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 dinerÂs experience of a meal (primarily at a restaurant) and investigate how each of the dinerÂs 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 dinerÂs 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 dinerÂs experience in the restaurant setting are explored from the perspectives of decision neuroscience, marketing, design, and psychology.