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Would pasta taste different if served with the sounds of Wagner instead of Puccini? And what music would best complement the taste of dark chocolate or citrus fruit? Multisensory food perception is an area of particular interest to Charles Spence, professor of experimental psychology at Somerville College, University of Oxford. Spence studies the impact of music and soundscapes to the experience of food and drink. His research findings have been used by everyone from BA to Diageo and Pernod Ricard. He also works on digital seasoning with top chefs such as Heston Blumenthal and Jozef Youssef. He will be joined by Fred Plotkin, one of the world’s leading opera experts who has also written six cookery books, most of them centred on Italian food and wine. It will be possible to taste food while listening to music as Spence and Plotkin explore the mysterious connections between ear, mouth and nose (as well as sight and touch) and how these senses produce a sensation that is mysteriously elusive and deeply personal: pleasure.

In association with the Savoy, festival London hotel partner.