The effect of cuisine creativity on customer emotions

The fierce competition in today's restaurant industry contributes to the need for unique and creative products and services to maintain a competitive edge. There are many studies that examine the effect of physical stimuli on customer emotions in a restaurant setting, but very few investigate the role of food. Furthermore, most studies only include pleasure and arousal as dependent variables. Dominance has not been included. This study bridges these gaps. A questionnaire was used to collect 400 responses from customers of a Michelin-rated restaurant. Structural equation modeling was used to test the impact of cuisine creativity on customer emotions. The results indicate that aesthetics is the most influential factor. Both theoretical and managerial implications of the results are presented.