Rhythm is gonna get your taste buds

Picture this, you are sitting at the table waiting for your dish to arrive. And voila before you, are placed what looks like regular chicken croquettes christened Sounds of the Enchanted Forest with headphones playing soothing jungle noises and a smoke filled cloche that transports you to a campfire sight with its aromas. This is one of the signature dishes of Chemistry 101, a  new gastro pub. Created by one of UK’s top chefs Stephen Gomes, who also happens to be the headchef here.

Different sounds to enhance your palate?

When quizzed about using music and different sounds as part of the overall food experience. Chef Stephen says, “My food is all about telling a story, and this involves the use of all the five senses — hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste. While flavours and the visual impact are very important, different sounds can play a vital role in creating that overall experience. It’s part of molecular gastronomy and has been widely used abroad. It made sense to try it out here to elevate the overall food experience.” Studies have shown that high-frequency sounds enhance the sweetness in food, while low frequencies bring out the bitterness. So, is experimenting with sounds to enhance the palate in the offing?

Tanu Narang Moghe, partner,The Little Door, adds, “When you are eating a meal, you experience varied flavours in the same dish — sweet, sour, bitter, spicy; just like music with complementing yet contrasting notes. I think that different pitches of sound might help in highlighting different flavours of food. A few international studies have also shown that acoustic atmosphere could affect the way one experiences flavours of food and drinks. However, 
Indian restaurants are yet to experiment with the technique of using sound to influence the taste in a big way. It makes sense to do that as it surely add a certain level of drama to help stimulate the dining experience.” 

But there are others who feel it may not necessarily work. Chef Saurabh Udinia, Chef de Cuisine —Modern Indian, Massive Restaurants Pvt Ltd, adds, “Technology has it’s pros and cons and I feel an excess of it in anything, especially a dining experience, may not necessarily work. Something like this may have it’s takers and a certain wow factor to it, but may not necessarily appeal to a larger audience. As I mentioned earlier, there has to be a balance and seamless collaboration among all elements with food being the main focus, it can’t be the other way around.”