Neurogastronomy???

I always found fascinating the fact that a Flavour can bring you to memories, sensations and feelings. I personally have this thing with refried beans with pork lard, white corn and bullhorn chilli that makes my heart feel like home. I grew with that taste overtime my GreatGrandMa cooked breakfast for us, or in a Saturday morning when my dad went before I wake up to the market for fresh baked Mexican rustic bollillo and craft made cheese to serve with those greasy, fatty tasty beans. Mouthfuls of heave, mouthfuls of love to me.

Ive heard a free therms for that “Sensation” I’ve heard once people call the -Memory Cooking-, or Sub concient Flavours. But recently i came across a more fascinating way to named, a new scientific field: Neurogastronomy.

Neuroscientist Gordon M Sheppard challenging the belief that the sense of smell diminished during human evolution, Shepherd argues that this sense, which constitutes the main component of flavour, is far more powerful and essential than previously believed. Shepherd begins explaining how the mechanics of smell stimulates the nose as it hits the back of the mouth. From the food we eat, the brain represents smells as spatial patterns, and out of these, it constructs flavour. He then considers the effect of the flavour system on many contemporary social, behavioural, and medical issues. He analyses flavour's engagement with the brain regions controlling emotion, food preferences, and cravings, and he even mention the food's role in drug addiction and its ability to evoke deep memories.

I have the theory myself that everyone have a different perceptions of the flavours, since each of us grew in different diets and different seasoning styles our palates are educated on very different ways, something that for me is really salty, for someone else can be on the exact point. Or something is tasty for me, can be really rich for someone else….but well, is just a theory, im not Neuroscientist or else.

We as a Chefs go further than just put ourselves out here on the final product of our job, the food. We not only “Feed” the customers tummy, we have the way to awake the senses, provoque emotions, sensations even bring memories back.. lets keep that on mind everytime we use our creativity tu put a dish together, we are Chefs, we are artists.

Photo by Jaime Sanjuan Ocabo

#Gastronaut101 #Chefs101 #Chef #ChefCindyFlores #Neurogastronomy