Exploring open kitchens' impact on restaurateurs' cleanliness perceptions

Although the consequences of poor food health and food handling practices can be very costly to businesses or even lethal in some cases, research providing information of kitchen design as it relates to food safety is lacking. The present study seeks to add knowledge in this area, studying restaurant operators' perceptions of open and closed kitchens. Using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews, 20 restaurant managers and owners in Fulton County, Georgia, US provided their views on kitchen design as it relates to a number of aspects that include hygiene, convenience or even the emphasis on the visual element of being able to see what is taking place 'behind the scenes'. Overall, respondents whose kitchens were both open and closed viewed open kitchen restaurants as the most hygienic, with open kitchen restaurant operators being more emphatic about the cleanliness differential. In addition, open kitchens were thought to positively influence employee behavior, particularly in regards to being more exposed to customers' scrutiny. Finally, the provision of an entertaining and engaging atmosphere, as well as enhanced cleanliness perception factors were reasons why open kitchen restaurants were constructed in that manner.