Gastrophysics

The New Science of Eating

By: Charles Spence

Narrated by: John Sackville

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating by Charles Spence, read by John Sackville.

A ground-breaking book by the world-leading expert in sensory science: Freakonomics for food

Why do we consume 35% more food when eating with one more person, and 75% more when with three? Why are 27% of drinks bought on aeroplanes tomato juice? How are chefs and companies planning to transform our dining experiences, and what can we learn from their cutting-edge insights to make memorable meals at home?

These are just some of the ingredients of Gastrophysics, in which the pioneering Oxford professor Charles Spence shows how our senses link up in the most extraordinary ways, and reveals the importance of all the "off-the-plate" elements of a meal: the weight of cutlery, the colour of the plate (his lab showed that red is associated with sweetness - we perceive salty popcorn as tasting sweet when served in a red bowl), the background music and much more. Whether dining alone or at a dinner party, on a plane or in front of the TV, he reveals how to understand what we're tasting and influence what others experience. Meal-times will genuinely never be the same again.

Critic reviews

Truly accessible, entertaining and informative. On every page there are ideas to set you thinking and widen your horizons (Heston Blumenthal, OBE)

His delight in weird food facts is infectious...fascinating (James McConnachie)

Not many people are as ready to realize the importance of the senses as Charles Spence (Ferran Adria, El Bulli restaurant, Spain)

Popular science at its best. Insightful, entertainingly written and peppered throughout with facts you can use in the kitchen, in the classroom, or in the pub (Daniel J. Levitin, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Organized Mind' and 'This Is Your Brain on Music')

This is partly serious tome and partly an amusing guide for the layperson to a whole new gustatory world. Gastrophysics is packed with such tasty factual morsels that could be served up at dinner parties. If Spence can percolate all these factual morsels to the mainstream, the benefits to all of us would be obvious (Nick Curtis)

Spence allows people to appreciate the multisensory experience of eating

The scientist changing the way we eat

Spence romps around such factoids in the style of a Blue Peter presenter . . . fascinating and provocative (Melanie Reid)

A fascinating look at the science of food and how our perception is shaped by all our senses, not just taste

If simply changing the name of a dish on a menu or the color of the plate on which it is served can dramatically alter our perception of taste and food quality, then everyone in the restaurant industry needs to read this and take a deeper look at the scientific secrets Professor Spence reveals in Gastrophysics (Larry Olmsted, New York Times bestselling author of 'Real Food, Fake Food: What You Don’t Know About What You’re Eating & What You Can Do About It')

great book

enjoyed the book, was very interesting and helpful to understand how we precieve food, not really about cooking though, more about the art of serving.

New to gastronomy /gastrophysics

I was worried it would feel dated in 2026 but it’s still full of great information and a great read

Interesting collection of research on food

Plenty affects our experiences when it comes to food and this book is a nice collection of some of the research out there exploring these factors. It reads a bit like an add for the author's lab and a few high end resto's but that's not necessarily annoying, and it's kinda understandable.

Boring

Not what I expected, great if you want to be a chef or pretend to be one