School of Hospitality Business Management seeks participants for pasta research study

The Washington State University School of Hospitality Business Management is seeking up to 300 participants for a pasta taste test survey at Black Cypress restaurant in Pullman, Washington. 

The survey will take place from 3-5 p.m. starting Tuesday, Oct. 5, with additional dates to follow at Black Cypress, 215 E. Main St., Pullman. Participants must be 18 years of age or older and register beforehand by calling Black Cypress at 509-334-5800. Each participant will receive two pasta samples and answer a short questionnaire about texture and flavor preferences. Participants will receive a $20 Black Cypress gift card, and groups are encouraged to sign up together for same-table seating. 

The survey is part of a collaborative study between the hospitality school’s Marriott Hospitality Culinary Innovation Center, the USDA ARS Western Wheat Quality Lab and Pullman’s Black Cypress restaurant. 

“We are examining the sensory differences between two pasta samples made from locally grown wheat,” said Jessica Murray. Murray is a WSU hospitality doctoral candidate involved in the study spearheaded by Craig Morris, WSU adjunct professor and director of the wheat lab, and Jamie Callison, executive chef in the WSU Carson College of Business. 

“This study is going to result in two research papers ideally,” she said, “One examining local food preferences in your home – not at a destination – and the impact COVID-19 may have had on those preferences. Additionally, we are comparing two different local pasta samples developed by the USDA.”

The study is funded via an Agricultural Research Services innovation grant. The work is in keeping with WSU’s Grand Challenges, a suite of research initiatives aimed at large societal issues. It is particularly relevant to the challenge of sustainable resources and its themes of supplying food, energy and water for future generations. 

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