Introduction

The author means to consider culinary taste from a perspective that's practical to the restaurant industry, but acknowledges that there is a great deal of sociological portent to eating, whether it is done privately or in public view. This is likely inevitable, nor should it be ignored because culture is a factor in consumerism.

The restaurant industry has long recognized the importance of meeting the needs and desires of the consumer, yet the topic has not been considered in much detail - eating is a basic physical need, at the manner in which we address this need has an economic component, but the choice of cuisine and venue also has much to do with a desire for pleasure and the esteem of the individual. It is a much more complicated phenomenon than a decision of price and quality.

(EN: He then provides a brief summary of each chapter and a comment about the qualifications of the authors whose work he has chosen to include.)

If there is any common theme to the collection, it is that culinary taste and the precipitating consumer behavior are greatly influenced by a wider cultural context: in effect, taste is socially constructed, and greatly influenced by our environs.