Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of figures -- List of pictures -- List of tables -- Acknowledgements -- List of abbreviations -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Authenticity and quality meanings -- 1.3 The aim: Setting food in the centre of our exploration -- 1.4 Food as a theoretical perspective -- 1.5 How can marketing influence food choices? -- 1.5.1 Marketing and consumer values -- 1.5.2 Marketing communications -- 1.6 What's the theoretical story (food glory)? -- Chapter 2 The deeper meanings of food and the constructed communication network: What's the story of others? -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Perspectives of authenticity -- 2.3 Food meanings and authenticity perceptions -- 2.4 Quality conventions and some theory behind -- 2.5 Self-identity and social identity: Can they influence food choices? -- 2.6 Ethnic identity and its influence upon food choices -- 2.7 Consumer culture and some theory behind -- 2.8 The influence of word of mouth (WOM) and e-word of mouth (eWOM) upon consumers -- 2.9 Network building among food providers and consumers -- 2.10 What makes a successful restaurant? -- 2.11 Summary -- Note -- Chapter 3 The Greek culinary culture and its health benefits -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 The Greek culinary culture -- 3.3 The economic context: The restaurant sector in Greece over the last years -- 3.4 Health benefits of the traditional Mediterranean diet -- 3.4.1 Antioxidants -- 3.4.2 Life expectancy rates -- 3.4.3 Type 2 diabetes -- 3.4.4 Parkinson's disease -- 3.4.5 Alzheimer's disease -- 3.4.6 Heart diseases -- 3.4.7 Cancer -- 3.4.8 Behavioural effects -- 3.5 Summary -- Note -- Chapter 4 A methodological exploration of food meanings: What's our story? -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Why conduct a qualitative study? -- 4.3 Interpretivism.

4.4 Grounded theory -- 4.4.1 Constructivist strategy -- 4.4.2 Clusters -- 4.5 Semiotics and symbolic interactionism -- 4.6 Choice of data collection, sampling and data analysis methods -- 4.7 Interview guides (in-depth and cultural interviewing) -- 4.8 Projective technique (word association) -- 4.9 Inductive reasoning -- 4.10 Data analysis (coding stages and NVivo) -- 4.11 Respondent validation -- 4.11.1 Constant comparison -- 4.11.2 Running an event: Presenting the findings to practitioners and consumers -- 4.12 Ethical issues -- 4.13 Summary -- Chapter 5 Restaurateurs' understanding of authenticity -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Restaurateurs' authenticity perceptions -- 5.2.1 Menu construction -- 5.2.2 Tradition (recipes from previous generations and not influenced by other nations) -- 5.2.3 Traditional cooking (slow cooking technique, cooking from scratch) -- 5.2.4 Hummus and other controversial dishes (adaptation to the global market) -- 5.2.5 Ingredients from the origin with or without PDO/PGI designation (e.g. oil, olives, herbs, feta) -- 5.2.6 Wine from the origin -- 5.2.7 The staff -- 5.2.8 Music -- 5.2.9 Decoration/atmosphere -- 5.2.10 Traditional entertainment (e.g. smashing plates, traditional dancing) -- 5.2.11 Indexical authenticity -- 5.2.12 Existential authenticity -- 5.3 Factors influencing the construction of authenticity -- 5.3.1 Identities and cultural familiarity -- 5.4 Summary -- Notes -- Chapter 6 Consumers' food choices and authenticity understanding -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Consumers' authenticity perceptions -- 6.2.1 Food and menu -- 6.2.2 Tradition -- 6.2.3 Hummus and other controversial dishes (adaptation to the market) -- 6.2.4 Ingredients and PDO products (e.g. feta) -- 6.2.5 Atmosphere/decoration -- 6.2.6 Food quality -- 6.2.7 Taste -- 6.2.8 Staff -- 6.2.9 Music and entertainment.

6.3 Factors influencing consumers' food choices -- 6.3.1 Nostalgia -- 6.3.2 The role of experiences -- 6.3.3 The restaurant owner -- 6.3.4 Identities -- 6.4 Summary -- Chapter 7 The quality and authenticity network: Identities, authenticity perceptions and quality conventions -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 An in-depth exploration of authenticity and its perceptions -- 7.3 Quality conventions -- 7.3.1 Quality conventions for ethnic restaurants -- 7.3.1.1 Inspirational category -- 7.3.1.2 Market category -- 7.3.1.3 Domestic category -- 7.3.2 Intersection of authenticity and quality -- 7.3.2.1 Pragmatic iconicity -- 7.3.2.2 Ancestral indexicality -- 7.3.2.3 Innovative iconicity -- 7.3.2.4 Intersection points of authenticity and quality -- 7.3.2.5 Authenticity convention and the identity factor -- 7.4 Structuring a network of restaurant owners and consumers: Their communication and the word of mouth -- 7.4.1 Establishing a social network based on word of mouth -- 7.4.2 Interessement -- 7.4.3 Word of mouth versus identity -- 7.5 Summary -- Chapter 8 And so, what's the new story? -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Quality and authenticity conventions of restaurant owners and consumers within the communication network of ethnic restaurants -- 8.3 Summary -- Chapter 9 Conclusions -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Summary of key findings related to research objectives -- 9.3 Theoretical implications -- 9.4 Practical implications -- References -- Appendix -- A.1 Author's notes during the interviews with restaurateurs -- A.2 Semi-structured interview schedule for ethnic restaurant managers/owners -- General questions -- Exploring identity and authenticity aspects -- Exploring marketing/promotional aspects -- A.3 Semi-structured interview schedule for consumers of Greek ethnic restaurants -- General question -- Exploring identity and authenticity aspects.

Exploring marketing/promotional aspects and QCT -- A.4 Menu 1: Black font (domestic-oriented restaurant) -- A.5 Menu 2: Blue font (market-oriented restaurant) -- Index.