Data for the project: Storage economy in a sustainable restaurant sector - preconditions for a sustainable food culture

Research participants are employees/representatives from eleven restaurants (of which eight are niche businesses which actively worked with preservation practices and three are large businesses who did so to little or no extent) and four wholesalers in different parts of Sweden. A total of 15 interviews were conducted with a total of 17 people. The interviewees are primarily restaurant owners/chefs, executive chefs, site managers/warehouse managers and sales persons.

We used a purposive sampling strategy to collect different perspectives on the practices relating to preservation in the restaurant sector. Recruitment aimed to include three segments: restaurants which actively engaged in different forms of preservation practices; large restaurants which did not, or only to a very limited extent; and wholesalers. A criterion in the purposive sampling strategy was that the restaurants’ gastronomic profile explicitly or implicitly related to Nordic flavors and seasons. Establishments all over Sweden were identified through internet research, media, and contacts. Presumptive participants were approached through email, resulting in 15 participating organizations with 17 interviewees. Since the project was exploratory, the aim of the project and the sampling did not aim to cover the whole restaurant sector, but to capture different experiences and practices, further studies ought to consider additional segments of the gastronomic sector.

The restaurants and wholesalers are located in various locations in Sweden, both in cities and rural areas.