We Eat With Our Eyes (And Our Nose, And Our Ears And…)

Dining embraces all five senses — the mouth-watering smell of fresh peaches; the sizzle of a fajita in a cast iron skillet; the silkiness of a tablecloth; the visual feast of a beautifully plated entree; or the refreshing taste of a watermelon sorbet.

But beyond art for art’s sake — what some chefs dub “the tweezer mentality” — how do culinary aesthetics impact consumer behavior and the overall dining experience? And how can it spotlight more fresh produce?

EMBRACE THE EXPERIENCE

The experience, or aesthetics, of dining is a complex, multidimensional concept, and food is only one component. But for the fresh produce industry, the food component is its primary focus, and it doesn’t matter if the foodservice is a fine dining establishment, a university campus cafeteria or a chain restaurant.

“It’s our responsibility as chefs and produce professionals to showcase what’s best,” says Jill Overdorf, chef and founder of The Produce Ambassador, Torrance, CA. “What’s in season? What’s a novelty, what’s ‘Oh my God, you have to have this, I’ve never had it before.’ It’s those bites that are memorable.”

“We all remember our first kiss — where it was, and who it was with,” she adds. “Really good aesthetics in dining are like that. You remember the meal because of the energy that went into it.”

Dining out has both a social and an experiential aspect, notes Soojin Lee, a lecturer at the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, who has researched consumer behavior in the restaurant industry.

When diners go out to eat, she explains, they’re not just looking for good food. They want something that’s beautiful, a dish that’s aesthetically pleasing, which also stimulates their emotional aspects, and arouses their curiosity or interest.

“People want to first see the beautiful vision, which affects their cognition, and then, ‘oh, I feel like I want to purchase this product,’ or ‘I want to try this food,’” says Lee.

Your body has a physical, chemical reaction when you see an enticing dish, which increases your craving for that dish, adds Chef Rebecca Peizer, chef/owner of All Things Culinary, Napa, CA. Consumers think “this has to be delicious, because it looks so beautiful.”

“We DO eat with our eyes.”

DINING FOR THE ’GRAM: CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION

There’s also a hedonic culinary component, or desire to seek pleasure, to what diners pursue, says Cornell University’s Lee. In particular, Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, don’t go to a restaurant just to eat or socialize. They also want an aesthetic culinary experience, and to find that beautiful dish.

“They are looking for something that’s Instagrammable,” says Lee, who calls it “conspicuous consumption,” meaning these guests want to show others “this is what I’m having tonight.”

Her current research on fine dining and consumer behavior found consumers with high self-image have a greater tendency to consider food presentation, especially the colors of the dish that they’re eating, and they want to show to other people that it meets their social status.

KEEP IT SIMPLE, IN SEASON AND SEXY

Capitalizing on culinary aesthetics doesn’t have to be over the top, but it does pay to be on-trend or, even better, the trendsetter.

Manfred Lassahn, executive chef at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort And Spa, Huntington Beach, CA, uses fashion’s “little black dress” philosophy.

“There will always be a little black dress for a woman to get to go out to a cocktail party,” says Lassahn, who is the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) 2024 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Award winner in the hotel and resort category.

“But what does that little black dress look like this year? And it looks different than it did last year.”

That’s why he’s constantly looking for new produce items or techniques to inspire his culinary creativity, but also takes inspiration from the memories of his great-grandmother in Germany preserving her garden’s bounty.

Lassahn calls it “saving summer,” pickling or preserving peaches or strawberries, for example, for use in fall and winter on salads; or flash-freezing September pitted and halved, sugared plums for Christmas sugar plum cobblers.

A changing menu or limited time offer (LTO) gives foodservice greater flexibility to capture in-season freshness and taste, and also tell the story of produce seasonality.

While trends are fluid and ever-changing, Peizer believes growers and chefs drive the bus, not consumers.

“It’s up to us — the chefs, the growers, the people who grow the food and who make the food — to drive that in whatever direction we want,” she says. “The consumer doesn’t know what they want; they just need you to tell them, the power of suggestion.”

GET BACK TO NATURE

For Lassahn, culinary aesthetics is how food is painted or sculpted on the plate, to let the natural beauty of the produce shine rather than manipulating it. For example, taking a raw vegetable, slicing it thinly, then shingling, or sculpting, it on the plate, with a sauce painted next to it.

Successful aesthetics mimic nature, he adds. “Naturally placed food items appear to be healthier.”

There’s science in Mother Nature’s beauty, says Linda Hagen, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Illinois-Chicago, who has studied the connection between food aesthetics, beauty and perceived healthiness.

“A lot of the aesthetic features that are commonly considered beautiful represent natural patterns,” Hagen explains, pointing to symmetry, order, pattern repetition or spirals, among other examples.

“I was curious, when we make things look beautiful by following these natural principles, if people’s gut reaction is, ‘this looks particularly natural, and that probably means it’s healthier,’ because people have a strong belief that natural things in general are healthier, and that is what I found in my research.”

Beware of too much food manipulation, though, as Hagen’s research also found expressive aesthetics that do not evoke naturalness did not produce the “this food is healthy” effect (despite being pretty).

Chef Lassahn agrees. “The was a time when molecular gastronomy was huge, when you turned foie gras into cotton candy — and that’s not what it’s supposed to be.”

“When things are placed in their natural form, it’s just beautiful.”

Chef Peizer says consumers are coming back to this idea of “how does this food traditionally look.”

“As consumers, we’re dialing back these wild and crazy ideas of how aesthetically artistic food needs to be, for it to be delicious.”

Matt Hiltner, marketing manager at grower-shipper Babé Farms, Santa Maria, CA, says consumers often perceive prettier, more aesthetically pleasing food as being healthier and of higher quality.

“‘Eye-appeal’ is ‘buy-appeal’ when it comes to produce,” says Hiltner. “Research and our own observations indicate that visually appealing produce can enhance the eating experience, making meals feel more special and enjoyable.”

THE BACK OF THE HOUSE

Fresh produce growers, distributors and wholesalers play a bigger role in foodservice culinary aesthetics than they may imagine — they have connections, they know what’s in the warehouse and they are in tune with seasonality.

“You ask any farmer and they’ll tell you what’s best on their farm that day, that week, that month,” says Chef Overdorf, “and then that information is translated down the supply chain.

“That’s where our unique industry, based on relationships, is so critical and important — because that’s how we share that knowledge.”

When Lassahn was a chef at the Century Plaza in Los Angeles, he often went to a weekly Santa Monica farmers market, and would meet his produce company representative there.

“She was the one who had the connections with every farm,” he explains, and would direct him to a certain stand to see this apple, or another stand to see what it offered.

“That was where the excitement comes from,” he says. “It’s fun to find new things, to create things for people who’ve never seen them, or tasted them.”

Even a veteran chef like Lassahn finds inspiration from his suppliers, like Babé Farms.

“They just seem to be the innovator,” he says. “They’re always trying to reinvent or come up with the next new thing, which really aligns with what I do and how I think.”

At Babé Farms, Hiltner says the goal is to “‘awaken the appetites of our consumers.” And Babé Farms is one of the best in the industry at transforming their baby and specialty produce into visual feasts in their marketing, newsletters or trade show booths.

“We often showcase the beauty of our produce through high-quality imagery, creative presentations, and bountiful displays at trade shows,” Hiltner explains. “By sharing our produce with customers in these mediums, we capture their attention and imagination, building a stronger connection with our brand.”

At Vesta Foodservice, a Los Angeles, CA-based distributor, culinary aesthetics means “selecting and presenting produce that not only tastes great, but also provides the best value for the customer’s application, which may mean the product has to also be visually stunning,” says Jin Ju Wilder, vice president of marketing and business development.

“By showcasing the visual appeal of produce, we can inspire consumers to appreciate and consume more fresh fruits and vegetables.”

WEAVE A STORY INTO YOUR MENU

Diners at all levels want to know where their food comes from, and foodservice should lean into more menu notes, signage, QR codes or other methods of conveying the food source. It doesn’t seem like an obvious path to culinary aesthetics, but today’s diners are smarter diners and expect that backstory.

“It’s definitely an expectation, it’s not just a desire,” says Chef C. David Wolf, a central Ohio-based certified executive chef, culinary instructor, and former executive chef with the Global Hyatt Hotel Corporation for 23 years. “It’s like if it’s not there, they’re not going to come back.”

“It’s going to make a difference on how we feel, and how we think and how we enjoy the flavor of the food.”

At Cornell University, Lee cites research that found diners seek authenticity, or “real food,” and equate that with higher quality. Those findings indicated that delivering an authentic and unique dining experience was the most important area in which restaurants could improve.

One way to deliver an authentic experience, she adds, is to deliver visually appealing culinary aesthetics to customers, and to stress that ingredients are fresh.

“It’s all about the story,” says Chef Lassahn. “Everything is about a story. Where it comes from, who prepared it, why they did it.”

If the produce industry wants to increase consumption, “my personal belief is to continue to tell the story of how this product came to be,” advises Peizer.

Because the more consumers know, she explains, “they will come to accept deliciousness being associated, not just with perfect shape, perfect balance, perfect color, they will associate deliciousness with the natural product that it is.”

If you lean into telling a local food story, you’re also getting the ripple effect from the Instagram conspicuous consumption diner, says Lee. “I go to this restaurant and, ‘oh, look, I didn’t realize this was locally produced.’”

When the diner posts that photo and related story, it influences their followers who also want to be seen as supporting local food, and it becomes a never-ending story.

B2B STORYTELLING

Aesthetic storytelling doesn’t just happen in the restaurant. Many commodity boards, another link in the produce chain, have a foodservice focus to increase the use of that commodity on menus. The boards often connect chefs with growers to educate both sides, and foster a relationship that yields a bottom line of increased consumption. It’s a B2B type of storytelling that is just as essential as educating customers.

Megan McKenna, senior director of marketing and foodservice with the Winter Springs, FL-based National Watermelon and Promotion Board, says there’s palpable excitement when the board brings foodservice professionals out to a farm. “There is something about chefs connecting to a product from the ground up.”

“When they can visit the fields, walk on the soil, talk to the farmers, see and taste the hard work that goes into something like a watermelon, it really comes through in the way it is used on their menu,” she adds.

“Where a farmer knows how to grow a great piece of fruit, a chef knows the perfect flavors and textures to make it shine.”

Sarah Grizzle, outside sales rep at Babé Farms, agrees. “Farmers and chefs each specialize in their own craft, but there is great value in coming together to share their stories and understand the origins of their products.”

Vesta Foodservice does a different B2B tour by hosting chefs at its facilities, says Erin Liu, key account manager. “When chefs come to visit us, they don’t realize what a 270-square-foot warehouse looks like, and that we tag and label every single box,” she explains. “It’s really about confidence.”

That extra effort and chef-supplier relationship-building pays dividends, Liu says. “The experienced chefs will lean on you for information.”

If a grower is willing to host a tour, most chefs will make the time to attend, says Peizer, who has been involved on such tours as both a guest and as a chef helping a commodity to promote itself.

“They’re invaluable experiences,” she says. “It stirs excitement, and that excitement needs to be captured in order to tell the story, to showcase the product.” 

• • •

Feeding the Eyes of the Masses

This is not your parents’ university dining hall

How do you emphasize culinary aesthetics when you’re creating 27,000 meals a day? Like any chef does: creatively.

Frank Turchan, campus executive chef for Michigan Dining at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, admits the budget comes into play when purchasing and planning meals for the nine dining halls at a huge public institution like U-M, but aesthetics are still important.

“Appearance is huge,” says Turchan, who was named the Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association’s Chef of the Year in 2023. “But it’s important that we focus on the cost of the plate, on the center of the plate.”

However, as a partner in Menus of Change (The Culinary Institute of American and Harvard University-led health and sustainability foodservice initiative), U-M is serving more vegetables than animal protein on a plate.

To University of California-Merced Executive Sous-Chef Jonathan Gutierrez Santiago, culinary esthetics “is the same thing that we would do if we were running a restaurant.”

The two dining halls of the Merced campus, which has a majority of Hispanic and Asian American students, feed between 9,000 and 9,500 people a day.

Even with that volume, “our customers eat with their eyes first,” stresses Gutierrez Santiago, this year’s Colleges and Universities Winner for the 2024 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards by the International Fresh Produce Association.

“Culinary aesthetics is mainly the beauty behind food. How can you make something look beautiful?”

Although the campus demographic is heavily Hispanic, that doesn’t mean Gutierrez Santiago only presents Hispanic foods. “As long as you can make it look good and taste good, people are willing to try new things.”

MORE THAN SUSTENANCE

Thinking about food — “what am I going to eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner” — is a huge part of our lives, and it’s no different for students.

“How we present that food and what we put on the menu for them to choose from, has a huge impact on a lot of things — their happiness, their ability to study and their overall job of being away from their homes,” says Chef C. David Wolf, certified executive chef and former executive chef with the Global Hyatt Hotel Corporation for 23 years. Wolf also served as a culinary training instructor at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, from 2016 until retiring in January. He still serves as a culinary adjunct professor at Columbus State Community College.

Gutierrez Santiago agrees. “Being able to nourish our students with healthier food that looks appetizing definitely takes away from a rigorous student life.”

You can’t always present with finesse when you’re feeding thousands versus a hundred diners, admits Wolf.

Regardless, universities are at the forefront of foodservice evolution to meet this young, diverse diner.

Wolf says one of the biggest drivers of change over the past 25 years is the demand for intense, well-developed flavors and food products. “They’re not just OK with mediocre food anymore; it needs to be really exceptional. They have far more refined palates than students 25-30 years ago.”

GO LOCAL, SEASONAL

What makes a difference is finding ways to embrace local produce and what’s in season, say the chefs at educational institutions.

“Generally, in institutional, we’re going to truly work on foods available in season, for the primary reason of freshness and refined flavor from those ingredients,” says Wolf.

Even a large institution like the University of Michigan partners with local farms, uses produce from its own campus farm, and its produce supplier also works with some local farms, Turchan says. “We have our core menu, so we know what we’re going to do every day, but we’re also being flexible with the seasonality.”

PUT ON A SHOW

At most universities, the old cafeteria tray line or buffet has given way to station-based foodservice, where food is typically prepared to order. In fact, at U-M, the majority of all food is plated, Turchan says.

These stations have the obvious visual component, but also aromatics, Wolf says, “so that it feeds the senses in many, many ways — the sight, the smell, the touch.”

Gutierrez Santiago says those stations give students a front-row seat to their food, and seeing those fresh ingredients prepared, like searing a cauliflower steak, propels their meal selection.

SUPPLIERS CAN HELP

The produce industry could help large institutions build their culinary aesthetics — and consumption of fresh produce — by getting away from the basics, U-M’s Turchan says.

“Tell those stories,” he stresses. “There’s stuff out there that’s not being marketed, and I think you could increase produce consumption if you share the other varieties.”

“Give us variety. Give us what’s out there.”