The idealization of hospitality as a restaurant practice has permeated the late modern service culture as part of a profitable strategy for the restaurant companies (Ritzer, 2007). A typical portrayal is that the guest always is right, and that the duty of the staff is to please the needs (Gustafsson et al., 2006; Hult et al., 2023; Kim & Aggarwal, 2016) in other words, being subordinated to the other. However, in a time of novel taste regimes, aesthetics and crafts related to gastronomy (Bell, 2007; Lugosi, 2009; Scander, 2023; Smith Maguire, 2018), the currently evolving restaurant culture have started to value other aspects in the provision of meals. That is, performing in ways that fits the professionals’ own needs and interests (e.g. Cameron, 2020; Koponen & Niva, 2020; Ocejo, 2010; Wilson, 2019). Consequently, the social context in which the hospitality takes shape have great impact upon how the hospitality is perceived and received, as it serves belonging, self-representation, and creation of identity (Lugosi, 2008, 2009). Therefore, there is a need to question the idealization of hospitality and rethink the way of understanding dining room professionals’ practices. This conceptual paper aims to reflect upon the idealization of hospitality in the context of contemporary restaurants that do not always adhere to norms such as “the guest is always right” and other attributes that variously subordinate the professionals and source the guests, which often is significant in the valuation of “good” hospitality. The paper argues that, in order to rise the status and to make the profession more attractive, there is a need to shed light to the individuals performing the hospitality in relation to their acquired tastes and interests.
2023.