Creation of Thai Food from Cultural Capital for Cafe Operators in Phitsanulok Province.

Abstract

        The objectives of this research were 1) to study and analyze the problems and needs of consumers and cafe operators. 2) To study guidelines for creating Thai food from cultural capital for cafe operators in Phitsanulok Province. This research is a mixed methods research. The tools used were semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups with 10 cafe operators, 400 cafe consumers and 18 food experts.

The research results of objective 1 regarding the condition of the problem of consumer demand for cafe shops found that consumers like to eat inside the restaurant. The most popular type of drink ordered is coffee. Consumers choose to order Thai food by choosing fried food. The food that is reasonably priced with the quality of food and service. For choosing to order food, customers like to order savory Thai food, usually in the form of single dishes. For dessert, they will choose steamed desserts and for snacks, they will choose fried snacks. Consumers want single-dish menus as regular meals at cafes, and Thai food should be creative, beautiful, and appetizing. As for the problems and needs of cafe operators; that is, the food menu will focus on the needs of consumers and the expertise of the cooks. It is a food with a simple cooking process that focuses on taste, cost, ingredients, and cooking time. Types of Thai food in the café include: single dishes, desserts, and snacks. Food should use local ingredients that have interesting stories to tell in order to bring local culture to create food.

The results of research objective number 2 found that guidelines for creating Thai food from cultural capital for cafe operators in Phitsanulok Province, known as 4C-TIPS, consist of 8 elements:1) Culture Capital 2) Creativity 3) Cooking 4) Cost 5) Time 6) Ingredients 7) Presentation and 8) Story Telling.