Gastrophysics

About the book

A ground-breaking book by the world-leading expert in sensory science: Freakonomics for food

'Popular science at its best' - Daniel Levitin

Why do we consume 35% more food when eating with one more person, and 75% more when with three?

Why are 27% of drinks bought on aeroplanes tomato juice?

How are chefs and companies planning to transform our dining experiences, and what can we learn from their cutting-edge insights to make memorable meals at home?

These are just some of the ingredients of Gastrophysics, in which the pioneering Oxford professor Charles Spence shows how our senses link up in the most extraordinary ways, and reveals the importance of all the 'off-the-plate' elements of a meal: the weight of cutlery, the placing on the plate, the background music and much more. Whether dining alone or at a dinner party, on a plane or in front of the TV, he reveals how to understand what we're tasting and influence what others experience. Mealtimes will genuinely never be the same again.

'Truly accessible, entertaining and informative. On every page there are ideas to set you thinking and widen your horizons' - Heston Blumenthal, OBE

'His delight in weird food facts is infectious...fascinating' - James McConnachie, Sunday Times

'Gastrophysics is packed with such tasty factual morsels that could be served up at dinner parties. If Spence can percolate all these factual morsels to the mainstream, the benefits to all of us would be obvious' - Nick Curtis, Daily Telegraph

'Spence allows people to appreciate the multisensory experience of eating' - New Yorker

'The scientist changing the way we eat' - Guardian