The hospitality industry is facing increasing competition. Restaurant managers and chefs working in the industry must be able to remain innovative and attract new customers by satisfying their increasingly sophisticated demands. More than ever before, restaurant consumers in particular are looking for new and unique experiences. To meet this challenge there has recently been more emphasis on innovation in the culinary service industry, even on the notion of “culinary creativity”, and on the importance of innovation competency. Ulrich felt that understanding human resources(HR)competencies was at the core of the emerging HR profession. Other studies emphasised the importance of chefs’occupational competences. Moreover, in order to provide new and
more innovative products and services to customers, there is an emerging consensus that
innovative competence is a key factor in any chef’s or restaurant’s success. Developing
innovative competency statements in training programmes, and/or reward eligibility criteria in the culinary industry and education, is still challenging and needs improving. Chefs’ innovative competences are therefore at the core of emerging research on the culinary profession and successful restaurant businesses. Building on prior research, the purpose of this study is to explore competency issues related to innovative culinary practices.