A Sensory Feast: How Audio Affects the Dining Experience

Have you ever been in a loud, overcrowded restaurant and upon leaving, feel as though you can barely recall what you just ate? That’s not just down to being flustered – being overwhelmed with certain sounds does have the potential to actually dull flavours and others, to enhance them. Noise also has been shown to affect our perceptions of aroma and our expectations from food, which in turn leads to further altered flavours. However, that’s not to say that food is best enjoyed in silence, you just need to choose your soundtrack with caution.

With food critics worldwide commenting on noise levels in a restaurant right there alongside reviews of the food itself, sticking on any old album to accompany a dinner party is a serious culinary faux pas! It’s time to consider your audio contributions if you want to wow your guests…

• Higher pitched music makes for a sweeter meal, so choose the background music the time you serve your dessert wisely.
• Loud noise or music (80Db or above – the noise level of city traffic) often leaves us enjoying sweet foods more, theoretically due to a stress response within the body, however, it does not necessarily make sweet flavours more apparent. When there is a combination of flavours and you are aiming to bring the sweetness out, low background noise (moderate conversation or a moderate rain shower) is preferable.
• Soft foods are associated with sweetness, so the ‘hearing’ the silence of putting a spoon into whipped cream or cutting through a velvety cake invites us to expect a sweet taste.

• We expect crunchy foods to be either fresh or salty, depending on the appearance of the item in question. Allowing the dining to hear an audible crunch enhances the perception of salt. Add a perceived salty contrast with a few crunchy elements, such as pecans on a pecan pie.

• Low-pitched sounds bring out the bitter taste in food.

• Unami (or savoury) taste is the only one that is enhanced by very loud noise, whereas all other tastes are suppressed. This is why the Bloody Mary is the most frequently ordered drink on aeroplanes – it literally tastes better.