Почему нам нравятся те или иные блюда и как можно заставить нас полюбить что-то еще? Что вообще может повлиять на наш выбор и пристрастия? Оказывается, очень многое. Шеф-повара мишленовских ресторанов особенно креативны, исследуя самые необычные форматы подачи блюд и создания антуража и делая гастрономический опыт незабываемым. Чарльз Спенс, когнитивный психолог года в Европе, делится самыми последними находками в этой новой области, которую он окрестил гастрофизикой.

Источников влияния множество: музыка в зале, форма и цвет тарелок, вес и текстура приборов, название блюда и длина названия (каждая лишняя буква приносит ресторану в среднем 6 центов). Желающих монетизировать новые данные уже немало — от создателей приложения, имитирующего хруст чипсов (если ваши отсырели), до сети VizEat, появившейся и в РФ, которую уже назвали «Airbnb для еды».

This is an interesting and educational book. The author is knowledgeable and provides interesting discussion of eating and the factors affecting the satisfaction of the eating experience. I found it interesting to think about the affects of sound, smell, environment, and psychological factors such as whether you prepared the meal. The impact of color,cutlery, glassware, and dishes was also examined. Charles also considers the history and future trends in meal preparation. He has experience and insight into the thinking of some of the best restaurants across the world. I suggest this book to anyone who eats food. ( )

Gastrophysics is a manual for restaurants. It lays out in very precise terms how to affect the meal, the satisfaction, enjoyment and memorability of the event. The advice comes from Charles Spence’s day job, running a gastrophysics lab in Oxford, where human guinea pigs give up their secrets – secret from themselves mostly. Things like how the shape of plates or their tint affect the experience. Why airline food tastes less than fabulous (there are four very good reasons). How rotating the plate changes the entire impression of the meal. How spraying food fragrances warms up the audience. How the sound of crispness changes our attitude. How the weight of cutlery changes our impression. How putting up a sign (Italy Week) and using red checkered tablecloths make diners think the same Italian menu items from always are suddenly fresher and more authentic. How eating off a tablet computer screen (as a plate) allows for a background video to complement the food.

Who knew the act of eating could be so complex? Every one of the five senses plays major role in our experience. Each one gets its own chapter to start the book off in a highly detailed and instructive, not to say addictive manner. Smell works in two areas – before the food enters the mouth and at the back of the throat. Smell alone has a direct connection to the brain, giving it by far the most influence on our appreciation. Taste, by comparison, is a weakling limited to five sensations. Food in motion (bacon sizzling, cheese flowing, yolks oozing) is a proven irresistible visual in advertising.

There are endless experiments restaurants have tried. In order to get everyone in a good mood, one placed mooing cylinders (and nothing else) on its tables. With nothing else to fiddle with, people picked them up, tilted them, and they mooed, quickly causing everyone in the room to do the same, with resultant universal laughter. Controlling the setting is critical, which is why some high end places make you drive 50 miles out of town, and others in the city center allow no windows at all. All these and hundreds more factors are proven motivators of the palate.

Unfortunately, we don’t remember food as much as the experience. We remember the setting, the service, the lighting, and the comfort better than the food itself. This is frustrating for super chefs, and they constantly to try to improve the memorability factor, not with the food, but with sideshows. In a nod back at supper clubs with floor shows, they use gimmicks like mp3 players, aroma sprays, live musicians, motorized dessert carts and robot servers to make the event memorable. This leads to a problem with the book: the last third is all about these extraneous attempts to make events memorable, well outside the scope of gastrophysics. The potential of battery-operated forks and fur-covered spoons is beyond. Another problem with Gastophysics is that it is mostly about the superrich restaurateurs. Spence loves citing world-renown establishments, constantly and repeatedly. The kind of places that charge upwards of £300/$400 (and up to £1000) for a set tasting. They are his peeps. But they are the exception. Also, the many soft, black and white images are less than appetizing. Finally, Spence has a nasty habit of overusing exclamation points! Oddly for a scientist so finely attuned to the subtleties of fine tuning, their use is confusing and distracting!

The overall impression is overwhelming, making Gastrophysics a go-to reference for the food industry. And yes, you can and should try these things at home.

David Wineberg ( )