Restaurants in the Age of Food Television

This article describes changes in the so-called "eating-out2 practice and how these changes depend on the tensions that "lifestyle television" supports. In fact, the definition and dissemination of standards of excellence proposed by "celebrity chefs" are changing the ways in which consumers are approaching the world of restaurants. To investigate the topic, a qualitative study was conducted by collecting 32 interviews with restaurant owners operating in the Veneto region of Italy and coordinating one focus group with five participants. The study highlights two important elements for the development of the restaurant business: i) the extension to a wider number of consumers of narratives related to high cuisine, that is, what has been deemed the "democratization of taste" and ii) the increase of social prestige attributed by consumers to restaurateurs associated with the lack of recognition that restaurant owners give to celebrity chefs. The action of these two elements leads to a redefinition of restaurants' approach to consumers from an offer based on service to one based on experience.