Do You Eat With Your Eyes?

Posted by Maddalena Delli May 3, 2008

Research confirms a link between how food looks and how it tastes, but how does an emphasis on presentation in restaurants dominate what we choose to eat?

One of the highlights of the NewcastleGateshead EAT! Food Festival in North East England is the Dans le Noir? experience: a restaurant in utter darkness where highly skilled blind waiters, completely at ease in this environment, will guide diners to the tables and serve the whole meal in complete obscurity.

Love it or hate it, this is guaranteed to be an unforgettable evening: how do you interact without eye contact? And how do you pour the wine without spilling it?

Yet without your sight, the other four senses of taste, smell, touch and sound will be heightened, making this an intense and truly extraordinary experience.

In fact, scientific research has proved there's a link between how food looks and how it tastes, and restaurant chefs and food packagers are obviously well aware of how important it is to guide what we choose to eat through an emphasis on presentation.

The EAT! Festival organizers thought this intriguing relationship worthy of further investigation and are hosting a Debate in the Dark, scheduled for Wednesday May 7th 2008 at 6pm (Northern Stage).

Guest speakers at the Eat! With Your Eyes round table are:

• Anya Hurlbert MD PhD, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
• Ian Brown, Senior Lecturer in Food Studies, Northumbria University
• Fabrice Roszczka, Directeur Général, Dans le Noir