work in progress
tastes like orange blossom, coffee, mint. I tried to incorporate these findings into the menu.
For the sweet course, I used flower flavours predominantly, as the auditory correspondences blended in well with those cited for sweet in general. This provided a coherent experience for participants. We discussed at length each course and decided which musician and visual input was suitable for each course.
As a chef, was 'food synaesthesia’ something you've come across before?
I'd heard of synaesthesia in general. I’m interested in emotional aspects of food consumption anyway, and the link between nostalgia and certain foods based on memory.
Conceptually, synaesthesia is quite easy to grasp - how it is possible and how it might be experienced – but it’s relatively rarely undiagnosed. Our main aim was to replicate this experience to gauge the phenomenology of the correspondences between the different senses.
For example, in the final course, the sweet flower flavoured macaroons were paired with natural forest sounds built into the track made by Rich. Since most, if not all, of the feast participants did not experience synaesthesia naturally, we hoped the experience would give a glimpse into what having synaesthesia would feel like.
What was it like using synaesthesia to think and cook differently?
In terms of cooking, it's rare to plan a dish on a menu with one main flavour. The aim usually is to achieve a balance: sweet and sour, salty and sweet, creamy and sour. Think salted caramel, honey and lemon, mustard and balsamic. As such, the brief was quite challenging.
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