Gastrophysics (the New Science Of Eating)

By (author) Spence Charles
Description:

A ground-breaking book by the world-leading expert in sensory science: Freakonomics for food

''Popular science at its best'' - Daniel Levitin

Why do we consume 35% more food when eating with one more person, and 75% more when with three?

Why are 27% of drinks bought on aeroplanes tomato juice?

How are chefs and companies planning to transform our dining experiences, and what can we learn from their cutting-edge insights to make memorable meals at home?

These are just some of the ingredients of Gastrophysics, in which the pioneering Oxford professor Charles Spence shows how our senses link up in the most extraordinary ways, and reveals the importance of all the ''off-the-plate'' elements of a meal: the weight of cutlery, the placing on the plate, the background music and much more. Whether dining alone or at a dinner party, on a plane or in front of the TV, he reveals how to understand what we''re tasting and influence what others experience. Mealtimes will genuinely never be the same again.

''Truly accessible, entertaining and informative. On every page there are ideas to set you thinking and widen your horizons'' - Heston Blumenthal, OBE

''His delight in weird food facts is infectious...fascinating'' - James McConnachie, Sunday Times

''Gastrophysics is packed with such tasty factual morsels that could be served up at dinner parties. If Spence can percolate all these factual morsels to the mainstream, the benefits to all of us would be obvious'' - Nick Curtis, Daily Telegraph

''Spence allows people to appreciate the multisensory experience of eating'' - New Yorker

''The scientist changing the way we eat'' - Guardian

Review quote:
Truly accessible, entertaining and informative. On every page there are ideas to set you thinking and widen your horizons
Review quote:
His delight in weird food facts is infectious...fascinating
Review quote:
Not many people are as ready to realize the importance of the senses as Charles Spence
Review quote:
Popular science at its best. Insightful, entertainingly written and peppered throughout with facts you can use in the kitchen, in the classroom, or in the pub
Review quote:
This is partly serious tome and partly an amusing guide for the layperson to a whole new gustatory world. Gastrophysics is packed with such tasty factual morsels that could be served up at dinner parties. If Spence can percolate all these factual morsels to the mainstream, the benefits to all of us would be obvious
Review quote:
Spence allows people to appreciate the multisensory experience of eating
Review quote:
The scientist changing the way we eat
Review quote:
Spence romps around such factoids in the style of a Blue Peter presenter . . . fascinating and provocative
Review quote:
A fascinating look at the science of food and how our perception is shaped by all our senses, not just taste
Review quote:
If simply changing the name of a dish on a menu or the color of the plate on which it is served can dramatically alter our perception of taste and food quality, then everyone in the restaurant industry needs to read this and take a deeper look at the scientific secrets Professor Spence reveals in Gastrophysics
Biographical note:
Professor Charles Spence has spent the last two decades researching how people perceive the world around them at the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University, earning him the international reputation as the expert in multisensory perception and experience design. He has popularized the term ''gastrophysics'', and leads