How does a meal become an unforgettable experience? Why is there no blue wine? Why do desserts taste sweeter on white plates than on black ones? Charles Spence explores these and many other questions with knowledge and humor. He draws on numerous experiments that investigate taste perception. When we consume food, we don't just taste the flavors of sweet, bitter, sour, and salty. No, we eat with all our senses: our culinary pleasure arises in the mind, not in the mouth. Thus, the weight of the cutlery, the color and shape of the dishes, and the type of background music all play a crucial role in experiencing a perfect dinner. This book raises our awareness of how this interplay of colors, shapes, smells, and sounds affects us and how strongly we respond to it.