Multisensory & Sensory Dining Experience in London
Multisensory Dining
Eating offers us both sustenance for survival as well as hedonistic pleasure. It is an intensely sensory experience and most importantly it is one of the most multisensory activities we as humans engage in multiple times per day. Our expectations, judgements and enjoyment of food and flavour are all formulated in our minds based on sensory inputs (what we see, smell, taste, feel and hear). And while we mainly associate flavour with our sense of taste (salty, bitter, sour, sweet and umami) and our sense of smell, research shows that flavour is really a multisensory construct of all our senses coming together in a congruent manner.
RESEARCH SHOWS FLAVOUR IS REALLY A MULTISENSORY CONSTRUCT OF ALL OUR SENSES COMING TOGETHER IN A CONGRUENT MANNER
Defining Multisensory Dining
Many cultures have a phrase along the lines of “you eat with your eyes” and most of us understand the importance of the visual presentation of food, but the other senses can get a little lost. Take sound for instance; the sizzle of a steak platter, crack of a crème brulee sugar crust or crunch of a tempura coated shrimp are all ‘audio flavour’ cues your brain picks up and makes judgments based upon. Texture (as well as associated mouthfeel and temperature) is one of the most determining factors in regard to how much we will enjoy an ingredient or dish, this is particularly true for children but applies to most adults too.
“So multisensory dining is essentially an experience in which all your senses are stimulated”.
At Kitchen Theory we consider every sense when designing our multisensory dining experiences and events as well as the details for each dish in an effort to make our guests more mindful of the sensory pleasures that we sometimes take for granted when eating.
In some cases, such as our chef’s table, the sensory aspects of the dish are heightened with the use of elements including soundscapes, projection mapping and the use of atomisers or dry ice. All of which is designed to draw the diner’s attention deeper into the dish and flavours, while immersing them further into the experience, adding a touch of magic and showmanship.
You can of course experience it for yourself by booking an experience at our Chef’s Table Supperclub or by booking a group Private Dining Experience.
Over the last 10 years, multisensory dining in London has grown from a rarity to a culinary movement, attracting chefs, researchers, food designers and intrepid dining-out types. This is because we are beginning to appreciate how the mind interprets flavour, not as a flavour on the tongue but as the brain’s reaction to stimuli from all the senses. Increasingly, we want a sensory dining experience when we eat out in London, and this need for feeling, narrative and immersion supersedes mere food. London is an ingenious incubator. The city boasts a gravitational pull for talent in design, art, psychology and electronics, as well as gastronomy, constantly testing the boundaries of the sensory dining experience in London.
At the heart of the best of these sensations is appetite. Research shows that colour, aroma, sound, temperature, texture and even memory all have a part in our perception of flavour. When these multisensory cues are re-arranged with concerted intent, then the connectedness of the experience can feel greater, more intimate, more lasting. For example, a soundscape can make a dish feel sweeter or more bitter, the colour of a plate can adjust expectations of flavour, and a weightless cup can cause something to taste more luxurious than if served on a plate.
These interactions happen automatically, subconsciously, and a multisensory dining experience highlights them. In a sensory dining experience in London, guests lose the role of passive consumers and become active participants, and the meal becomes less about eating than experiencing. The nutritional and practical elements of a meal analogous to the food itself are overtaken by the emotional, psychological and artistic.
Kitchen Theory has led the way in research-led multisensory dining by bringing together food and the culinary arts with experimental psychology, design thinking and emerging technologies. Each experience is designed not just with flavour, but curiosity about how the senses affect one another, at its core.
Our events draw attention to all of these interactions so that guests leave more mindful of the extraordinary complexity of our senses underlying every mouthful. Instead of drafting in technology as ‘the wow’ such as with projection mapping, diffusion of aroma and curated soundscapes or tactile design to present ‘the difference’, these elements carry the story of the meal further and embed these elements into the meal to draw diners into the story of the food being presented to them.
This simple and innocent journey from a good experience to a memorable one, from a meal to a journey that is both informative and entertaining, allows the guest to appreciate just how much effort and mental character go into the enjoyment of what we eat. Whether they are at the Chef’s Table Supperclub or at the bespoke private sensory dining experience, diners find themselves participating in this process together. Explaining that process is one of the most beguiling aspects of the whole enterprise: the science of the multisensory dinner. Insights from neuroscience are more and more frequently teaching us that flavour is controlled by many more factors than just our taste buds.
A sensory dining experience can change how we enjoy ingredients we already know, by merely immersing us in different surrounding sensory stimulation. A simple dish can feel completely transformed through symbiotic sensory pairing. A complex dish can become palatable when the sensory messaging stays true to the desired emotion. In a city as dynamic and diverse as London these insights helped forge completely new sensory dining experiences that walk the line between art installation, scientific study and culinary performance. It’s that ongoing sense of curiosity that is one of the main reasons why multisensory dining in London draws locals and tourists alike from tired restaurant culture in search of something different.
Judgements on freshness or sweetness come through our vision; it’s our aroma that recognises the bulk of flavour; sound shapes how we perceive crunch or texture; and temperature and mouthfeel affect comfort and satisfaction. Even being in a good mood or a bad mood can modify perceptions and intensity of experiencing flavour.
In addition to public events, Kitchen Theory also crafts bespoke sensory dining experiences specifically designed for private groups. These can be tuned to reflect specific themes, company values, brand narratives or communally significant milestone celebrations. Since each sense can be directed to motivate emotion, switch perception or reinforce storytelling, nothing engages us quite like a multisensory dining experience.
A private dining experience created in this way fills guests with deeper connection to one another and deeper appreciation of the narrative of their meal. Companies seeking unforgettable brand activations tend to go for multisensory format to leave an imprint, while those with personal reasons for planning a celebration opt for private dining experiences for the uniqueness and personalisation. The dish isn’t only a banquet, but a treasured memory of taste made by means of exploration.
As more diners get their heads round how much their enjoyment of food relies on sense arbitration, people become more curious about a multisensory dining experience in London. More and more, people are hungry for dining experiences in formats that are educational, surprising or unconventional. The arrival of immersive art and digital performance and other forms of interactive environments has had its impact on the sector, so London seems like a proper match of creative spirit for multisensory dining experiences. By leveraging science, the chefs bring culinary precision and artistic exploration together in harmony. Where traditional restaurants can claim to satiate, a multisensory dining experience gives you the chance to actually taste (as in feel, hear and see) the flavour experience instead.
If you seek an unforgettable sensory dining experience in London with a little more emotion-laden psychological and artistic intrepidness than simply delicious food and flavour alone then you might open the door of Kitchen Theory and slide in for a seat. This is no ordinary meal, it’s about rediscovering flavour via the senses!