We eat with our eyes before anything
As an amateur cook, I have learned one thing, sight is what matters more than anything else, now don't get me wrong, taste matters, it matters a whole heck of a lot. But dear reader, would you eat something that looked like putrid vomit or would you eat something that looked fresh, beautiful, and overall appetizing. When I was in a culinary program I was taught one simple thing, we eat without eyes, if the food does not look good than the food in return will not be good.
Jumping furthering into my point, think about the last time you went to a nice restaurant and think about the colors, the arrangement of the food and even the plating. Everything matters. For example, you go to a cheap off the highway dive and you order chicken and french fries, it comes out in a red basket with brown paper under a bed of golden french fries and even more golden brown chicken fingers. When looking at the meal your first thought could be "wow, fried, fresh and delicious", at least that is my thought process. What you might not be aware of is the red basket that the food is in, in many marketing and psychology studies there are findings that the color red evokes the feelings of hunger, this is why most fast-food chains have red signs and decor as well. So with that information in mind, it is not only the golden fried goodies in front of you that are making your mouth drool but also that red basket that contains then that is sending signals to your brain to get hungry.
Taking all of this a step further, think of when you are at a fancy restaurant, the food is bursting with color, the arrangement is enticing and the plating suggests that there is enough space for you to dig in and enjoy. The walls around you are setting the stage for the meal ahead and the staff is dressed to encourage the feeling of a clean respectable work environment. All of these factors are building up to what your feast will be, what it will taste like, how the experience will make you feel when you remember it.
We eat with our eyes, but we can be swayed by the tricks of marketing and purposeful color placement.
Jumping furthering into my point, think about the last time you went to a nice restaurant and think about the colors, the arrangement of the food and even the plating. Everything matters. For example, you go to a cheap off the highway dive and you order chicken and french fries, it comes out in a red basket with brown paper under a bed of golden french fries and even more golden brown chicken fingers. When looking at the meal your first thought could be "wow, fried, fresh and delicious", at least that is my thought process. What you might not be aware of is the red basket that the food is in, in many marketing and psychology studies there are findings that the color red evokes the feelings of hunger, this is why most fast-food chains have red signs and decor as well. So with that information in mind, it is not only the golden fried goodies in front of you that are making your mouth drool but also that red basket that contains then that is sending signals to your brain to get hungry.
Taking all of this a step further, think of when you are at a fancy restaurant, the food is bursting with color, the arrangement is enticing and the plating suggests that there is enough space for you to dig in and enjoy. The walls around you are setting the stage for the meal ahead and the staff is dressed to encourage the feeling of a clean respectable work environment. All of these factors are building up to what your feast will be, what it will taste like, how the experience will make you feel when you remember it.
We eat with our eyes, but we can be swayed by the tricks of marketing and purposeful color placement.
Wow, I didn't know about how the color red evokes hunger. That is extremely interesting. I have worked at a restaurant the past 2 summers and winters and I totally understand what you mean by eating with the eyes. Sometimes bringing out food to customers made me want to sit down with them and take a bite!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the psychology of certain colors making people hungry started, definitely worth looking into!
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