This study focuses on creativity and innovation in haute cuisine restaurants. Due to growing competitiveness in the sector, chefs are increasingly pushed to generate new dishes and menus able to capture customers looking for extraordinary gastronomic experiences. This means that exploring the factors thatinfluence the restaurants’ success is difficult(Allen, 2016). In fact, “chefs must be able to adapt and evolve ifthey wantto be successful in the short- and long-term” (Ottenbacher and Harrington, 2007, p. 3). This situation seems particularly likely for the chefs offine-dining restaurants, recognizedas the leaders of innovation in culinary services (Stierand and Lynch, 2008). While other restaurants use pre-made products, apply centralized R&D techniques and have standardized menus, fine-dining restaurants must systematically develop innovations to prosper in their highly competitive environment (Ottenbacher and Harrington, 2007; Bouty and Gomez, 2013). Haute cuisine restaurants are expected to be creative and innovative (Svejenova et al., 2007; Svejenova et al., 2010). The adjective “haute” signals trendsetting and the highest quality standards and thus has a major influence on the image ofthe whole restaurantindustry (Surlemont and Johnson, 2005). Haute cuisine has been defined as a “crafts ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: presenza@unimol.it (A. Presenza). industry composed by professional organizations in which chefs typically undergo long and tough practical training that involves the development of their five senses for the purpose of professional cooking” (Gomez et al., 2003, p. 107). In 2010, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco, 2010) formally acknowledged haute cuisine as a creative and cultural industry by adding the French gastronomic meal to its “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”.