It is generally accepted that the taste of food is judged with four senses: The taste, the view, the smell and the touch, but the heard is also very important! Studies show that different kinds of music can change how much we enjoy food and drink. Music creates energy, it creates an atmosphere that develops the flavour of food. It is needless to say that a ‘good’ dish can become ‘great’ with the appropriate music.
Music has the power to create emotional links
It can affect and regulate mood states and increase stimulation by changing physiological responses (e.g. by increasing heart rate). For instance, Psypost lists several factors that can have a higher exciting potential: loud music, music with vocals, the familiarity of the music etc. Let us go through the findings of a group experiment to observe why music can make your meal more appetising.
*** A Musical Eating Experiment
According to Doctor Stu’s Science blog, three hospitality gurus from the US invited a group of hungry diners for an eating experiment to determine whether music could influence the eating experience. Some subtle changes were made to the dining room before the plates were put out. A hidden network of speakers with sets of sound monitors were installed to monitor and control the background noise and music levels throughout the meal. Four sittings of men and women were served the same course of meal in identical restaurant settings. However, the music volume and ‘background chatter’ levels were tweaked for each group. These small changes led to some dramatic results.
Food appeared to be tastier when served with quiet classical music and a hint of ‘background chatter’. This too worked only at a certain volume range (precisely: 62-67 decibels), outside of which the food became less tasty. The most surprising discovery was that silence took away the enjoyment of eating! In an environment without some ambient sound, the diners felt uncomfortable.
What to do for the best food experience?
A person’s love of music is as subjective as the love of food. In order make your meal more appetising, we suggest adding luxurious elements to your food as well as listening to some melodious tunes while eating. Bateel’s premium selection of gourmet condiments like Pesto Genovese or Black Olive Tapenade adds a distinctive, delicious flavour to any food preparation. Using traditional style recipes, they are created with the freshest, highest-quality ingredients from across the globe. So, what are you waiting for? Turn on the music, sit back and enjoy a fresh batch of home-made pasta using Bateel’s Genovese-style Pesto.
