Favorite Dish to Cook
This project is an interview study report that explores the topic of "Favorite Dishes," examining how cultural background, personal traditions, preparation methods, and modern trends influence individuals' favorite dishes.
Role: UX Researcher
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Tools: Google Docs, Google Sheets, Figma
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Timeline: November - December 2024
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Collaboration: Elton Haskaj and Leonel Lourenco
Project Overview
Food is an amazing experience that allows an individual to connect across their roots. This way, individuals can profoundly understand each other’s cultures. My team and I also wanted to research the emotional, practical, and cultural aspects of favorite dishes.
Problem Statement
Experiencing food is far beyond the mere act of consuming it: it reflects an aspect that has been put together from culture, memory, and identity. The food one likes, the way it is cooked and the way it is shared have everything to do with where one comes from, what experiences one has gone through in life, and the world we live in right now. However, there are a few aspects that remain blurry regarding the combination of both elements in a deep-level relationship with food and how we choose at the table. Apart from traditions and culture in our families, in what way can current health trends and societal changes affect our desire and consumption behaviors regarding food?
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The research will explore all these kinds of issues, opening the way for brainstorming sessions on how culture, memory, and/or personal preferences have created a relationship between human beings and their preferred foods. In accepting these relationships, developing any food-based experience on behalf of oneself, from web-based media to restaurant services to personally customized nutrition consulting, could be improved by being in concert with people's altering requisites, values, and lifestyles. Food is more than a matter of eating; it is feeling, remembering, and belonging.
High Level Vision
“My favorite dish is the perfect blend of protein and fiber. This meal makes you filled up with all the nutrients you need in order to keep going with the day. There are many different benefits you get from eating this meal. Once you try this meal you will want to eat this meal every day maybe with every dish you have. Many people think it’s just food on a plate, it is happiness on a plate.”
Introduction
This interview report consisted of NJIT as well as outside participants in which our group interviewed them. We were able to pick different types of reports either in a group report or individual report. The three of us decided to work on the report together and come up with the topic. We decided to pick a variety of topics. We all came up with different ideas and picked one that we all enjoyed. Our group consisted of three people. Food is a universal thing and many people have many different cultures not just in NJIT but as well as friend groups and colleagues so being able to get a deeper meaning is neat. There were many different ethnic demographics.
We had to come up with 3 different research questions based on your topic. The topic we focused on was the participant's favorite dish. We had three research questions that summarized the interview questions as a whole. The first research question was “ How does a customer's cultural background and personal traditions influence their appreciation and preparation of their favorite dish?” This research question asks whether the person's background or certain traditions have an effect on their favorite dish. The second research question was “What factors, such as preparation methods, ingredients, and setting, contribute to the overall enjoyment and perceived value of a customer's favorite dish”? This question means does the overall process of creating the meal make the person have an enjoyment of their dish. The third question “How do modern trends, health considerations, and personal modifications shape a customer's experience and perception of their favorite dish over time?” This question means there are other factors that have the shape of the person's favorite dish. All these research questions relate to the interview questions that we asked the participants.
Research Questions
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1. How does a customer's cultural background and personal traditions influence their appreciation and preparation of their favorite dish?
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2. What factors, such as preparation methods, ingredients, and setting, contribute to the overall enjoyment and perceived value of a customer's favorite dish?
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3. How do modern trends, health considerations, and personal modifications shape a customer's experience and perception of their favorite dish over time?
Data Collection
The topic we decided to do was Favorite Dishes. We all decided to do this topic as we all love food but with this report, we were able to get a deep understanding. The actual requirements of the report were the same as the interview study report. We came up with about 20 interview questions that were all related to one another. We did it in chronological order in which each question went off the other question. We made sure the questions were all relevant and didn’t go off-topic. We felt that there weren’t many questions to ask because many of the sounds were familiar but were different. We made sure to ask questions during the interview to get a better understanding of the answer.
When it came down to finding participants we decided to expand from just NJIT students but also other participants. Mainly friends as well as family members. As all 3 of us come from different backgrounds and cultures so we decided to interview one of our family members. I wouldn’t say it was difficult finding participants but as we are coming up to the end of the semester many people are busy and do not have time. For me personally, I would call up my friends and say come to my house real quick and finish the interview. We didn’t make any restrictions on who to interview; we wanted to have diverse participants.
At first, we decided to do only 3 participants each but since the data is not as complex we felt that we needed to do more participants. In total, we did 15 interviews and everyone did 5 interviews each. How we recruited was a mix of styles such as incorporating family members, friends, and NJIT colleagues. This made it better because we were able to get more interviews which meant more data when we coded each other's interviews. I am talking about myself (Elton Haskaj). I interviewed all my participants in person. I felt that it was much easier as in the first interview report I did 2 of them online and I felt that sometimes people’s mic would lag and wasn’t that clear. When it came down to the length of interviews we felt as if we didn't need 20-30 minute interviews because we are doing 5 participants so we aimed for 10-15 minute interviews. The data collection part wasn’t bad at all as everyone in the group knew what was happening and what had to be done.
Analysis Process and Method
The process that we followed in our analysis was that we needed to find a plan. So, firstly, we went back to the instructions of the interview study report assigned in the past so we could conduct this final interview study report. We followed the interview study report steps by the “book.” First, we came up with what method we were going to use (Interview Study Report). Then, decide on what topic (Favorite Dishes). Then, individually, we decided to interview 5 participants to get a total of 15 participants. Then, transcribe each interview. Then, code the most important things that the participants stated. Then, add all of the codes into one Excel sheet. Then, create another Excel sheet to create the second cycle/code book.
The Coding Method we used is best described as Eclectic coding. We took inspiration from many styles depending on which we thought would best describe the core of the idea of the code. To be more truthful and direct in the codes, we put a heavy emphasis on hierarchical coding and frequency coding for the organization of the data. This made it easier to understand the trends and patterns in the interviews. In addition to this, it also made it easier to code subsequent interviews as less searching had to be done to find the appropriate codes. As we were doing the different cycles of code we jotted down different analytic memos throughout the paper. An example of one was “So, I’m Albanian, and Albanians really like to eat meat. Lamb is one of those meats we love, and as I mentioned earlier, during large family gatherings, we often cut a whole lamb and just feast on it”.(P10). Relating this answer to the research question “How does a customer's cultural background and personal traditions influence their appreciation and preparation of their favorite dish”? This relates to the research question as it talks about the traditions and this certain participant had a relationship with their dish and their tradition.
Organization Data
After we all coded each other’s transcripts we dumped all the code into google sheets. This made it more organized and we each had each other's code. When actually coding the transcripts we just made comments on each other's Google doc. This made it easier than printing out and doing it just because it’s a faster process and more organized. This part took some time copying and pasting each code into the sheets as there were 15 transcripts but we got it done smoothly.
Code Book With Codes and Frequency
Code Category Diagram
Link to the diagram: https://www.figma.com/board/AQxjpi0OTrCFRteHoe4r1y/Final-Themes?node-id=0-1&p=f&t=RoBdE6J0e94QDsIg-0
Personas
Themes
Heritage: Many of our interviewees described that their favorite food played a large part in their cultural heritage. More than a few recipes were passed down from older family members to them. Several were traditional holiday dishes such as Cod Filets.
Health: Several participants recognized the health benefits of their favorite food. One participant detailed how BBQ chicken was healthier than normal chicken due to much of the fats of the chicken dripping off during the cooking process.
Exploration: Many of our participants had a different variety of favorite dishes. This results in everyone's different preferences as many people didn’t know how to cook as well as some did know how to make their own dish. One participant was from a completely different culture and their favorite dish was from another culture.
Use of direct quotes and excerpts from the transcripts to back up our argument
Heritage: "This dish plays a crucial role in my culture because it’s a staple in Albania and many other countries around it. It’s really an iconic dish that people all over Albania tend to eat." (Pparticipant 6, discussing Burek)
“I would say that in my culture, usually when we have different family gatherings or holidays, you usually see salmon and it's just something that I've learned to make for family gatherings.” (Participant 8)
Health: "Health-wise, this is a really unhealthy dish. The crepe itself isn’t healthy—there’s no protein, just carbs. You have to put cheese, jam, or Nutella on it. It’s more of a sweet dish than anything else." (Participant 7, discussing Crepes)
“Um, I think this is a very healthy, uh, option mostly because of the protein intake and because you can eat it with different things that would make this meal healthy, such as, um, vegetables like asparagus” (Participant 9)
Exploration: "I’ve tried a lot of chicken Alfredos, but variations—like other pastas—I’ve had vodka sauce pasta, and some other cheese pasta dishes. I don’t really know all the names, but the four-cheese pasta was really good. I love eating that." (Participant 8, discussing Chicken Alfredo)
“Eating this dish at different times does have a different effect. Like, if I’m eating it while on vacation, I’ll correlate those nice memories to that particular dish. It’s similar to when you smell a perfume that reminds you of a nice time—you get the same effect with food.” (Participant 10)
Reflection on the relevance based on the outcomes to the research questions
Our research questions were as follows:
How do participants’ food choices connect with nostalgic or sentimental experiences from childhood?
Our research showed that a participant's cultural background had a heavy influence on the foods they were exposed to in their early years. This narrowed the scope of dishes they could experience. In addition to this, Many of their favorite foods were born of some sort of tradition so it was very often older, simpler recipes that made it to the top of people's preferences.
How do participants adapt or modify their favorite dishes to meet specific dietary needs or preferences?
The above factors seemingly had little to do with the participant's enjoyment of the perceived value of the dish. There was a wide variety of difficulties and special techniques used in most dishes. For example, some were expensive, others required a lot of experience to do properly, and others were as simple as holding over a fire until it was done. One factor I will say that made a few appearances was the setting as more than a few dishes were made in celebration of some kind of event, mostly holidays.
How do participants’ dining preferences (e.g., home vs. restaurants) influence their exploration of food?
Our research showed that participants' health considerations had an effect on their experience and dish over time. Many participants had very healthy options regarding their dishes. Many of them had a good amount of protein as well as a good balance of fiber and carbs. However, it seemed a few participants simply did not know how to make their favorite meal as it was a family recipe they had not practiced yet.
Conclusion
Our group concluded from this study that it provided more valuable insights and a better understanding of qualitative research. As we did an interview report already so doing this one we had a much better understanding of what we were doing as well as the structure of the report. When relating back to our topic about favorite dishes we have concluded that many people actually have a meaning behind their favorite meal. Not just because it tasted good but there was a story behind why it was so special for them. Many example was mom used to make it when I was younger and from this day it has been my favorite ever since. Also many people in the report all had different favorite dishes that could be resulting from different cultures. We also concluded many health factors influence people’s favorite dishes as well as the comfort that meal holds for that specific person.