From farm to fine dining: the impact of local sourcing on the competitiveness of Romanian luxury restaurants
Authors
Noémi Tordai (Pál)
Corresponding AuthorAffiliation: George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Târgu Mureș, Romania
Email: pal.noemi.24@stud.umfst.ro
Beáta Tatár
Affiliation: George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Târgu Mureș, Romania
Email: tatar.beata.24@stud.umfst.ro
Alexis-Monica Moga
Affiliation: George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Târgu Mureș, Romania
Flavia Dana Oltean
Affiliation: George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Târgu Mureș, Romania
Email: flavia.oltean@umfst.ro
How to Cite
(Pál), N. T., Tatár, B., Moga, A.-M., & Oltean, F. D. (2025). From farm to fine dining: the impact of local sourcing on the competitiveness of Romanian luxury restaurants. CACTUS - Journal of Tourism Business, Management and Economics, 32 (1). doi.org/10.24818/CTS/7/2025/2.10
© 2025 The Author(s);
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
Abstract
Sustainability has become a defining axis of innovation and competitiveness in the global fine dining sector, yet its translation into operational and managerial practices remains uneven, particularly in emerging markets. This study examines how sustainable gastronomy practices are integrated within a high-end rural hospitality context, using Bethlen Estates Transylvania as a single embedded case study. The research adopts a convergent mixed-methods design, combining semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders (executive chef, operations coordinator, garden manager, and a local supplier) and a complementary pilot survey (N = 140) assessing consumer awareness and willingness to pay for sustainability in fine dining. Qualitative data were analysed through thematic coding, while quantitative responses were processed descriptively, with internal consistency verified (Cronbach’s α > 0.70).Findings indicate that sustainable fine dining in a post-socialist, rural context requires not only ecological and ethical commitment, but also creative adaptation to infrastructural and perceptual constraints. In this case, sustainability functions both as a competitive strategy and as a narrative the restaurant constructs about itself – one that connects authenticity, locality, and value creation. The study contributes to the literature on sustainable gastronomy by offering a contextualised model of integration between environmental responsibility, luxury experience, and community-based sourcing. Limitations include the single-case design and non-probabilistic sampling. Future research should consider comparative multi-case analyses across the Central and Eastern European region.
Keywords
JEL Classification
References
Bocken, N. M. P., Short, S. W., Rana, P., & Evans, S. (2016). Product design and business model strategies for a circular economy. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 33(5), 308–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681015.2016.1172124
Bonfanti, A., Bagnato, G., & Vigolo, V. (2025). The contribution of sustainable practices to the creation of memorable customer experience: Empirical evidence from Michelin Green Star restaurants. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 126, 104110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104110
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806
Chaturvedi, P., Kulshreshtha, K., Tripathi, V., & Agnihotri, D. (2022). Investigating the impact of restaurants’ sustainable practices on consumers’ satisfaction and revisit intentions. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 14(3), 260–277. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-09-2021-0456
Chiang, C.-F., & Chen, H.-T. (2021). Consumer perceptions of the Michelin Guide and restaurant quality: Evidence from qualitative interviews. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 95, 102944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102793
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Crippa, M., Solazzo, E., Guizzardi, D., Monforti-Ferrario, F., Tubiello, F. N., & Leip, A. (2021). Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Nature Food, 2(3), 198–209. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00225-9
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550. https://doi.org/10.2307/258557
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11
European Parliament and Council of the European Union. (2016). Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation – GDPR). Official Journal of the European Union, L119, 1–88. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj
FAO. (2011). Global food losses and food waste: Extent, causes and prevention. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/3/mb060e/mb060e00.htm
FAO. (2021). The state of food and agriculture 2021: Making agrifood systems more resilient to shocks and stresses. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/2021
Filimonau, V., & Krivcova, M. (2017). Restaurant menu re-design as a facilitator of more responsible consumer food choice. Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 518–527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.080
Filimonau, V., Lemmer, C., Marshall, D., & Bejjani, G. (2017). “Nudging” as an architect of more responsible consumer choice in food service provision. Journal of Cleaner Production, 144, 161–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.01.010
Gössling, S., & Hall, C. M. (2022). The sustainable chef: The environment in culinary arts, restaurants, and hospitality. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315187488
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Huang, Y., & Hall, C. M. (2023). Locality in the promoted sustainability practices of Michelin-starred restaurants. Sustainability, 15(4), 3672. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043672
Huang, Y., Hall, C. M., & Chen, N. (2025). The sustainability characteristics of Michelin Green Star restaurants. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 28(2), 219–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/15378020.2023.2235258
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2022). Climate change 2022: Mitigation of climate change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/
Iraldo, F., Testa, F., Lanzini, P., & Battaglia, M. (2017). Greening competitiveness for hotels and restaurants. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24(3), 607–628. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-12-2016-0211
Kusa, R., Suder, M., & Duda, J. (2023). Impact of greening on performance in the hospitality industry. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 190, 122423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122423
Marquez Garat, J. (2022). Gastronomy and sustainability: The role of the MICHELIN Green Star in food system transformation [Master’s thesis, Norwegian University of Life Sciences]. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3041645
Maynard, D. d. C., Zandonadi, R. P., Nakano, E. Y., Raposo, A., & Botelho, R. B. A. (2021). GRASS: A tool for evaluation and classification of restaurants considering sustainability indicators. Sustainability, 13(19), 10928. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910928
Michelin Guide. (2023). What is a MICHELIN Green Star? https://guide.michelin.com/my/en/article/features/what-is-a-michelin-green-star-sg
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Paunić, M., Kalenjuk Pivarski, B., Tešanović, D., Novaković, D., Šmugović, S., Šarenac, N., Ivanović, V., Mlinarević, P., Marjanović, J. (2024). Gastronomic identity factors in the function of sustainable gastronomy: A case study of tourist destinations in the Republic of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sustainability, 16(19), 8493. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198493
Reinders, M. J., van Lieshout, L., Pot, G. K., Neufingerl, N., van den Broek, E., Battjes-Fries, M., & Heijnen, J. (2020). Portioning meat and vegetables in four different out-of-home settings: A win-win for guests, chefs and the planet. Appetite, 147, 104539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.104539
UNEP. (2024). Food waste index report 2024. United Nations Environment Programme. https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/food-waste-index-report-2024
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/RES/70/1). https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
UN Tourism. (2023). Resource efficiency in tourism: Principles and sustainability guidelines. https://www.untourism.int/sustainable-development/resource-efficiency-in-tourism
World Bank. (2022). What you need to know about food security and climate change. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2022/10/17/what-you-need-to-knowabout-food-security-and-climate-change
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.