As a personal chef, James Barry is quite interested in how food hits the sensory organs—does it smell tantalizing? Are the colors appealing? Will the recipient begin thinking about the dish before they even take a bite? Will the flavors explode on the tongue?
Most Americans have some familiarity with how the senses can create a desire for—and potentially addiction to—food. Eating is preceded by the cephalic phase of digestion—smells, sounds, tastes, and even memories.
“Cephalic” comes from the Greek word kephalikos, which means pertaining to the head. It describes our first phase of digestion—everything that happens before we swallow our food....
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