Ben, 04 Jul 2005).

Hi BHR – it’s a splurge-type evening but hey,we all deserve one once in a while.

Perhaps her chosen pseudonym, Augustus Gloop,the fat child epitomizing gluttony in Dahl’s story,is an ironic acknowledgement that some wouldfind her ‘foodie’ values wrong or undesirable. Ifso, it is typical of the postmodernist tendency tomake a joke of what was once an accepted part ofthe ‘metanarrative’.

The need to defend the values of the blog’sdiscourse is evident in the concluding section thatgives her verdict on the visit. Yee wraps up hernarrative somewhat in the manner of a restaurantreview, albeit tinged with a disciple’s exuberant

2Cherry Ripe is the pseudonym of a well-known ABCSydney food reporter.




pleasure. She had experienced great anticipationprior to this meal, and it certainly lived up to herexpectations. Foodie insiders, who form the vastmajority of her readership, will either experiencethe same anticipation or have done so themselveson a past visit to Tetsuya’s. She is keen to remindthem that despite the monetary and time costinvolved, this extraordinary meal experience wasworthwhile.

Ten courses over four hours . . . who said thiswasn’t value for money? (lines 101–102)

The food was faultless and yes, we even sawTetsuya who wandered into the dining area-. . . (lines 113–114)

Was it worth it? Absolutely. (lines 129–130)

4 What are the social and cultural conditionsfrom which the text emerges?

The online foodie community is obviously aproduct of the impact of the Internet on what wasalready a consumer culture. In this postmodernworld, the boundaries between reality and simu-lation become blurred (Patterson 1998). We con-struct our own reality, which is contextual to ourculture and time (Venkatesh et al. 1993). Techno-logical advances, especially in integrative commu-nication technologies, have made ‘simulatedpresence and sharing of virtual spaces by peopleactually far away from each other’ (Fullerton1998) commonplace. Indeed, on the Internet, ‘thedistinction between reality and virtual realitydiminishes’ (Berthon & Katsikeas 1998, p. 151).A foodie in Oslo can vicariously share in theenjoyment of a meal eaten in Sydney by anotherfoodie (Yee 2005a) at an earlier date. In thecontext of a postmodern, fragmented world, shemay have more in common with this individualthan she does with other Norwegians. Whilstbecoming more detached from her local commu-nity, the Oslo individual feels an affiliation with aglobal community of those interested in fine food.Such affiliation groups, called ‘tribes’ by Cova &Cova (2001), create value in experiences in quitea different manner than the way value is con-structed in the modernist paradigm. It is theability of the product or service to establish and

reinforce the bonds between people that havedeveloped as ‘a free emotional choice’ (Cova &Cova 2001, p. 29) that becomes the ‘linkingvalue’ (p. 67).

Symbolic consumer behaviour is at the heart ofhyperreality (Fullerton 1998); it is the consumerwho creates the experience with the products andservices provided for them by the producer. AsHelen Yee (2005a) herself notes when asked whyshe writes about her dining experiences:

Articulating the experience allows you to reliveeach mouthful as you search for just the rightadjective or metaphor.

In many cases, the linking value will not havebeen intentional on the producer’s part (Cova &Cova 2001). Chef Tetsuya Wakuda probably didnot imagine that a meal experienced by a groupof Sydney diners on Wednesday, 6 April 2005,would still be discussed, enjoyed and vicariouslyconsumed all around the world over 2 years later.As Rojek (1993, p. 287) points out, ‘The screenreplaces the street as the axis of leisure identities,associations and practices’. An experiential ap-proach to the study of consumer behaviour, assuggested by Holbrook & Hirschman (1982) andas adopted in this study, allows a focus on suchsymbolic behaviour.

Discussion

Venkatesh et al. (1993, p. 217) contend that ourbasic assumptions of whom and what a consumeris in a postmodern world require radical rethink-ing. Certainly, the analysis of the Yee blog revealssomething of the complexity of the consumerexperience of this food service. While the skilledproduction and presentation of the food arecentral to the creation of the experience, thedesign and ambience of the surroundings are alsoimportant in stimulating the imagination of theclients. However, to get the optimum enjoymentout of the meal requires skilled consumptionincluding knowledge of the ingredients and pro-cesses, a cultivated ability to distinguish andcompare the taste and olfactory sensations andalso the vocabulary to express and discuss theexperience. These skills are encouraged and devel-oped by the interaction with others with similar




tastes, the so-called community of consumption.The sharing of the experience with the commu-nity gives additional meaning to it as a symbol ofa shared values and identity. The existence of thecommunity to whom the experience will bereported alters the nature of the experiencebefore, during and after the act of consumption.

This is not a new phenomenon. Such skills havealways been developed by some groups in society,where the ability to articulate an appreciation offine food and drink was a sign of good breeding,taste or education, a form of cultural capital.These values were usually communicated througha small number of experts, who used their privi-leged position in the mass media to pass judge-ment and influence, if not dictate, taste.

What foodie communities based around skilledamateur reviews, such as Helen Yee’s, illustrate isthe democratisation of content creation and criti-cism. This would appear to free the enjoyment anddiscussion of fine food from the old metanarrativesof social status, class and ethnicity to create globalcommunities based solely on a common interest infood for food’s sake. However, the analysis of theblog suggests that the food is still acting as asymbol, no longer of social status but of the indi-vidual quest for creative self-expression and iden-tity. This elevates the craftsman cook to theposition of master or guru holding the secret ofspiritual as well as sensory delight.

Implications for foodservice managers

One obvious lesson for foodservice managersfrom the case of Tetsuya is the importance ofstage-managing the food performance (Groveet al. 1992; Pine & Gilmore 1999). The buildingitself creates a sense of anticipation like the stageset of a musical when the first curtain goes up.The meal is an event designed to appeal to all thesenses (Goldblatt 2002). The surprise appearanceof ‘the master’ himself gives a dramatic climax tothe evening. These, however, are techniques thatrestaurateurs have practised long before otherindustries began to adopt the maxim that ‘work istheatre and every business is a stage’ (Pine &Gilmore 1999).

What our analysis of Yee’s blog also shows isthe extent to which she actively participates increating the experience. She presents it as a nar-

rative in which she is the central character and hercommunity of foodies around the world is theaudience. In Prahalad & Ramaswamy’s (2004)terms, Tetsuya provides a space in which theexperience is co-created by the diner and theonline community, using the props provided bythe restaurant management. As these foodie cus-tomers derive added value from their ‘skilled con-sumption’, restaurants should help them acquirethe knowledge and vocabulary to appreciate anddiscuss the food, through informative menus,knowledgeable staff and cookery demonstrations,in the restaurant or at other events, which let theconsumers into the secrets of the trade. However,the case study also shows the importance of main-taining a sense of mystique and of creating sur-prises that get the community discussing howparticular effects were achieved. To follow acareer in serious leisure, the amateur needs to feelthat there is always something more to learn.

For this reason, while online communitiespresent an important niche market for food andhospitality organisations, becoming directly in-volved in their blogs or message boards is notnecessarily the best approach. The value of thesewebsite reviews is that they come from trustedmembers of the community and so have evengreater credibility than media reviews, whichcarry the suspicion that the journalist reviewerhas had special treatment. Any overt marketingactivities from commercial interests will bequickly detected, critically deconstructed and dis-missed by the community members. So too willany failure to live up to their expectations.

The democratisation of criticism, enabled bythese online media, means that any customer canbe an influential reviewer whose comments ontheir restaurant experience may travel around theworld. The best way to create favourable publicrelations is therefore to aim to give every customeran extraordinary and memorable experience.

Suggestions for further research

The use of an experiential, postmodernist ap-proach to studying hospitality markets opensmany opportunities for research where theemphasis is on the consumer, rather than on theproduct. Ethnography concerns the lived experi-ence of the community under study. It is antici-




pated that as this current netnography projectprogresses, many more themes will emerge as theresearchers become more absorbed into the onlinefoodie community, and more open to the nuancesin communication among the members of the‘tribe’.

Gillespie (2001) has commented that thereasons for dining in fine dining restaurants aremuch more complex than ‘primarily satisfyinghunger’. Much of the existing research considersonly the supply side of such meals: the services-cape and physical attributes of the dining setting.An opportunity therefore exists to use an ethno-graphic approach to search out the reasonsbehind the consumer choice by better understand-ing their consumption experiences.

Another area of study that looks promisingcould be to compare the discourses of a number ofskilled amateur foodies with those of professionalrestaurant reviewers. Do other amateurs writewith the same exuberance and homage to the chefsas Helen Yee does, or is this just her particularstyle? This concept could also be extended outsideof the foodie arena to compare the writing style ofskilled amateurs in blogs on other topics.

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Documents

Online communities and the sharing of extraordinary restaurant experiences