Colors play an important role in our lives, influencing our choices, moods, and emotions. Now, the famous, award-winning chef Jozef Youssef, the creative force at Kitchen Theory design studio, has looked into the impact color has on our sense of taste.
For Ambiente 2024, he conducted an exclusive online survey into how much color can influence the taste of food. And on the occasion of Hoteliers’ Day, the chef will share the results with industry participants and invite them to a culinary get-together.
Gastrophysics, the science of the senses in the kitchen
We’d like to take a small digression and introduce you to a discipline which has gained an increasing amount of coverage and interest in the culinary world: gastrophysics.
Gastrophysics is the science which explores the interaction between senses, perceptions, and eating habits. It tries to understand how color, shape, and the presentation of food influence our perception of taste and our gastronomic experiences, uniting science, psychology, and gastronomy to improve the understanding of our eating habits.
The color of taste: Jozef Youssef’s science of the table
In his survey, Jozef Youssef wanted to scientifically explore how the color of tableware can influence the perception of the taste of a food.
Jozef Youssef
Studies show how various visual factors can have an influence our palette, like the color of the food—i.e., a dessert seems tastier if it is red—or the table setting of a complex or simple dish.
This exclusive study for Ambiente, entitled “The Power of Colour: A Survey on How Colour Tableware Influences the Perception of Food”, has revealed how a colorful table can alter the perception of desserts, highlighting the connection between aesthetics and taste in the culinary arts.
Jozef Youssef’s culinary experiment at Ambiente
How was this survey conducted? Jozef Youssef chose three iconic desserts which are recognizable in various cultures: granola with fruit and yogurt, fruit salad with ice cream, and a slice of chocolate tart with ice cream. The colorful plates chosen by the exhibitors at Ambiente were carefully prepared, arranged attractively, and photographed.
The survey’s participants, crowdsourced from four continents, visually evaluated the desserts according to appetite, health, and sweetness. Youssef and his team are now analyzing the responses which will be presented during Hoteliers’ Day on Monday, January 29, 2024 at Ambiente’s HoReCa Academy.
And we are incredibly curious to find out the results!
Read the articles about Ambiente 2024
