Chandni Kumari Mdes Service Design Innovation

2014 - Sourcing local food in your

international home-

Eat Fresh London is a service concept based on the experiences of food U.K higher education students have while immersed in new cultural settings. The crowdsourcing service is aimed at international students who make the transition from their home countries to the U.K.

The crux of the service lies with the sharing of recipes between students, passing them down though the student ‘generations’ from those who have experienced and dealt with life in a new country, to those who have yet to meet these challenges.

The service aims to respond to the on-going needs of those students who seek inspiration and knowledge in preparing meals, who have not yet familiarised themselves with the new city they are in, and those who crave the taste of home.

Background Research

Design ProcessConcept Development

Service CreationUser Testing

Stakeholder Mapping Service Blueprint

Stoke Newington Farmers Market Borough Market

Marylebone Farmers Market

Students & Food

A passage of text written by a professor from the University of Bournemouth, provided detailed insights into the emotional and physical transitions students faced when settling into a new country and how their experiences of food are effected.

“The move to a new cultural environment represents one of the most traumatic events a person can experience, and for most sojourners, some degree of culture shock is inevitable (Kim, 2001).

Culture shock is defined as anxiety that results from losing the familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse and substituting them with other cues that are strange (Hall, 1959).

Many writers liken the shock to a period of mourning for the home world, characterized by feelings of grief and separation anxiety (Garza-Guerrero, 1974; Furnham, 1997; Brown and Holloway, 2008).”

International students make up a large percentage of students who are currently studying in the U.K. “Since 1997, there has been a steady increase in the number of international students studying in Higher Education” (UKCISA, 2009).

• Currently there are 2, 501,295 students in the U.K. (Campus group, 2014)

• 425, 260 students in the U.K are international. (UKCISA, 2012-2013)

• This represents 17% of the entire student U.K population.

The three biggest markets for international students to the UK in the past five

years include: From EU countries - Germany, Republic of Ireland and France, while China, India and Nigeria represent the top 3 for non – EU countries. (The Complete University Guide, 2014)

• Creative arts and design degrees are the 4th most popular subject areas to be studied by the international student market in the U.K.

• 7,416 EU students last academic year came to study these creative subjects while 7,354 students who were from non-EU countries followed.

• This brought the collective figure to 14,771 students, with University of the Arts, London being the most popular place to study these subjects, maintaining around a 20% share over the international market.

London College of Communication

Mdes Service Design Innovation Students, 2014

Painpoint 4

Painpoint 3

Painpoint 2

Painpoint 1

Travels to the U.K from Thailand. Knows a basic level of English to communicate clearly.

Travels to her accommodation. Has done some prior research of the area she will live in. Is aware that there is a local park.

She unpacks and is hungry. She needs to fill up her fridge.

She goes exploring in her area and finds a supermarket. She buys some basic ingredients and snacks as this place is very different from a Thailand shopping place. She is also unfamiliar with some of the ingredients.

On the way home she sees a fast food outlet. She is so tired and doesn’t want to cook for herself so she buys a meal which is quite unhealthy.

Explores her area. Meets people who live in the accommodation. Makes friends.

Starts university. Attends Fresher's fairs. Gets to know more people and makes friends. Joins a society.

Feels a little homesick and Skypes her family a few times in the week.

Eats out a lot in the first week as she is adjusting and still getting to know the area ad how to cook with new ingredients.

Again consumes a lot of fast food during the month and becomes quite homesick, combatting that by using Skype and sending home postcards.

Veron does experiment with food however she feels that her food is a bit bland and doesn’t have enough cooking skills to cook new food. She still continues to eat a lot of fast food.

Painpoint 4Painpoint 3

Painpoint 2Painpoint 1

The frustration with exploring a new area and not knowing the best place to shop for food and how to cook with new ingredients, which resorts to unhealthy eating choices.

Feeling homesick which can be made worse by not having many natural connections to feelings of home and culture in an unfamiliar place.

The convenience in consuming fast food again leads to a poor diet, especially when confidence in cooking freshly prepared meals are low.

Experimenting with new food with mixed results. Not all tastes are desired and sometimes things are under or over cooked.

- I missed my friends from home a lot when I came here but that feeling got better as I made new friends.

- I ate a lot of instant noodles when I came to the U.K as they were quite cheap.

- If I’m cooking for myself, my most favourite thing to cook is eggplant.

- I Skype my family every day.

- I have been eating a lot of pasta since moving to the U.K, which is strange because I didn’t use to eat it as much in South Korea.

- I like cooking with my flatmate and eating together.

- I like to eat out, especially to eat Chinese food.

- I do go to my local farmers’ market sometimes but not all the time as my local supermarket is closer.

- I do try and cook seasonally.

- I don’t know where my local farmers’ market is.

- My mom used to cook for me back in Lebanon so it was difficult cooking for myself every day.

- When I go to university to study, I usually buy my lunch from a supermarket -that’s usually sandwiches.

- I prefer to shop for food in my local supermarket as it’s very close to me

- If I’m cooking something with specific ingredients, I look online to find out where to buy them.

- I like experimenting with different kinds of food, the other day I cooked an Indian dish and I liked the taste.

- My sister cooks a lot for me, although sometimes I cook too.

- She likes to experiment with different types of food such as Japanese.

- I used to eat out a lot back in Thailand as it was so much cheaper.

- When I came to the U. K, the first thing I tired was fish and chips. It was nice but Thai food is much better.

- The price of food in London is so high compared to my country.

- It’s cheaper for me to cook for myself so I try and do that as often as I can.

3 Key Things generated from the interviews

Amy Caroline Ayumi Zeina Xue Chuck Fye

(Pawalee) Fye – From Bangkok,Thailand came to the U.K to studyat London College ofCommunication.

Fye was asked to visually recordthe types of meals that sheprepared over 2 weeks. During anin depth discussion, herrelationship with food wasrecorded. The discussion alsocaptured her how her diet hadchanged since she moved to theU.K and her alternative methodsof nourishment. General insightswere:

- Price of food is much higher than in Thailand which at first made her hesitant to purchase food at all. - She didn’t want to blow her budget just on food. She used to eat rice based meals and convenience take out which were much cheaper.

- The process of preparing meals is quite enjoyable for Fye.-She likes to follow recipes from Thailand as she enjoys the taste of ‘home cooked food.’- She often cooks food which her mother used to prepare in Thailand

Thoughts on supermarkets:

Thoughts on cooking:

Fye on average cooks for herself 2-3 times aweek. The rest of the week she relies ontakeout food whether they are sandwiches tomicrowave meals.

She is not generally aware of local markets andusually makes her food related choices basedon convenience, price and close proximities ofsupermarkets.

Festivals and celebrations are also a time where students can feel specific painpoints, i.e.: homesickness.

They are in a new country celebrating traditions which often used to be shared at home with family and friends.

Xue Yin’s Birthday celebrations

“If I was back home in China I would go outwith my friends during the day and be withmy family in the evening. However I am gladand happy to be in the U.K celebrating withmy international friends!”

Diwali Celebrations

These images were shared with the test group as they hadnever heard of the festival but were curious to find out moreabout it since they had seen adverts around London whichread “Happy Diwali” in various supermarkets. They weretaken aback by the variety of food available and how it was‘quite normal’ for most households celebrating the festivalto light candles for the duration of the festival and prepareso much food.

• Group of South Korean students have travelled to London to study for the year.

• Very keen to experience the culture

• They live in shared accommodation

• London is very expensive and would like to eat healthily but don’t want to spend a lot on cooking for themselves.

• They would often eat healthily in South Korea and don’t want to be relying on fast food while they are here.

• They want to purchase fresh quality ingredients to cook with.

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Further thoughts and ideas generated from the session

Online Twitter Community

Locating Farmers’ Markets and general markets apps. Some are linked with recipe sourcing apps

Eat Fresh Baskets, University Fresher’s Fairs

Inspiration Cards placed in Universities – coffee shops, canteens, libraries . Other places could include Spice shops, borough market as well as other markets

Making this light, multi-layered,rolled omelette might take a littlepractice, but the result is mightilyimpressive. As you are making it,don’t worry if some of the layersbreak up slightly; they repairthemselves in the final step. Theadded mushrooms give the omelettea rich nutty flavour. Make up to anhour in advance.

Ingredients

6 shiitake mushrooms3 tsp vegetable oil8 organic eggs125ml vegetable stock1 tbsp light soy sauce

Japanese Omelette

Ingredients

6 shiitake mushrooms3 tsp vegetable oil8 organic eggs125ml vegetable stock1 tbsp light soy sauce

Method

Discard the stems of the shiitakemushrooms and slice very thinly. Heat alarge non-stick pan over a moderate flameand add 2 tsp oil. Fry the mushrooms untiltinged with gold, then drain on kitchenpaper.

In a pouring jug, beat eggs with remainingingredients. Heat the pan with 1 tsp oilover a low to moderate flame and pour injust enough egg mixture to cover thebottom, swirling to coat. Sprinkle with afew mushrooms. Cook until barely set but..

Sourcing local food in your international home.

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Sourcing local food in your international home.

Fridays: 10am-6pmSaturdays 8am-5pm

ShitakeMushroomsm

Traditional fruit and vegwholesaler and retailer,run by Fred and CarolineFoster. Turnips sourceshigh quality producefrom a network ofindependent farmsaround Britain and, inthe instance of somespecialist items, Europeand beyond.

Organic Eggsm

Exceptional rare-breedbeef from Hillhead Farmin Chagford, Devon.Owners Richard andElizabeth Vines usetraditional methods torear a small herd ofcross-bred Welsh Blacksand South and NorthDevons.

Nearest market:

Borough MarketWednesday-Thursday: 10am-5pmFridays: 1-am-6pmSaturdays 8am-5pm

Where are you?

London Bridge

MALILCC

It is just the root of the coriander plant. Certainly at least here (UK) you can buy living coriander plants in the supermarket; you could pull one out of the pot and use the root from that.Apparently you can also substitute 2 stems of coriander for every piece of root called for in the recipe, but I've never tried this.

Thanks Mali, I didn’t think of this! I will purchase the coriander plant.

UBONLCF

You can buy this in a shop in China town. I usually buy all my ingredients from there when I’m making a Thai green curry. I've shared my location of the place in case you want to check it out. Hope it helps!

Thanks Ubon. I will go to China Town to do some exploring. May I ask what ingredients you use for your Thai green curry? I haven’t tried this dish yet and am curious as to how to make an authentic Thai dish.

My mum is a great cook and I usually follow her recipe. I can send you a picture of the recipe I use. Can we connect through Facebook and I can post it to you through there?

Sure. My Facebook name is Layla Kass

SUNANCSM

According to Thai Supermarket Online - http://importfood.com/ - 'A fine quality coriander seed can been used in various curry pastes and other condiment recipes as an excellent substitute for coriander root'.

Layla I’m looking for root of coriander, can anybody suggest where I can find it?Search:

Chains of communication

Posts:Prototyping student conversations

1. Eat Fresh London is an online

recipe sharing platform

The service is aimed at internationalstudents who make the transitionfrom their home countries to theU.K.

2. The service aims to respond to

the on-going needs of those students who seek inspiration and knowledge in preparing meals, who have not yet familiarised themselves with the new city they are in, and those who crave the taste of home.

3. The crux of the service lies

with the sharing of recipes between students, passing them down though the student ‘generations’ from those who have experienced and dealt with life in a new country, to those who have yet to meet these challenges.

However the service is also implicitly inclusive of home students who have moved into student halls or alternative accommodation

This is as the service can readily be accessed by the inquisitive student who wishes to try cooking with alternative and new ingredients suggested by other users.

- Sourcing local food in your international home-

3. Allow recipes to be filtered by

budget, tastes, preparation times, time taken to source ingredients and

spice levels

1. For users to be inspired to

experiment with food as well as being able to cook meals that reflect tastes of home. To access ingredients

which can be purchased locally.

4. To provide a platform where

users can network and make connections with other users

through food, so that food based knowledge can be shared easily. - Sourcing local food in your

international home-

2. For users with basic/varied

culinary skill set to be able to cook good quality meals regardless of experience.

• Types of dish initially available: Indian, Chinese & British and can be expanded over time to accommodate other cultures as the network grows.

• Recipes can filtered by:

Tastes & Spice Levels Budget Preparation Time

Upload recipes from international communities

on a monthly basis.

• Vegetable of the month, best place to source and how to prepare meals using a step by step guide.

• Video tutorial.

Student Community

Eat Fresh Team

a. Previous Students

b. New Studentso

• (New to U.K) – First year of study • New to the service, been in the

U.K for over a year.

Upload personal recipes from their cultural backgrounds, as

well as recipes they enjoy cooking.

Can access recipes via the Eat Fresh

platform.

Uploads geographical information regarding best

places to source ingredients.

Food based events taking place in London.

Meet-ups.

Students can post food related

questions and answers, including

tips and connect with each other to share

knowledge.

Platform can also advertise special ‘seasonal’ (Halloween, Christmas) events taking place

which are celebrated with food.

This can lead to students sharing

information on food based events that are happening in different

areas of London, cookery classes,

society events, food festivals etc.

Student Community

Eat Fresh Team

a. Previous Students

b. New Studentso

• (New to U.K) – First year of study • New to the service, been in the

U.K for over a year.

Can access recipes via the Eat Fresh

platform.

3. Allow recipes to be filtered by

budget, tastes, preparation times, time taken to source ingredients

and spice levels

4. To provide a platform where

users can network and make connections with other users

through food, so that food based knowledge can be shared easily.

2. For users with basic/varied

culinary skill set to be able to cook good quality meals regardless of

experience.

1. For users to be inspired to

experiment with food as well as being able to cook meals that reflect tastes of home. To access ingredients which

can be purchased locally.

Upload recipes from international communities

on a monthly basis.

• Types of dish initially available: Indian, Chinese & British and can be expanded over time to accommodate other cultures as the network grows.

• Recipes can filtered by:

Tastes & Spice Levels Budget Preparation Time

• Vegetable of the month, best place to source and how to prepare meals using a step by step guide.

• Video tutorial.

Platform can also advertise special ‘seasonal’ (Halloween, Christmas) events taking place

which are celebrated with food.

Food based events taking place in London.

Meet-ups.

This can lead to students sharing

information on food based events that are happening in different

areas of London, cookery classes,

society events, food festivals etc.

Students can post food related

questions and answers, including

tips and connect with each other to share

knowledge.

Upload personal recipes from their cultural backgrounds, as

well as recipes they enjoy cooking.

Uploads geographical information regarding best

places to source ingredients.

Demonstration

Pre- Service

•Postcards available in home countries, these include: China. South Korea & India as well as many more over the coming months.

•Fresher's Fairs baskets

•Taste Cards placed around universities coffee shops, canteens and libraries

During Service

•Website

•App

Post-Service

•Monthly Updates –Newsletter/Brochure/Email sent digitally or by post

•The user to pay in virtual currency to continue using the service, by uploading a recipe of their own to add to the Eat Fresh collection

Fye enjoyed cooking the meals and found the service concept very interesting. She stated that if the service goes live, she

would be very keen to interact with it.

She often used to feel quite homesick when she travelled to the U.K and she believed that by accessing a service like this, she would feel a little better as she could make new connections with students who had similar interests with regards to food.

She would also be able to save money and enjoy cooking by travelling to various markets to source ingredients while

discovering more of London

Partner Shops –

i.e.: spice shops offering discounts through being advertised within the Eat

Fresh platform

Local Markets

Eat Fresh Team

Student Body

Meet-UpsEvents Promoters

Pre- Service During Service Post-Service

Front End • Potential users to access postcards of the Eat Fresh Service before they come to the U.K this can be via their education institutions

• Fresher’s fairs – students to pick up Eat Fresh promotional material when they start university in the U.K

• The user can access the app and website to source recipes

• The user can also connect with other users with similar interests

• There will also be options for the user to join cooking based meet up groups and attend food based festivals in London

• User to be sent monthly updates regarding new recipes uploaded as well as other relevant media content.

• After a 3 month period, if the user would like to continue to use the service, they must upload a recipe of their own to the site.

Back End • Eat Fresh team to create postcards and send them out to various international educational institutions.

• Eat Fresh team to organise stalls at different university fresher's fairs as well as developing the promotional material.

• For the ‘Meet-up’ service to be linked with the Eat Fresh platform so that updates can happen in real time.

• The Eat Fresh team to liaise with various events organisers so that food based events can be uploaded to the website.

• The Eat Fresh team to create the publications which would be sent out electronically.

• The Eat Fresh team to continue to upload content to the site