Lebanon’s Food Lovers Patricia
Patricia is a 33 year old woman living with her husband, newborn child, and helper. A food lover in every sense, she has a passion for eating and socializing around food, and most importantly enjoys challenging herself to make new dishes. She is well known among family and friends for her spontaneity, speed at shopping, and meal preparation. On a typical day, Patricia calls up friends and invites them to have lunch at her house, rushes to the supermarket to buy the ingredients, and experiments by preparing dishes she has not tried before.
The Shopping Process
“Could you please cut the vegetables on the counter? I’m going to the supermarket and will be back in half an hour,” Patricia tells her helper. She carries her baby, closes the door, and walks into the elevator. “Today, I’m experimenting with a new salad dish and Tagliatelle al Salmone,” she tells me. She tasted the salad at a friend’s house a few days back and tried the Salmon Tagliatelle at a restaurant. Patricia refers to the Salmon Tagliatelle in Italian, the way it was written on the restaurant menu. She and her husband are international cuisine lovers and only occasionally prepare Lebanese food. Her mother prepares Lebanese food much more often and sends her dishes almost every day.Patricia goes to the supermarket several times a week, since she decides what she is cooking at the last minute. Her lists therefore include items for the day’s meals. At the top of her list is cabbage. Although the country is going through an organic fad because of recent rumors about inappropriate usage of pesticides, Patricia quickly reaches for the cabbage and places it in a bag, even if it is not organic. “I do not care much about whether vegetables are organic or not. I only stopped eating zucchini because they have the worst pesticide absorption. And besides, my parents have a garden at home and I get some of my fruits and vegetables from there,” she says. Patricia is spontaneous and not very health conscious. Her main concern is preparing original food that replicates a taste she experienced at a restaurant or friend’s house.
The next items on her list are parmesan and gruyere. Patricia spent three minutes looking for her favorite parmesan brand. It was pre-packaged, and she opted for that instead of fresh parmesan because it was faster to buy. The same logic applied to gruyere or the “Tom and Jerry” cheese, as she calls it. “I want a good brand” she says. She holds one up, looks at me, and asks: “This is a well known brand, right?” Patricia insists on buying well known international brands and is very regular in her shopping. She does not switch brands often and would rather stick to one well-known brand.
The Shopping Process
“Could you please cut the vegetables on the counter? I’m going to the supermarket and will be back in half an hour,” Patricia tells her helper. She carries her baby, closes the door, and walks into the elevator. “Today, I’m experimenting with a new salad dish and Tagliatelle al Salmone,” she tells me. She tasted the salad at a friend’s house a few days back and tried the Salmon Tagliatelle at a restaurant. Patricia refers to the Salmon Tagliatelle in Italian, the way it was written on the restaurant menu. She and her husband are international cuisine lovers and only occasionally prepare Lebanese food. Her mother prepares Lebanese food much more often and sends her dishes almost every day.Patricia goes to the supermarket several times a week, since she decides what she is cooking at the last minute. Her lists therefore include items for the day’s meals. At the top of her list is cabbage. Although the country is going through an organic fad because of recent rumors about inappropriate usage of pesticides, Patricia quickly reaches for the cabbage and places it in a bag, even if it is not organic. “I do not care much about whether vegetables are organic or not. I only stopped eating zucchini because they have the worst pesticide absorption. And besides, my parents have a garden at home and I get some of my fruits and vegetables from there,” she says. Patricia is spontaneous and not very health conscious. Her main concern is preparing original food that replicates a taste she experienced at a restaurant or friend’s house.
The next items on her list are parmesan and gruyere. Patricia spent three minutes looking for her favorite parmesan brand. It was pre-packaged, and she opted for that instead of fresh parmesan because it was faster to buy. The same logic applied to gruyere or the “Tom and Jerry” cheese, as she calls it. “I want a good brand” she says. She holds one up, looks at me, and asks: “This is a well known brand, right?” Patricia insists on buying well known international brands and is very regular in her shopping. She does not switch brands often and would rather stick to one well-known brand.
“I still need salmon” she says. “The salmon over the tagliatelle in the restaurant was smoked and thick. I need to find some of those,” she continues. She walks through the frozen fish aisle but does not find any brand that matches the picture she had in her mind. She runs to the cashier, pays for the items, and rushes to another supermarket. Patricia wants to find the same type of salmon she saw on her dish at the restaurant. After several minutes of looking, she finds what she was looking for, buys it and drives back home.
Off with the Cooking!
Patricia and her helper quickly prepare the vegetables and shake the sauce in an empty mayonnaise jar. The salad is ready in less than 10 minutes! She then boils the tagliatelle while frying the salmon filets. She opens her fridge, takes out her 75% fat free ‘Elle et Vire’ butter and puts a bit more than a spoonful in the pan. Patricia is very loyal to ‘Elle et Vire’, mostly because of the low fat content.
Off with the Cooking!
Patricia and her helper quickly prepare the vegetables and shake the sauce in an empty mayonnaise jar. The salad is ready in less than 10 minutes! She then boils the tagliatelle while frying the salmon filets. She opens her fridge, takes out her 75% fat free ‘Elle et Vire’ butter and puts a bit more than a spoonful in the pan. Patricia is very loyal to ‘Elle et Vire’, mostly because of the low fat content.
Some food she cooks requires her to use butter, while other food requires corn oil. As for margarine, she uses it rarely and only with rice. “My husband said his mother’s rice tastes better than mine. I tell him the reason is because she uses margarine,” she said. “I told him that I do not mind cooking the rice with margarine from now on.” Then she continues talking to me about how her husband cares about buying low fat items more than she does. Patricia and her husband’s behaviors are very inconsistent. She buys her butter with the lowest amount of fat, but at the same time bakes cakes and deserts almost every day. Similarly, her husband buys low fat food items but asks for margarine in his rice. Patricia’s butter pack lasts approximately two weeks.
She opens a recipe book and searches for Salmon Tagliatelle. She skims through it but decides that she is less than convinced. Instead, Patricia decides to follow her instincts. Although she gets her recipes from several sources, Patricia likes to add her own touch when cooking food.Getting the Table Ready
At around two o’clock, her mother and brother arrive carrying a typical Lebanese dish prepared for Easter. Patricia now needs to get the table ready. She places almonds, green peas, olives, her mother’s dish, the salad, and the Salmon Tagliatelle. At the last minute, she decides to fry some of the cheese rolls she had in her freezer. She pours some corn oil in the frying pan and fries the cheese rolls. The table is ready! A typical Lebanese table is full of vegetables and side dishes. Her dishes are colorful and presentable, as she appreciates good looking food and finds pleasure in garnishing her dishes.
She opens a recipe book and searches for Salmon Tagliatelle. She skims through it but decides that she is less than convinced. Instead, Patricia decides to follow her instincts. Although she gets her recipes from several sources, Patricia likes to add her own touch when cooking food.Getting the Table Ready
At around two o’clock, her mother and brother arrive carrying a typical Lebanese dish prepared for Easter. Patricia now needs to get the table ready. She places almonds, green peas, olives, her mother’s dish, the salad, and the Salmon Tagliatelle. At the last minute, she decides to fry some of the cheese rolls she had in her freezer. She pours some corn oil in the frying pan and fries the cheese rolls. The table is ready! A typical Lebanese table is full of vegetables and side dishes. Her dishes are colorful and presentable, as she appreciates good looking food and finds pleasure in garnishing her dishes.
Implications for LurpakSome people are brand loyal, but their loyalty is not based on justifiable reasons. Their loyalty could be due to the brand’s eminence, image, or associations. Patricia, for instance, has a tendency to buy ‘Elle et Vire’ because it is French and 75% fat free. This is mainly attributable to a trend towards international and low fat products in the country. This segment can be reached by linking the product at hand with the current trend or associating it to the segment’s present interests.
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