Gastrophysics
The New Science of Eating
The science behind a good meal: all the sounds, sights, and tastes that make us like what we're eating—and want to eat more.
Why do we consume 35 percent more food when eating with one other person, and 75 percent more when dining with three? How do we explain the fact that people who like strong coffee drink more of it under bright lighting? And why does green ketchup just not work?
The answer is gastrophysics, the new area of sensory science pioneered by Oxford professor Charles Spence. Now he's stepping out of his lab to lift the lid on the entire eating experience—how the taste, the aroma, and our overall enjoyment of food are influenced by all of our senses,…
Professor Charles Spence is the world expert in multisensory perception and experience design, having spent over twenty years researching how people perceive the world around them at the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University. He has consulted for many multinational companies, including Unilever, PepsiCo and Nestlé, advising on various aspects of multisensory design, packaging and branding.