The perfect meal : the multisensory science of food and dining

The authors of The Perfect Meal examine all of the elements that contribute to the dinerï¿1⁄2s experience of a meal (primarily at a restaurant) and investigate how each of the dinerï¿1⁄2s senses contributes to their overall multisensory experience. The principal focus of the book is not on flavor perception, but on all of the non-food and beverage factors that have been shown to influence the dinerï¿1⁄2s overall experience. Examples are: the colour of the plate (visual) the shape of the glass (visual/tactile) the names used to describe the dishes (cognitive) the background music playing inside the restaurant (aural) Novel approaches to understanding the dinerï¿1⁄2s experience in the restaurant setting are explored from the perspectives of decision neuroscience, marketing, design, and psychology. 2015 Popular Science Prose Award Winner Content: 1. Introducing the Perfect Meal -- 2. Let the Show Commence: On the Start of the Perfect Meal -- 3. Tastes Great, But What do We Call It? The Art and Science of Food Description -- 4. Plating and Plateware: On the Multisensory Presentation of Food -- 5. Getting Your Hands on the Food: Cutlery -- 6. The Multisensory Perception of Flavour -- 7. Using Surprise and Sensory Incongruity in a Meal -- 8. Looking for Your Perfect Meal in the Dark -- 9. How Important is Atmosphere to the Perfect Meal? -- 10. Technology at the Dining Table -- 11. On the Future of the Perfect Meal -- 1. Introducing the Perfect Meal -- 1.1. Introduction -- 1.2. A brief history of culinary movements -- 1.2.1. Nouvelle Cuisine -- 1.2.2. The rise of molecular gastronomy -- 1.2.3. Molecular gastronomy or modernist cuisine? -- 1.2.4. On the rise of the celebrity chef -- 1.3. The search for novelty and surprise -- 1.3.1. The taste of expectation -- 1.3.2. Food as theatre: the multisensory experience economy meets cuisine -- 1.4. The brain on flavour -- 1.4.1. Neurogastronomy -- 1.4.2. Do neurogastronomists make great-tasting food? -- 1.5. Food and the perception of everything else -- 1.6. Gastrophysics: the new science of the table -- 1.7. Food perception is fundamentally multisensory -- 1.8. Isn't modernist cuisine only for the lucky few? -- 1.9. Amuse bouche -- -- 2. Let the Show Commence: On the Start of the Perfect Meal -- 2.1. Introduction -- 2.1.1. Mood food -- 2.2. On the social aspects of dining -- 2.2.1. Waiting staff -- 2.2.2. The company -- 2.3. On the design of the menu -- 2.3.1. Scanning the menu: 'Oysters, steak frites, field greens, oysters ... ' -- 2.3.2. 'This dessert is literally calling me' -- 2.3.3. Images on the menu -- 2.3.4. On a diet? Does nutritional information help? -- 2.3.5. Price and behaviour -- 2.3.6. On the format of the menu -- 2.4. Conclusions -- -- 3. Tastes Great, But What do We Call It? The Art and Science of Food Description -- 3.1. Introduction -- 3.2. Snail porridge -- 3.3. Can labelling enhance the taste and/or flavour of food? -- 3.4. Interim summary -- 3.5. On the neuroscience of naming food -- 3.6. Naming names -- 3.7. Does food labelling influence the perceived ethnicity of a dish? -- 3.8. Natural and organic labels -- 3.9. Health/ingredient labels -- 3.10. Local labels -- 3.11. Descriptive food labelling -- 3.12. Labelling culinary techniques -- 3.13. Surprise! -- 3.14. Expectations and reactions -- 3.15. Conclusions -- -- 4. Plating and Plateware: On the Multisensory Presentation of Food -- 4.1. Introduction -- 4.2. A potted history of food presentation -- 4.3. The plate: the essential element of our everyday meal -- 4.3.1. On the colour of the plate -- 4.3.2. The shape of the plate -- 4.3.3. The size of the plate -- 4.3.4. On the haptic aspects of the plateware -- 4.4. Interim summary -- 4.5. The plate that is not a plate -- 4.5.1. Reaching new heights -- 4.5.2. On the smell and sound of the plateware -- 4.5.3. Camouflage -- 4.5.4. Improvised plateware -- 4.5.5. Purpose-made plateware -- 4.6. On the multiple contributions of the visual appearance of a dish -- 4.6.1. On the importance of harmony on the plate -- 4.7. Individual diner responses to the visual presentation of food -- 4.8. Conclusions -- -- 5. Getting Your Hands on the Food: Cutlery -- 5.1. Introduction -- 5.2. The story of cutlery -- 5.3. The material qualities of the cutlery -- 5.3.1. The quality of the cutlery -- 5.3.2. Tasting the cutlery -- 5.4. Size matters -- 5.5. On the texture/feel of the cutlery -- 5.6. Colourful cutlery -- 5.7. Cutlery that is not -- 5.8. Finger food -- 5.9. Eating without hands -- 5.10. Conclusions -- -- 6. The Multisensory Perception of Flavour -- 6.1. Introduction -- 6.2. Perceiving flavours -- 6.3. Taste -- 6.3.1. Are you a supertaster? -- 6.4. Olfactory-gustatory interactions -- 6.4.1. Cross-cultural differences in multisensory flavour perception -- 6.5. Oral-somatosensory contributions to multisensory flavour perception -- 6.5.1. Are you a thermal taster? -- 6.6. Interim summary -- 6.7. The sound of food -- 6.8. Visual flavour -- 6.8.1. How does colour influence flavour perception? -- 6.8.2. Summary of research on visual flavour -- 6.9. The cognitive neuroscience of multisensory flavour perception -- 6.10. Conclusions -- -- 7. Using Surprise and Sensory Incongruity in a Meal -- 7.1. Introduction -- 7.2. How did sensory incongruity become so popular and why is it so exciting? -- 7.2.1. The search for novelty -- 7.2.2. The rise of molecular gastronomy/modernist cuisine -- 7.2.3. The rise of sensory marketing and multisensory design -- 7.2.4. Globalization -- 7.3. Defining sensory incongruity -- 7.4. Noticing sensory incongruity -- 7.4.1. Disconfirmed expectations -- 7.4.2. Hidden and visible incongruity -- 7.5. A brief history of sensory incongruity at the dinner table -- 7.6. Colour-flavour incongruity -- 7.7. Format-flavour incongruity -- 7.8. Smell-flavour incongruity -- 7.9. Interim summary -- 7.10. The diner's response to sensory incongruity -- 7.10.1. Attentional capture -- 7.10.2. Surprise -- 7.10.3. Memorability -- 7.11. Molecular gastronomy and surprise -- 7.12. Sensory incongruity and the concept of `naturalness' -- 7.13. Individual differences in the response of diners to sensory incongruity -- 7.14. Conclusions -- -- 8. Looking for Your Perfect Meal in the Dark -- 8.1. Introduction -- 8.2. The social aspects of dining in the dark -- 8.3. Why are dining in the dark restaurants so popular nowadays? -- 8.4. Seeing or not seeing (correctly) the food -- 8.4.1. The importance of colour to food -- 8.4.2. Do our other senses really become more acute in the dark? -- 8.5. Does dining in the dark really capture how the blind experience food? -- 8.6. Cooking in the dark -- 8.7. Conclusions -- -- 9. How Important is Atmosphere to the Perfect Meal? -- 9.1. Introduction -- 9.2. Atmospherics and the experience economy -- 9.3. The Provencal Rose paradox -- 9.4. Does the atmosphere really influence our appraisal of the meal? -- 9.5. On the ethnicity of the meal -- 9.6. Tuning up how much money and time we spend at the restaurant -- 9.6.1. The style and volume of the music -- 9.6.2. The tempo of the music -- 9.6.3. "Pardon?'' -- 9.7. Context and expectation -- 9.8. The lighting -- 9.9. The olfactory atmosphere -- 9.10. On the feel of the restaurant -- 9.11. Atmospheric contributions to taste and flavour perception -- 9.12. Multisensory atmospherics -- 9.13. Conclusions -- -- 10. Technology at the Dining Table -- 10.1. Introduction -- 10.2. Technology on the dining table -- 10.3. Transforming the dining experience by means of technology -- 10.4. Augmented Reality (AR) food: A case of technology for technology's sake? -- 10.5. Using QR codes to change our interaction with food -- 10.6. Fostering healthy eating through the incorporation of technology -- 10.7. Technology and distraction -- 10.8. Using technology to control the multisensory atmosphere -- 10.9. On the neuroscience of matching sound to food (and how technology might help) -- 10.10. On the future of technology at the table: digital artefacts -- 10.11. The SmartPlate -- 10.12. Anyone for a 'Gin & Sonic'? -- 10.13. The tablet as twenty-first century plateware? -- 10.14. Tips from the chef at the tips of your fingers -- 10.15. Conclusions -- -- 11. On the Future of the Perfect Meal -- 11.1. Introduction -- 11.2. On the history of predicting the future of food -- 11.2.1. A meal (or even a day's food) in a single dose -- 11.2.2. On the mechanization of feeding -- 11.2.3. Air 'food' -- 11.2.4. Artificial flavours -- 11.3. From the past to the future of food -- 11.3.1. Sous vide as the twenty-first century microwave -- 11.3.2. 3D printed food: an astronomical idea -- 11.3.3. On the future of cultured meat -- 11.3.4. Note-by-note cuisine -- 11.3.5. Eating insects for pleasure: bug burger with insect paste, anyone? -- 11.3.6. The new algal cuisine -- 11.4. Anyone for a spot of neo-Futurist cuisine? -- 11.4.1. Food theatre: food as entertainment -- 11.4.2. Plating art -- 11.5. Interim summary -- 11.6. Acknowledging our differences -- 11.7. The meal as catalyst for social exchange -- 11.8. Is it a restaurant or is it a science laboratory? -- 11.9. Pop-up dining, story telling and the joys of situated eating -- 11.10. Conclusions. The Authors Of The Perfect Meal Examine All Of The Elements That Contribute To The Diner's Experience Of A Meal (primarily At A Restaurant) And Investigate How Each Of The Diner's Senses Contributes To Their Overall Multisensory Experience. The Principal Focus Of The Book Is Not On Flavor Perception, But On All Of The Non-food And Beverage Factors That Have Been Shown To Influence The Diner's Overall Experience. Examples Are: The Colour Of The Plate (visual) The Shape Of The Glass (visual/tactile) The Names Used To Describe The Dishes (cognitive) The Background Music Playing Inside The Restaurant (aural)novel Approaches To Understanding The Diner's Experience In The Restaurant Setting Are Explored From The Perspectives Of Decision Neuroscience, Marketing, Design, And Psychology-- The First Book Dedicated To The Sensory Science Behind Eating Out, Considering Every Sensation Involved In The Dining Experience-- 1. Introducing The Perfect Meal: Introduction ; A Brief History Of Culinary Movements ; Nouvelle Cuisine ; The Rise Of Molecular Gastronomy ; Molecular Gastronomy Or Modernist Cuisine? ; On The Rise Of The Celebrity Chef ; The Search For Novelty And Surprise ; The Taste Of Expectation ; Food As Theatre: The Multisensory Experience Economy Meets Cuisine ; The Brain On Flavour ; Neurogastronomy ; Do Neurogastronomists Make Great-tasting Food? ; Food And The Perception Of Everything Else ; Gastrophysics: The New Science Of The Table ; Food Perception Is Fundamentally Multisensory ; Isn't Modernist Cuisine Only For The Lucky Few? ; Amuse Bouche --^ 2. Let The Show Commence : On The Start Of The Perfect Meal: Introduction ; Mood Food ; On The Social Aspects Of Dining ; Waiting Staff ; The Company ; On The Design Of The Menu ; Scanning The Menu: 'oysters, Steak Frites, Field Greens, Oysters ... ' ; 'this Dessert Is Literally Calling Me' ; Images On The Menu ; On A Diet? Does Nutritional Information Help? ; Price And Behavior ; On The Format Of The Menu ; Conclusions -- 3. Tastes Great, But What Do We Call It? The Art And Science Of Food Description: Introduction ; Snail Porridge ; Can Labelling Enhance The Taste And/or Flavour Of Food? ; Interim Summary ; On The Neuroscience Of Naming Food ; Naming Names ; Does Food Labelling Influence The Perceived Ethnicity Of A Dish? ; Natural And Organic Labels ; Health/ingredient Labels ; Local Labels ; Descriptive Food Labelling ; Labelling Culinary Techniques ; Surprise! ; Expectations And Reactions ; Conclusions --^ 4. Plating And Plateware : On The Multisensory Presentation Of Food: Introduction ; A Potted History Of Food Presentation ; The Plate: The Essential Element Of Our Everyday Meal ; On The Colour Of The Plate ; The Shape Of The Plate ; The Size Of The Plate ; On The Haptic Aspects Of The Plateware ; Interim Summary ; The Plate That Is Not The Plate ; Reaching New Heights ; On The Smell And Sound Of The Plateware ; Camouflage ; Improvised Plateware ; Purpose-made Plateware ; On The Multiple Contributions Of The Visual Appearance Of A Dish ; On The Importance Of Harmony On The Plate ; Individual Diner Responses To The Visual Presentation Of Food ; Conclusions -- 5. Getting Your Hands On The Food : Cutlery: Introduction ; The Story Of Cutlery ; The Material Qualities Of The Cutlery ; The Quality Of The Cutlery ; Tasting The Cutlery ; Size Matters ; On The Texture/feel Of The Cutlery ; Colourful Cutlery ; Cutlery That Is Not ; Finger Food ; Eating Without Hands ; Conclusions --^ 6. The Multisensory Perception Of Flavour: Introduction ; Perceiving Flavours ; Taste ; Are You A Supertaster? ; Olfactory-gustatory Interactions ; Cross-cultural Differences In Multisensory Flavour Perception ; Oral-somatosensory Contributions To Multisensory Flavor Perception ; Are You A Thermal Taster? ; Interim Summary ; The Sound Of Food ; Visual Flavour ; How Does Colour Influence Flavour Perception ; Summary Of Research On Visual Flavour ; The Cognitive Neuroscience Of Multisensory Flavour Perception ; Conclusions --^ 7. Using Surprise And Sensory Incongruity In A Meal: Introduction ; How Did Sensory Incongruity Become So Popular And Why Is It So Exciting? ; The Search For Novely ; The Rise Of Molecular Gastronomy/modernist Cuisine ; The Rise Of Sensory Marketing And Multisensory Design ; Globalization ; Defining Sensory Incongruity ; Noticing Sensory Incongruity ; Disconfirmed Expectations ; Hidden And Visible Incongruity ; A Brief History Of Sensory Incongruity At The Dinner Table ; Color-flavour Incongruity ; Format-flavour Incongruity ; Smell-flavour Incongruity ; Interim Summary ; The Diner's Response To Sensory Incongruity ; Attentional Capture ; Surprise ; Memorability ; Molecular Gastronomy And Surprise ; Sensory Incongruity And The Concept Of 'naturalness' ; Individual Differences In The Response Of Diners To Sensory Incongruity ; Conclusions --^ 8. Looking For Your Perfect Meal In The Dark: Introduction ; The Social Aspects Of Dining In The Dark ; Why Are Dining In The Dark Restaurants So Popular Nowadays? ; Seeing Or Not Seeing (correctly) The Food ; The Importance Of Colour To Food ; Do Our Other Senses Really Become More Acute In The Dark? ; Does Dining In The Dark Really Capture How The Blind Experience Food? ; Cooking In The Dark ; Conclusions -- 9. How Important Is Atmosphere To The Perfect Meal?: Introduction ; Atmospherics And The Experience Economy ; The Provencal Rose Paradox ; Does The Atmosphere Really Influence Our Appraisal Of The Meal? ; On The Ethnicity Of The Meal ; Tuning Up How Much Money And Time We Spend At The Restaurant ; The Style And Volume Of The Music ; The Tempo Of The Music ; Pardon? ; Context And Expectation ; The Lighting ; The Olfactory Atmosphere ; On The Feel Of The Restaurant ; Atmospheric Contributions To Taste And Flavour Perception ; Multisensory Atmospherics ; Conclusions --^ 10. Technology At The Dining Table: Introduction ; Technology On The Dining Table ; Transforming The Dining Experience By Means Of Technology ; Augmented Reality (ar) Food: A Case Of Technology For Technology's Sake? ; Using Qr Codes To Change Our Interaction With Food ; Fostering Healthy Eating Through The Incorporation Of Technology ; Technology And Distraction ; Using Technology To Control The Multisensory Atmosphere ; On The Neuroscience Of Matching Sound To Food (and How Technology Might Help) ; On The Future Of Technology At The Table: Digital Artefacts ; The Smartplate ; Anyone For A 'gin & Sonic'? ; The Tablet As Twenty-first Century Plateware? ; Tips From The Chef At The Tips Of Your Fingers ; Conclusions --^ 11. On The Future Of The Perfect Meal: Introduction ; On The History Of Predicting The Future Of Food ; A Meal (or Even A Day's Food) In A Single Dose ; On The Mechanization Of Feeding ; Air 'food' ; Artificial Flavours ; From The Past To The Future Of Food ; Sous Vide As The Twenty-first Century Microwave ; 3d Printed Food: An Astronomical Idea ; On The Future Of Cultured Meat ; Note-by-note Cuisine ; Eating Insects For Pleasure; Bug Burger With Insect Paste, Anyone? ; The New Algal Cuisine ; Anyone For A Spot Of Neo-futurist Cuisine? ; Food Theatre: Food As Entertainment ; Plating Art ; Interim Summary ; Acknowledging Our Differences ; The Meal As Catalyst For Social Exchange ; Is It A Restaurant Or Is It A Science Laboratory? ; Pop-up Dining, Story Telling And The Joys Of Situated Eating ; Conclusions. Charles Spence, Betina Piqueras-fiszman. Machine Generated Contents Note: Introducing The Perfect Meal Let The Show Commence: On The Start Of The Perfect Meal Tastes Great, But What Do We Call It? The Art And Science Of Food Description Plating And Plateware: On The Multisensory Presentation Of Food Getting Your Hands On The Food: Cutlery The Multisensory Perception Of Flavour Using Surprise And Sensory Incongruity In A Meal Looking For Your Perfect Meal In The Dark How Important Is Atmosphere To The Perfect Meal? Technology At The Dining Table On The Future Of The Perfect Meal. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 374-381) And Index. Cover 1 Title Page 7 Copyright 8 Contents 9 Foreword 15 Preface 19 Chapter 1 Introducing the Perfect Meal 23 1.1 Introduction 23 1.2 A brief history of culinary movements 24 1.2.1 Nouvelle Cuisine 24 1.2.2 The rise of molecular gastronomy 25 1.2.3 Molecular gastronomy or modernist cuisine? 27 1.2.4 On the rise of the celebrity chef 29 1.3 The search for novelty and surprise 30 1.3.1 The taste of expectation 32 1.3.2 Food as theatre: the multisensory experience economy meets cuisine 33 1.4 The brain on flavour 34 1.4.1 Neurogastronomy 34 1.4.2 Do neurogastronomists make great-tasting food? 36 1.5 Food and the perception of everything else 38 1.6 Gastrophysics: the new science of the table 40 1.7 Food perception is fundamentally multisensory 43 1.8 Isn't modernist cuisine only for the lucky few? 44 1.9 Amuse bouche 47 References 49 Chapter 2 Let the Show Commence: On the Start of the Perfect Meal 59 2.1 Introduction 59 2.1.1 Mood food 60 2.2 On the social aspects of dining 64 2.2.1 Waiting staff 64 2.2.2 The company 66 2.3 On the design of the menu 69 2.3.1 Scanning the menu: 'Oysters, steak frites, field greens, oysters...' 70 2.3.2 'This dessert is literally calling me' 72 2.3.3 Images on the menu 74 2.3.4 On a diet? Does nutritional information help? 76 2.3.5 Price and behaviour 77 2.3.6 On the format of the menu 81 2.4 Conclusions 84 References 84 Chapter 3 Tastes Great, But What do We Call It? The Art and Science of Food Description 93 3.1 Introduction 93 3.2 Snail porridge 95 3.3 Can labelling enhance the taste and/or flavour of food? 99 3.4 Interim summary 103 3.5 On the neuroscience of naming food 103 3.6 Naming names 106 3.7 Does food labelling influence the perceived ethnicity of a dish? 107 3.8 Natural and organic labels 109 3.9 Health/ingredient labels 110 3.10 Local labels 112 3.11 Descriptive food labelling 113 3.12 Labelling culinary techniques 114 3.13 Surprise! 117 3.14 Expectations and reactions 118 3.15 Conclusions 120 References 122 Chapter 4 Plating and Plateware: On the Multisensory Presentation of Food 131 4.1 Introduction 131 4.2 A potted history of food presentation 133 4.3 The plate: the essential element of our everyday meal 137 4.3.1 On the colour of the plate 137 4.3.2 The shape of the plate 141 4.3.3 The size of the plate 143 4.3.4 On the haptic aspects of the plateware 144 4.4 Interim summary 150 4.5 The plate that is not a plate 150 4.5.1 Reaching new heights 151 4.5.2 On the smell and sound of the plateware 152 4.5.3 Camouflage 154 4.5.4 Improvised plateware 155 4.5.5 Purpose-made plateware 156 4.6 On the multiple contributions of the visual appearance of a dish 157 4.6.1 On the importance of harmony on the plate 158 4.7 Individual diner responses to the visual presentation of food 163 4.8 Conclusions 165 References 165 Chapter 5 Getting Your Hands on the Food: Cutlery 173 5.1 Introduction 173 5.2 The story of cutlery 175 5.3 The material qualities of the cutlery 181 5.3.1 The quality of the cutlery 182 5.3.2 Tasting the cutlery 183 5.4 Size matters 187 5.5 On the texture/feel of the cutlery 188 5.6 Colourful cutlery 190 5.7 Cutlery that is not 191 5.8 Finger food 196 5.9 Eating without hands 197 5.10 Conclusions 199 References 199 Chapter 6 The Multisensory Perception of Flavour 205 6.1 Introduction 205 6.2 Perceiving flavours 205 6.3 Taste 208 6.3.1 Are you a supertaster? 209 6.4 Olfactory-gustatory interactions 210 6.4.1 Cross-cultural differences in multisensory flavour perception 212 6.5 Oral-somatosensory contributions to multisensory flavour perception 213 6.5.1 Are you a thermal taster? 215 6.6 Interim summary 215 6.7 The sound of food 216 6.8 Visual flavour 218 6.8.1 How does colour influence flavour perception? 218 6.8.2 Summary of research on visual flavour 222 6.9 The cognitive neuroscience of multisensory flavour perception 222 6.10 Conclusions 224 References 226 Chapter 7 Using Surprise and Sensory Incongruity in a Meal 237 7.1 Introduction 237 7.2 How did sensory incongruity become so popular and why is it so exciting? 238 7.2.1 The search for novelty 238 7.2.2 The rise of molecular gastronomy/modernist cuisine 238 7.2.3 The rise of sensory marketing and multisensory design 239 7.2.4 Globalization 239 7.3 Defining sensory incongruity 240 7.4 Noticing sensory incongruity 241 7.4.1 Disconfirmed expectations 243 7.4.2 Hidden and visible incongruity 244 7.5 A brief history of sensory incongruity at the dinner table 246 7.6 Colour-flavour incongruity 248 7.7 Format-flavour incongruity 249 7.8 Smell-flavour incongruity 252 7.9 Interim summary 253 7.10 The diner's response to sensory incongruity 254 7.10.1 Attentional capture 254 7.10.2 Surprise 254 7.10.3 Memorability 254 7.11 Molecular gastronomy and surprise 255 7.12 Sensory incongruity and the concept of `naturalness' 258 7.13 Individual differences in the response of diners to sensory incongruity 261 7.14 Conclusions 263 References 264 Chapter 8 Looking for Your Perfect Meal in the Dark 271 8.1 Introduction 271 8.2 The social aspects of dining in the dark 273 8.3 Why are dining in the dark restaurants so popular nowadays? 274 8.4 Seeing or not seeing (correctly) the food 277 8.4.1 The importance of colour to food 277 8.4.2 Do our other senses really become more acute in the dark? 282 8.5 Does dining in the dark really capture how the blind experience food? 286 8.6 Cooking in the dark 287 8.7 Conclusions 287 References 288 Chapter 9 How Important is Atmosphere to the Perfect Meal? 293 9.1 Introduction 293 9.2 Atmospherics and the experience economy 297 9.3 The Provencal Rose paradox 300 9.4 Does the atmosphere really influence our appraisal of the meal? 302 9.5 On the ethnicity of the meal 302 9.6 Tuning up how much money and time we spend at the restaurant 304 9.6.1 The style and volume of the music 304 9.6.2 The tempo of the music 306 9.6.3 "Pardon?'' 307 9.7 Context and expectation 308 9.8 The lighting 309 9.9 The olfactory atmosphere 310 9.10 On the feel of the restaurant 313 9.11 Atmospheric contributions to taste and flavour perception 316 9.12 Multisensory atmospherics 320 9.13 Conclusions 321 References 323 Chapter 10 Technology at the Dining Table 333 10.1 Introduction 333 10.2 Technology on the dining table 334 10.3 Transforming the dining experience by means of technology 337 10.4 Augmented Reality (AR) food: A case of technology for technology's sake? 339 10.5 Using QR codes to change our interaction with food 341 10.6 Fostering healthy eating through the incorporation of technology 342 10.7 Technology and distraction 344 10.8 Using technology to control the multisensory atmosphere 345 10.9 On the neuroscience of matching sound to food (and how technology might help) 346 10.10 On the future of technology at the table: digital artefacts 348 10.11 The SmartPlate 350 10.12 Anyone for a ‘Gin & Sonic'? 350 10.13 The tablet as twenty-first century plateware? 351 10.14 Tips from the chef at the tips of your fingers 353 10.15 Conclusions 353 References 355 Chapter 11 On the Future of the Perfect Meal 361 11.1 Introduction 361 11.2 On the history of predicting the future of food 363 11.2.1 A meal (or even a day's food) in a single dose 363 11.2.2 On the mechanization of feeding 367 11.2.3 Air 'food' 368 11.2.4 Artificial flavours 370 11.3 From the past to the future of food 373 11.3.1 Sous vide as the twenty-first century microwave 373 11.3.2 3D printed food: an astronomical idea 375 11.3.3 On the future of cultured meat 377 11.3.4 Note-by-note cuisine 378 11.3.5 Eating insects for pleasure: bug burger with insect paste, anyone? 380 11.3.6 The new algal cuisine 384 11.4 Anyone for a spot of neo-Futurist cuisine? 385 11.4.1 Food theatre: food as entertainment 386 11.4.2 Plating art 387 11.5 Interim summary 388 11.6 Acknowledging our differences 389 11.7 The meal as catalyst for social exchange 389 11.8 Is it a restaurant or is it a science laboratory? 391 11.9 Pop-up dining, story telling and the joys of situated eating 393 11.10 Conclusions 394 References 396 Index 405 Supplemental Images 423 EULA 439

The authors of The Perfect Meal examine all of the elements that contribute to the diner’s experience of a meal (primarily at a restaurant) and investigate how each of the diner’s senses contributes to their overall multisensory experience. The principal focus of the book is not on flavor perception, but on all of the non-food and beverage factors that have been shown to influence the diner’s overall experience.

Examples are:

• the colour of the plate (visual)
• the shape of the glass (visual/tactile)
• the names used to describe the dishes (cognitive)
• the background music playing inside the restaurant (aural)

Novel approaches to understanding the diner’s experience in the restaurant setting are explored from the perspectives of decision neuroscience, marketing, design, and psychology.

2015 Popular Science Prose Award Winner. The authors of __The Perfect Meal__ examine all of the elements that contribute to the dinerï¿1⁄2s experience of a meal (primarily at a restaurant) and investigate how each of the dinerï¿1⁄2s senses contributes to their overall multisensory experience. The principal focus of the book is not on flavor perception, but on all of the non-food and beverage factors that have been shown to influence the dinerï¿1⁄2s overall experience. Examples are: * the colour of the plate (visual) * the shape of the glass (visual/tactile) * the names used to describe the dishes (cognitive) * the background music playing inside the restaurant (aural) Novel approaches to understanding the dinerï¿1⁄2s experience in the restaurant setting are explored from the perspectives of decision neuroscience, marketing, design, and psychology.