Assessing the influence of the color of the plate on the perception of a complex food in a restaurant setting

Abstract

Nowadays, more and more importance is given to how restaurant dishes are visually presented. With regard to the color of the plate, several recent studies have demonstrated that identical foods served on plates (or in containers) of different colors are often perceived differently at both the sensorial and hedonic levels. However, to date, these effects have not been tested in an ecologically valid setting with a range of more complex foods in order to assess the generalizability of the findings. The aims of the present study were to test the extent to which the color of the plate may influence the gustatory and hedonic experiences of a complex food. Specifically, we investigated diners’ perception of three desserts served on a white or black plate in a between-participants experimental design in a real restaurant setting.