Even before Marcel Proust famously wrote a seven-volume novel from memories triggered by the taste of a madeleine, chefs have understood there’s more to tasting food than just flavor. Every day our minds create perceptions that affect how we register food’s deliciousness, working alongside our brain’s hardwiring.

Born from studying chemotherapy patients’ inability to enjoy food resulting from neurologically impaired senses of taste, neurogastronomy studies our emotional, cognitive, and rational enjoyment of food, from the shape and color of plates to the sound food makes.

It makes sense—there is no taste without the mind, which processes our senses, so why not maximize the advantage. British Chef Heston Blumenthal has for years used neurogastronomy in a dish of oysters that