Tasting food and drinks is a familiar, everyday experience. But how much do we really know about taste?

Barry Smith, Founding Director of the Centre for the Study of the Senses is joined by a historian, a neuroscientist, an artist and a chef in order to explore the many dimensions of food and taste. Together they reveal how our experience of flavours is shaped not only by taste and smell, but also by our environment, the context of the meal we are eating, and even visual cues such as the shape and colour of our plate. Through this we discover how tastes are developed and acquired and why we like some foods more than others.

The event begins with four short talks by Chris Woolgar, Charles Spence, Caroline Hobkinson and Charles Michel, after which the audience sampled a four course experimental tasting menu for the senses.

The event was held in partnership with the AHRC Science in Culture Theme which encourages mutual exchange between researchers working across the sciences, arts and humanities.

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