Storytelling Style to Enhance the Value of Traditional Multicultural Cuisine Ayutthaya Old Town

Abstract

Telling stories of authentic cuisines in multicultural old capital Ayutthaya not only reflects the tastes and the raw ingredients but also depicts the history, the ways of life and the local wisdom. This article was aimed 1) to examine cuisine storytelling circumstances, 2) to check the correlations of causal relationship structures, and 3) to develop storytelling styles. This research was a mixed-methods study comprising 3 phases. In the first phase, the qualitative research involved in-depth interviews and focus group discussions of 21 people based on semi-structured interviews and document synthesis. The data were analyzed for contents and presented as a descriptive report. In the second phase, the first step was to conduct SWOT Analysis with TOWS Matrix to analyze potential components and then these components were used in the second step for quantitative research using survey method. The tool was questionnaire. The sampling group consisted of 400 tourists and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling. In the third phase, the participatory qualitative research involved purposive sampling group of 21 participants. The tools were evaluation form to select appropriate styles. The research findings were as follows:

1) The old capital Ayutthaya is highly multicultural and contains many stories of cuisines which can be told from different aspects, for example, histories, cultures, religions, traditions, as well as the authenticity of cuisines in the local area.

2) The structural equation model was consistent with the empirical data.

3) There were 13 styles which were unanimously approved in the policy discussion group. The body of knowledge from this research could be used to develop storytelling styles to enhance the value of cuisine and to contribute to the economy and the policy of the stakeholders.