The art of plating is a synergy between philosophy and psychology (A collaboration between stimulation and appetite). We eat with our eyes first, and after that, time of 7 seconds, our brain give us an impulse if we want to try a dish or not. And that because our decisions are strongly prepared by our brain activity. John-Dylan Haynes, neuroscientist and co-author of the study from Max Planck Institute, said that decisions are made by unconscious with 7 seconds of becoming conscious. So, the first impact is decisive.

          In this direction, Barry Smith, Founding Director of the Centre for the Study of the Senses, has joined by a historian, a neuroscientist, an artist and a chef in order to explore the many dimensions of food and taste. Together they reveal how our experience of flavours is shaped not only by taste and smell, but also by our environment, the context of the meal we are eating, and even visual cues such as the shape and color of our plate. Through this we discover how tastes are developed and acquired and why we like some foods more than others.

The art of plating is not just about presenting the dish in an impressive way, it is much more about this. You can conceptualise anything, but you also have to be able to put it on the plate. For a chef, the art of plating, is the fruition of all the work; it’s the end of the game. But before of this final, the chefs will work with the different processes, combining the different ingredients with the concepts of the culinary philosophy and methods of cooking.

In order to obtain a correct effect from the art of plating, we have to say that each plate must have a concept and a resonance, such as food ingredients geometry, the geometry of  plates and the visual stimulation. We are talking about these processes, because the art of plating is the first contact with the customers. Together with  culinary photography, it is the first impression for clients. Also, as culinary photography, the art of plating may also influence the perception of food like hunger, the appetite and fullness. In support of the art of food arranging and food photography, we present another scientific study: It is about a study published online ahead of print in the journal Health Psychology Scientists from Yale University and Arizona State University, USA, set out to observe the power of beliefs on appetite. To achieve this, they asked 46 healthy men and women to drink milkshakes labelled as “620-kcal indulgent” or “140-kcal sensible.” Participants rated the taste and label of the milkshakes, and reported their subjective feelings of fullness. To measure physiological fullness, blood samples were drawn before, during, and after the milkshake, and were analysed for changes in ghrelin (an enzyme produced by stomach lining cells that stimulates appetite). Ghrelin is a gut hormone that transports hunger messages between the stomach and the brain; ghrelin levels increase in the absence of food, and decrease when food enters the stomach. For this reasons, the art of plating in Culinary Photography is not just about “how it looks like”…… is a science and philosophy.”

In support of the art of food arranging and food photography, we present another scientific study: