• Off Menu

  • The Secret Science of Food and Dining
  • By: Nell McShane Wulfhart
  • Narrated by: Katie Schorr
  • Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,090 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Your Plus plan is $7.95 a month after 30 day trial. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Off Menu  By  cover art

Off Menu

By: Nell McShane Wulfhart
Narrated by: Katie Schorr
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $29.90

Buy for $29.90

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Off Menu is a charming, fun-fact-filled deep dive into the little-known science of food and dining: why we eat what we eat, the nuances of our experience of taste and flavor, and the tiny, easy hacks and tweaks that, when mastered, can make a huge difference in our diets, meals, and relationships with food and drink. 

Have you ever noticed that a café’s coffee tastes better in a mug than it does in a to-go cup? Or that hearing the sound of a cocktail being prepared - the sloshing of the liquid in the shaker, the clink of the ice as it’s stirred - makes you enjoy it even more? In Off Menu, journalist Nell McShane Wulfhart explores the facets of food science that you’ve probably never thought about - lighting, background music, the brain’s reaction to the ping of a microwave - but have nonetheless played a role in how you’ve experienced a meal, a drink, or an entire night out. 

This lively, accessible audio project distills cutting-edge research into lessons on everything from what quick fixes can cover up your mistakes in the kitchen to what meal to serve when you’re planning to break up with someone. It’s the perfect listen to devour as you’re strolling through the farmer’s market, washing the dishes, or planning your next dinner party.

©2020 Nell Wulfhart (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

About the Creator

Nell McShane Wulfhart is a journalist and author. She is a former New York Times columnist, and her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, the Wall Street Journal Magazine, and T Magazine, to name just a few. She’s passionate about food and drink, and is always searching for new ways to make every meal better. To learn more about her work, visit: nellmcshanewulfhart.com (http://nellmcshanewulfhart.com/) or follow her on Twitter:@nellmwulfhart (https://twitter.com/nellmwulfhart).

About the Performer

Katie Schorr's narration credits include Kim Michele Richardson's acclaimed The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (an Audible bestseller), Sally Thorne's The Hating Game, We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out, Voice Arts Award-nominated Zootopia, Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin, Ginger Zee's Chasing Helicity series, and K.A. Tucker's Be the Girl (for which one attentive listener noticed her Canadian pronunciation of the word "project"), among many others. Katie has written for McSweeney's and Mother.ly and is currently completing her MFA in Fiction at Hunter College.

What listeners say about Off Menu

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    640
  • 4 Stars
    279
  • 3 Stars
    131
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    11
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    628
  • 4 Stars
    202
  • 3 Stars
    83
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    11
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    550
  • 4 Stars
    235
  • 3 Stars
    110
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    15

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent secret weapon... life hack!!

This book is an easy listen; it’s smart, entertaining, and manages to educate you on a wide variety of life hacks under the guise of listening to appreciate food and wine. You will come away with a tips on life that you didn’t know was possible. Here are examples: Hotels and airlines spend $$$ on proprietary scent in an effort to enhance your experience and recall. Did you know that many overweight individuals have poor taste receptors? Or that many lean individuals have high smell receptors? I had NO idea that music type, tempo, and decibel level can 1) impact how you perceive the taste of certain foods and wines or that hip-hop does a better job of aging certain types of cheese vs classical or jazz? Me either. Did you know that when it comes to air travel, you are better off (more satisfied) ordering an entree that is umami or tomato based? True story. Give this book a listen, it’s impossible to come away feeling like you didn’t learn something new, fun, and unexpected. Have fun, I did.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wrong narrator. Good book.

Like trying to enjoy fine food with head banger music in the background, the narrator is shrill and consistently pronounced the overused word “satiety” incorrectly every single time. The book itself is really well written and very interesting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Practically nothing about food itself.

This book was loaded with tips on how to give the appearance that food tastes different. While it may be interesting for food marketers, I was hoping for more information on how to create actually better food. The narrator was fine, but seemed a bit monotonous by the end, trying to make every chapter sound like it was the most important.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

"study"

Some of the "studies" sound like they are made up at worst and thought up by grade school kids at best. Save time and listen to dorito effect or omnivores dilemma instead of this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging food & drink trivia

Content was a balance of common sense and bizarre facts — so many chuckles. The narrator did an incredible job of delivering the content in an engaging manner. And I will apply some of what I learned when entertaining. Great listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I usually don't review

Wow, wow, wow. I've spent the last almost ten years as a server in fine dining and I wish I had this book when I started. I have spent the last four days quoting this to my friends and family and will definitely listen again when I'm getting ready to host a party. If you are at all interested in food, drink, or psychology give it a listen, you won't be disappointed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

really interesting

I learned a lot listening to this book. I look forward to experimenting and putting some of this into practice. Great narration as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Actionable info

This book presents ideas you can use to improve the dining experience in your home.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

You know that "equal time for all ideas" fallacy?

Well, this book is unfortunately a textbook case.

Intermingled with interesting and what seem to be reasonably well researched tidbits are these bizarre leaps into illogicality. I listened all the way through out of quasi-morbid curiosity, hoping that perhaps, the next leap, would be the leap home. :-)

Also, pronunciation! Fungible! Nigiri! :-)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Kind of interesting at first

Very repetitive in its cherry picked "studies" and generalizations. no real exploration to supporting studies and evidence but like someone just took a look at the abstract.

I'm tired of hearing "a study says" and rephrasings of "something as small as X can make a difference"

The name of the book isn't very accurate. less science of food, more pop psychology of eating out and marketing.

Also, the narrator should pronounce words better. the way they narrate makes me feel like im listening to a children's story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Alan L. Brunton
  • Alan L. Brunton
  • 11-18-20

excellent

What a wonderful exploration into the popular science surrounding what we eat and why. Covering things like how sound, light and smell, and how they all effect the concept and enjoyment of food. Why oh why can I not now but this as a book, to keep as a reference?! I went straight on Amazon to buy a couple of copies as I know a couple of people who would love this. Please make it available as a paper book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Gigi
  • Gigi
  • 02-27-22

Pointless

Did you know that taste is mostly smell? Revolutionary! Rehashed “research” not very original or insightful. Also repetitive.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Toadjuggler
  • Toadjuggler
  • 12-29-22

I'm glad it was free.

If you've never read anything about food science you might get something out of this but it is actually a trivial gloss on the subject, there is very little of actual use for the cook. And the last third of the book is just party-planning and cocktails, in fact the book is disproportionately obsessed with cocktails and drinking, and the first quarter seems to just keep on telling you what you will learn from the book but without actually telling you any of the facts.
It's a shame, it is a very interesting subject, but the whole thing reads like a couple of long magazine articles stretched to fill a rather slim book. And some of the "science" she quotes is just garbage so the book tells the reader rather more about what the author doesn't know than it does inform. I can't recommend it to anyone.
The reader has a nice voice and does a fair job of keeping it all bouncing along but a good narrator can't save a poor book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Andrzej Lengiewicz
  • Andrzej Lengiewicz
  • 11-18-22

Absolutly amazing!

Before this book, I would never expect that it could be difficult to stop listening to a book about food and drink.
Brilliant content, delivered in a very engaging and at the same time light way. So many helpful and often surprising tips.
Fantastic job!
Any chance to have this gem in a printed form?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Catherine Ferraz
  • Catherine Ferraz
  • 03-27-22

Fantasy

Very amusing and informative topics from cigars to simple gestures with lots of humor. Great listen, highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Josephine
  • Josephine
  • 06-03-21

A real corker

Fascinating insight into what affects our experiences with food and drink. I have recommended it to foodie friends who are also loving it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Anonymous User
  • Anonymous User
  • 02-10-22

Changed the way I think about food

Highly recommend this book to anyone who loves food and drink and wants to improve their experience. Very informative. and I will definitely be incorporating these techniques into my every day life. My mind was blown!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!