cf
charles’ fugue
a multisensory experience in five rounds
Synesthesia, a rare condition that causes one sense to be activated by the stimulation of a different sense, has been observed in cases linking color with sound, color with letters, or numbers with spacial perception, among others. This marvel is viewed as a neurological phenomenon, but it is factual that everyone possesses synesthesia to a small degree. Truthfully, all five senses overlap in the human mind, their links impacting the perceived enjoyability and experience of dining specifically. Different smells, sounds, and sights present while eating can cause a meal to seem wonderful or disappointing, and can even coax the other senses into interpreting food in a particular way.
It is intriguing to think of these findings as synesthetic or “magical,� but it is important to note that in reality they are the result of the brain recalling past associations between taste and the other senses. Involuntarily, the brain stimulates one sense if it is reminded of an experience involving another sense. Ice cream trucks play high-pitched songs, subconsciously causing one to perceive food as sweeter when listening to high-pitched music. Red wine is often bitter in flavor, causing one to subconsciously taste all red-colored wines as somewhat bitter, even if the red results from dye. Charles’ Fugue is a multisensory dining experience aiming to explore the interplay of the five senses and their rolls in comprehension of taste. It aims to evoke appreciation for the tremendous impact of sensory stimulants on the perception of flavor and the pleasure of food.
who is Charles?
Professor Charles Spence is an Oxford University psychologist and the head of the school’s Crossmodal Research Laboratory. He has published over 500 articles on sensory modalities and provides leading research on the subject. Currently, he also acts as a consultant for several multinational companies for multisensory design and marketing.
“our brains constantly combine information from different sensory modalities in order to make sense of our environment.” —Professor Charles Spence
Bach
round 1
butternut squash soup
an experience in touch butternut squash texture
green apple yellow onion carrot cinnamon served with a textured spoon
When eating something crunchy, we expect it to result from stiff, rough food. When eating something chewy, we presume smooth, easily malleable food. Consuming smooth soup with a rough spoon confuses the brain; soup is a smooth liquid while a textured spoon alludes to rigidity. This manipulates the brain to perceive the meal as less enjoyable. When eating something smooth, we expect the same texture from the surrounding environment.
round 2
roasted carrots
an experience in scent carrot intermixture
olive oil pepper served with chocolate aroma
When you are ill with a stuffy nose, you may notice that your sense of taste decreases. This is largely in part due to the fact that smell is one of the greatest contributors to taste. We smell through two pathways, the nostrils and the esophagus. The combination of smelling and tasting gives food its true flavor and leads us to describe nonedible items with flavored words. The scent of a rose is described as sweet although it is never eaten. When a strong aroma—such as chocolate—is introduced to a typically nonassociated flavor—such as carrot—the brain processes this combination as incorrect. The carrot taste is less enjoyable because the brain knows that chocolate is not an ingredient in the dish.
round 3
mushroom morsels
an experience in taste shitake mushroom rich
garlic clove sesame parmesan cilantro served with a blindfold
If you have ever wondered why airplane food tastes so bland, it is more than likely the result of unpleasant loud noise that decreases taste perception. Umami, however, the newly accepted fifth taste, is immune to changes in pitch and loudness. Umami is the taste of savory flavors, present in many mushroom, parmesan, and tomato-based foods— which alludes to the reason many people on airplanes order drinks they rarely desire, such as Bloody Marys. Umami-based dishes are often very flavorful and are perceived as incredibly rich due to their sense-resistant flavoring. By wearing a blindfold and concentrating entirely on taste, one can fully savor the ingredient.
round 4
Swiss and pepper quiche
an experience in sight egg dissenting
green onion green pepper Swiss cheese cayenne served colored black
One of the brain’s most powerful associative elements is color. In cases of beverages, clear colored drinks are perceived as more pure and clean due to association with clean water, while brown and dark colors are perceived as dirty due to association with contaminated water. Adding red to a clear liquid will increase its perceived sweetness due to association with red berries. While most advocate to not judge a book by its cover, the brain cannot help but assume a completely coal-colored meal will taste dirty, no matter how fresh it actually tastes and smells. Had this dish been served in its correct colors, your mouth would have been watering.
round 5
cheese cake
an experience in sound milk volume
lemon served with a crunching soundtrack
Environmental sounds inadvertently impact the enjoyment of a dish. If a sound seems to match the mood of the food, the brain perceives the meal as more pleasurable, and vice versa. Therefore, when rough crunching noises are heard while eating something smooth, they interfere with the capacity to recognize the smoothness. As the volume is increased on the crunching track, the cheesecake is perceived as less soft and smooth. If turned back down, there is less interference with its light texture.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Little” Fugue in G Minor is a sinister, mysterious piece that leaves one feeling as if something unknown might be creeping around a corner. This meal is comprised of offbeat, sometimes slightly unpleasant experiences that provoke the brain to realize the significant crossover of the senses and the importance of a pleasant environment while dining.
www.charlesfugue.com