November 17, 2011

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Peter Klosse
Public address at the occasion of theinauguration as Professor in Gastronomy atStenden University

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Peter Klosse There is no reason

to argue about taste
Introduction Gastronomy is a beautiful profession. Anyone who loves food and drink, will quickly agree to that. However, as far as I am concerned this profession is not merely about culinary enjoyment. Or the art and practice of cooking and eating good food as the Oxford dictionary states. AGastronome is also much more than a foodie. It is a modern and broadly trained food professional who knows a lot about taste and tasting. Stenden University sees that correctly. I have been asked to lead and elaborate this new discipline. A challenge that I gladly face. In this introduction, Iwill outline the extent of gastronomy and the way we are going to structure this new profession here at Stenden. Of course I will try to convince you of the uniqueness of this step of Stenden. There is no reason to argue about taste is the title of my lecture. If we add anymore to this statement, we have a good start. Indeed, there is every reason to reect on the fact that we have lost the grounds to argue. For a long time most people have considered taste to be a personal conception. A notion that everyone makes for himself and that over and over again. Taste would be personal why elaborating on something as volatile as that ? Fortunately, we now know better. At the same time, it is remarkable that we have accepted it for so long. It is not very logical. Taste has never been that personal. A steak tastes different than a baked salmon and also coffee and tea are very different. Wine experts may surprise people by taking a sip and telling the origin and quality of a certain wine. Yet the logical conclusion that taste is not a personal conception, has not been drawn. Ifonly we would have started to compare apples to oranges a long time ago.
Comparing apples and oranges

People have no taste The rst thing you will notice if you look for the word taste in the dictionary is that it has many meanings. It is rather ambiguous. That gives rise to confusion. If we want to end this confusion, then the rst challenge is to better dene some of the concepts involved. This is a crucial step. If we fail to nd clear and unambiguous denitions, we risk to end up with a picture with many different perspectives. Everything we eat or drink has taste, but people have no taste. For some, that comes as a shock

Peter Klosse, Introduction Gastronomy, March 4, 2011

and its even happened to me that someone considered it to be an insult. If you taste as a product characteristic, youd even better have no taste, because then you nd yourself on the plate of the cannibal. The dictionary may be rewritten at this point. And there is more to be reviewed. To end all confusion it would even be better not to talk about taste at all in this respect, avour is a better word, if only it is broadly dened Iwill come to that later. Consequently it is better not to call taste a sense. However, tasting has everything to do with our senses. Indeed, all our senses are involved in tasting. This makes tasting very Different perspectives (Escher) different from hearing, seeing, smelling and feeling. Those are singular senses; they have one organ that captures the signal and one brain area where it is processed. Tasting is a so-called multi-sensory experience. It is a synthesis of senses. We taste with our eyes, nose, ears, and yes, also with our tongue, or rather with our mouth. Partly because of this multi-sensory character tasting is a complex and difcult matter to investigate.

NATURE PRODUCT

SOCIETY

CULTURE HUMAN

FOOD RELATED SCIENCES OBJECTIVE

GASTRONOMY

HUMAN RELATED SCIENCES SUBJECTIVE

FLAVOUR ECONOMY ETHICS

TASTING EXPERIENCE
Model Gastronomy

It gets even worse if you realize that every human being has a personal framework in which he or she tastes. There are differences between men and women, children and elderly, races and nations. Culture and experience plays a role and also the price of products and the climate. Andso we can still continue. And everyone knows the examples. And even it doesnt stop there, there are also inuences from products that are tasted simultaneously. There are tastes that elevate each other, while some others degrade each other. Even the greatest of wines can turn into plonk with the wrong dish. Surely, that can better be avoided.

Universal taste factors Gastronomy or taste science is the discipline that connects taste/avour and tasting and all aspects involved. The modern view on gastronomy is scientically validated in my thesis The concept of Flavor Styles to classify Flavors (2004). And through my Academy of Gastronomy many of the key gures of the Dutch gastronomy have found their way. This study and the teaching have become an important part of my life. And that in itself is special, because during my studies Business Administration I was certain that I would not take over my fathers restaurant De Echoput. Im glad that I have listened to the voice of my heart and discovered my true passion there. My study of the roots of gastronomy started when my father, embarked upon a wine research together with Dr. Ir Bob Cramwinckel. Cover thesis In this research the rst factors were found that helped to describe avour At rst we thought these factors were helpful to describe differences in wine, later on we concluded that they actually did much more than that: they were avour descriptors. It subsequently led to the creation of the Academy of Gastronomy, writing books, my PhD at the University of Maastricht and nally this professorship. Nobody could foresee this huge development when we started our wine research in 1988. The parameters that made this all possible are mouthfeel and avour richness. They are worth to be briey discussed.

Peter Klosse, Introduction Gastronomy, March 4, 2011

Mouthfeel Nowadays it is hardly conceivable that the concept of mouthfeel was not known and hardly used. It was rst introduced and described in detail in my rst book on gastronomy Taste, that appeared in 1998. Since then, it has grown to be commonly used. Apparently people have no problems understanding what mouthfeel means. Within the mouthfeel we distinguish the rst two dimensions of avour: contracting and coating. Acids and salts cause cells in the mouth to contract. The drying of certain bitters or absorption of saliva by starch, and the crispness of crusts are also examples of contracting. Mouthfeel coating is quite different. Here substances leave a thin layer in the mouth. Think of fat and sugar in a solution. Also the egg yolk of a softly boiled egg is an unmistakable example of coating. The Gastronome is aware of the differences in viscosity of oils and knows which one to use to reach the desired effect. We can use these two dimensions to start a model. Foods and wines are always intricate compositions of contracting and coating inuences. Their avour is the result of choices that chefs and wine makers have made. In some cases, the balance is more towards the contracting side; in other cases it is more coating.

ContRacting

Balance

Neutral
Graphic presentation of mouthfeel

Coating

Flavour richness

balance 3 4 2 coating

contracting
1

neutral

Adding the third dimension of avour: avour richness

HIGH

6 balance

Flavour richness

contracting
1 Neutral
The complete model: the Flavour Styles Cube

2 HIGH

Peter Klosse, Introduction Gastronomy, March 4, 2011

Flavour richness The third dimension in our model is Flavour richness, or avour intensity. In the metaphor with sound, we would discuss decibel. The analogy goes even a step further. Decibel is in indication of the volume of sound, but says nothing about the sound itself. Likewise avour richness must not be confused with quality. In other words if the avour richness is high, this does not necessarily imply that the quality is high. Flavour noise exists. Within the avour richness we can also say something about the type of avour. We distinguish fresh and ripe avour tones. Apple and citrus fruits are nice examples of fresh. Just as parsley or mint, or cucumber and fennel. Ripe avour tone are those of ripe melon or pear, or of rosemary and garlic. Also vanilla, cinnamon and clove are examples of ripe avour tones. The word ripe as avour tone should not be confounded with the maturity of the fruit. A ripe apple or lemon is always fresh. Preparation can have a big inuence on the avour type. Onions illustrate this nicely. A raw onion is clearly contracting and fresh, after some time in the oven ripe avour tones develop; they can even become sweet. There are many examples that show the ripe avour tones increase with the rise of avour richness as a result of cooking techniques. In that sense it the avour type may well be an indication of the avour richness.

Model Mouthfeel and avour richness enable to describe avour in an objective way. That provides a wealth of possibilities. To begin with, it is possible to create a model. We have just seen the model develop. The result are the so-called avour styles. Groups of avours with similar characteristics Flavour dimensions Flavour Flavour style Contracting Coating richness 1 Neutral Neutral Low 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Low High High Dry Low High High High Low High Dry High Low High Low Low Low High High High High

Description Neutral, light Smooth, supple, creamy Sour, contracting, fresh Can be eaten/drunk continually, simple Robust, solid, powerful Full avour, ripe avour, lling Spicy, hot, explosive Complex, differentiated, subtle
The basic characteristics of the avour styles

This is the beginning of science! Science endeavours to build and organize knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the world. We have just objectively described a part of reality. We used mathematical language to make the model and develop a hypothesis about the structure of taste/avour. The purpose of this theory is to describe and to explain the coherence of the observations. The challenge of a model is to test it again and again and to try to improve it wherever possible. That too is science: the exchange of information, in an effort to get an even better understanding of the reality. Since Plato and especially in the middle ages academies or universities are the designated spots where this process takes place.

Where are the basic tastes? The above model provides a usable depiction of the world of flavour which is easy to understand. The question frequently asked is how this representation relates to the basic tastes? If you take any basic biology book you are led to believe that taste can be deduced to the so-called basic tastes sweet, acidic, salty and bitter. For centuries research has been conducted on these substances, and we have not even mentioned them, up to now. The reason is that the hypothesis of the basic tastes is rather awed. The suggestion dates back to the time of Aristotle. In addition to the basic four, he indicated also spicy, astringent, and harsh/ rough as basic avours. Unfortunately last three mentioned have not survived in history, Plato and Aristotle as they are clearly related to mouthfeel. In the sixteenth century Fernel suggested to add greasy and tasteless. Later still alkaline and metallic were mentioned to be basic tastes, but basically all suggestions were discarded; the focus stayed on the main four. This changes in 1908, when the Japanese Ikeda discovered umami, or the taste of glutamate. It is now referred to as the fth basic taste. We had to wait until these last years for the shift in thinking. Sophisticated techniques enables new research. With the use of MRI we are better able to analyse nerve signals and literally see to which parts of the brain they are linked. We now know that the receptors on our tongue are

Peter Klosse, Introduction Gastronomy, March 4, 2011

capable to much more than always thought. Receptors have been identied for fatty acids and calcium and there is much more to come. With all these new basic tastes the focus on the basic four has lost its use. This can hardly be considered as a surprise. Earlier we stated that all our senses are involved in tasting. It is therefore hard to conceive how a singular focus on the papillae of the tongue could provide a solid clarication for taste or tasting. Something else is remarkable. Hnig has shown in 1901 that there are no zones on the tongue. Nevertheless these continue to be mentioned in all kinds of text books. On our tongue different structures of papillae can be distinguished, but specic zones where certain avours supposedly are tasted, are nonexistent.

Basic tastes, old and new

In the Flavour styles theory, we come across the old basic tastes in the respective inuence they have on mouthfeel and avour richness. Acidic, bitter and salt have a contracting inuence; sweetness is coating. Umami as well as salt have a big impact on the avour richness.

From taste to tasty We have elaborated on the technical, objective side and risk that you think that gastronomy is only about mathematics. It is therefore time to give attention to the other side. Gastronomy has everything to do with enjoyment, passion and pleasure; with people! The Greek Epicurus was the founder of the Epicurean philosophy and strongly believed in the importance of a pleasurable life. That did not prevent him from being a true scientist who studied physics and had very progressive ideas about the atomic structure of materials (about 300 BC!). According to him one should never take something for granted until it has been thoroughly tested. The Frenchman Brillat Savarin has earned his place in history as the rst real Gastronome albeit avant la lettre. His book La Physiologie du Got La Physiologie du Got was published in 1825. Passion and pleasure were important ingredients in his life as well. His starts his book with his famous aphorisms. Some of which are famous even today. For example: the discovery of a new

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dish means more to humanity than the discovery of a new star. And tell what you eat, and I tell you who you are. In his writing he also points out that culinary success doesnt come by itself. You must really know what you are doing and he expected exactly that from his cooks and servants. It may seem strange to mention Jean-Philippe Rameau in this respect. He was a composer and is not known for his gastronomic skills. He wrote the Trait de lharmonie and studied harmony in music. The beauty of music is not a coincidence; it is a matter of harmonious proportions. Of mathematics! It helps to know what harmony is and how it is structured. This understanding helps other composers to avoid errors. Rameaus work dates from 1722! The world of music has a big lead over the gastronomes, about 300 years! And we can also establish something else. The existence of a theory on harmony, has never hindered successive generations of great composers in their creativity.

Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Tasty laws It seems almost contradictory: tasting is subjective and nding something tasty will always be a personal privilege. How can there be rules on what to do and what not to do? This being said and true, I am convinced that tasty is not just an incident. It is rather the result of doing things right. Just as knowing about harmony helps to make beautiful music. Finding something beautiful is just as subjective as tasty. Ill mention some other practical examples. In the rst place wine and food pairing. The avour classication makes it possible to nd good combinations. Again, harmony is at work, but in a different way. Contracting wines t go well with contracting dishes, and so on. My research on the Culinary success factors is another example. It shows that there are six factors that successful dishes have in common. Dishes that comply with these factors are better liked than others. In Denmark hospital meals were greatly improved with the help of these factors to the satisfaction of the patients. Dont get me wrong: ultimately it is everyones personal right to nd something tasty or not. However, the chance of a positive judgement, is much greater if taste is managed carefully.

Peter Klosse, Introduction Gastronomy, March 4, 2011

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Gastronomy in Hotel schools Here we are at the core of the reason why the step of Stenden to support Gastronomy fundamentally and to make it a part of the curriculum is so good and important. If from anybody, from hotel school students may and should be expected that they are well trained and able to ascertain that their guests enjoy what is served. These guests must pay for the service and theyd better have a positive judgement. Furthermore, people travel more and more around the world. They experience other foods and cultures. Most likely they are inuenced by these experiences and whether we like it or not they are inescapably more critical about the services rendered, wherever they are.

HARD SCIENCE CHEMISTRY BIOLOGY NEUROLOGY BIOCHEMISTRY PHYSICS STATISTICS

The science of gastronomy

SOFT SCIENCE

THE SCIENCE OF GASTRONOMY

PSYCHOLOGY SOCIOLOGY ANTHROPOLOGY ECONOMICS MARKETING

That requires quite a lot of the students. They must be trained well to be successful in their trade. There is a lot to learn in many areas. They should know about the inuences of varieties and agricultural methods on taste. They should know something of the physics and chemistry side of products. They should be aware of the inuences of preparation techniques on taste. And not only in the kitchen. Also the way all sorts of drinks are made, belongs to the eld of study. Then they must also understand the one that is tasting and that in all respects, cultural, psychological, sociological, etc. And then there are the mutual inuences of products consumed at the same time. The combination of wines and dishes is the most notable. And also we are not there yet. Because where does all that tasting and pleasure lead to? Gastronomy has a direct relationship with a variety of global issues, such as nutrition and health, nutrition and food production, nutrition and taste and even with political choices. At Stenden there will be a minor and a masters degree Gastronomy. The minor focuses on the basics. The depth of gastronomy will sought in the masters degree, including all kinds of social, ethical and environmental issues.

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There are not many places in the world that offer gastronomy programs on a scientic level and master degrees in this discipline are even quite rare. And where they are offered, there is a lot of attention in the curriculum for the gastronomic customs of countries and their history. As far as I know Stenden is the only Institute in the world where Gastronomy is offered in this comprehensive and fundamental way.

The gastronome At the end of my speech you will have gathered that a gastronome is much more then somebody who just likes foods and drinks. He is a modern and well-trained professional that can lead organizations or parts of it where foods and drinks are served. The gastronome is neither the chef, nor the sommelier, but he or she understands their language and can communicate with them. Nor is a gastronome a food scientist, yet he knows enough of the processes involved to get something tasty on a plate. You understand: Stenden may be proud to give room to train these individuals and Im happy to be here.

Peter Klosse, Introduction Gastronomy, March 4, 2011

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Peter Klosse Public address at

the occasion of the inauguration as Professor in Gastronomy at Stenden University

THE BEAUTY OF FLAVOUR,

TOWARD A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE AESTHETICS OF GASTRONOMY
Very honourable members of the Executive Board of Stenden University, academic colleagues, colleagues in hospitality, representatives of the press, dear family, ladies and gentlemen. If gastronomy could speak for itself, it would welcome you in the most enthusiastic way possible. After having been overlooked for centuries or even millennia, it has nally been academically recognized. It would also be very glad and honoured with your presence here today. In my role of humble servant of this newly discovered science, I will gladly serve as your guide. The academic eld of gastronomy is quite extensive. Consequently, any introduction to this new science demands a rigorous selection of topics. Furthermore the format of this session requires some specic subjects to be treated. In an effort to stay within the limits of these constraints, this booklet contains two lectures: the one that I presented at the introduction of my professorship in March of this year, and this one. The structure of the science of gastronomy and the theoretical model that is used for classication have been introduced in the rst lecture. Now, this gives me the freedom to elaborate on a part of gastronomy that I nd very interesting and intellectually challenging. Today, I want to discuss beauty and aesthetics in relation to gastronomy. Evidently, these concepts are closely related. The Oxford dictionary denes beauty as a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight (1). The word aesthetic pops up in this explanation. This word stems from the Greek word for to perceive. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy which deals with the nature of beauty, art and taste.

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More specically it refers to the creation and appreciation of beauty and rightly presumes that beauty gives pleasure. Things of beauty are critically reected upon, in effort to answer the basic question: what makes them beautiful? The answer to this question may then be used to formulate principles for design and help to distinguish art from kitsch; real from fake. Thinking and philosophizing about beauty and aesthetics add an extra dimension to sensory registration; it gives meaning and value to the simple perception of sensory signals (2). Therefore, aesthetics has been studied in many sensory elds, except there, where all signals come together: in gastronomy.

Broccoli forest, by Carl Warner

Objective and/or subjective Gastronomy is dened as the science of avour and tasting. All human senses are involved in tasting. Consequently, the sensory perception of everything that we eat or drink is far more complex than watching a piece of art or listening to music and therefore difcult to understand. Furthermore other than enjoying art we need to eat and drink in order to survive. As long as we are on that side of gastronomy, aesthetics are hardly important. Food and drinks are simply sources of energy. In extreme situations we are known to eat everything. However, in an afuent society like ours, food is abundant and we can afford to indulge ourselves in the pleasure of eating. This is the hedonic side of gastronomy, where it is a necessity to be aware of the elements that make food and drinks attractive. Aesthetics of gastronomy is about understanding the pleasure side of food. Especially when the added value of foods and drinks is high, as happens to be the case in hospitality (hotels,

Peter Klosse, The Beauty of Flavour, November 17, 2011

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restaurants, bars), it is essential to make food desirable. It is an important key to commercial success as beauty is not just an ordinary judgment: it evokes pleasure and desire. In its extreme people are even willing to pay fantastic amounts of money for a meal or a bottle of wine, far more than the cost to produce it. The same applies to a beautiful piece of art, for that matter. Therefore there is every reason to try to understand the beauty of avour. However, I dont want to suggest that the mission of knowing more about the aesthetics of gastronomy is to sell foods and wines as expensive as possible. Instead, I do suggest that knowing more about the beauty of avour is an intriguing and useful eld of study. It may ultimately contribute to the satisfaction of the consumer by serving foods and wines that are well designed and go well together. How does this assumption relate to the popular notions that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there is no arguing about taste? Isnt beauty something subjective, just as liking a certain food or drink? After all, sensory pleasure is a personal experience. If this were true, it would be hard to philosophize about beauty, let alone aesthetics. The famous Immanuel Kant strongly argued this. Nevertheless, it is my contention that our senses perceive physical phenomena and that these have their particular characteristics. Red is a specic colour with a specic bandwidth within the spectrum, which is clearly identied and independent from the human capacity to register this colour. If we reconsider the denitions given above, beauty would be a physical, objective characteristic. How we perceive and assess beauty is a human capacity and has everything to do with our sensorial capacity and especially our brain. It is there where the signals are interpreted. Therefore gastronomy is dened as the science of avour and tasting, where avour represents the product, and tasting the human side. For a complete understanding both the physical and the human side need to be studied.

Aesthetics and the natural order Throughout the ages philosophers have contemplated what constitutes aesthetic values. Allow me to take you briey into other sensory worlds to learn more about beauty and aesthetics. It may shed some light on the continuous tension between the objective and the subjective. Throughout the history of sensory science we nd interesting studies on the perception of beauty. For the ancient Greeks and many others later in history - beauty was something objective. Artistic perfection was their key to beauty. Interestingly they had the same word for art and technique: techn. For them art was the logical result of masterful control over technique and matter. Indeed, their works of art are often undeniably beautiful, and have been considered to be so all through the ages.

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Statue of Zeus or Poseidon (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

In their art the Greek stayed close to nature. In studying natural beauty, we come across concepts like symmetry and harmony. There is a natural order and it is found in mathematics. The Italian Fibonacci lived in the thirteenth century and introduced the Hindu-Arabic number system to Europe. It replaced the Roman system and we have used it ever since. Nevertheless, he is best known for the sequence of numbers that is named after him. It starts with 0 and 1. Every next number is the sum of the previous two: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 253,

From this sequence the natural number Phi, , can be deduced. It appears by dividing the consecutive numbers. The quotient comes close to 1,618 This number has shown to be the basis of the natural order found everywhere in nature. The structure and proportions of shells, trees, sunowers and vegetables like the romanesco can all be related to this gure. In art it has been dened as the golden section and it is extensively used by in all kinds of artistic expression, including music and architecture. Even long before the Fibonacci sequence was discovered, the golden section was used in architecture. The best known examples are the pyramids of Egypt and the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens. The right proportions have even been found in beautiful people. Indeed, beauty and mathematics have an intimate relationship. The poet John Keats expressed that in his Ode on a Grecian Urn: Beauty is truth, truth beauty (3, 4). Beauty and the brain The influential Thomas of Aquino, doctor universalis and Dominican priest, formulated in the 13th century that beauty needs three qualities: integrity, harmony and radiance. Integrity is the opposite of hypocrisy and has everything to do with honesty, principles and consistency. Harmony is about how parts relate to each other and to the whole. Radiance refers to the pleasure we feel

Romanesco

Peter Klosse, The Beauty of Flavour, November 17, 2011

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when experiencing things of beauty. This view may well be close to the mark. In studying and dening the world of colours we come across names like Aristotle, Newton, Goethe, and Schopenhauer. Great minds that have devoted time to understand colours. It makes you wonder. Why did they or other great scientists and thinkers, ignore the world of avours? In any case they provided the building stones for the colour theory. The development of this theory evolved around the concept of harmony. When Goethe was in the process of writing his book on colour, the music theory was already established and accepted. In 1722, almost a hundred years before Goethe, Jean-Philippe Rameau published an innovative book on harmony in music. Colour and music theorists have always sought for logical structures (5, 6). Harmonious colours and sounds are pleasing to the eye and the ear. The opposite of harmony is chaos; our brain has trouble organizing the data and therefore rejects it. The human brain discards what it cannot understand or organize. Apparently the sensory theorists knew this. For something to be considered as beautiful our brain needs coherent signals; they seem to stimulate the brain. The term uency has been introduced to assess aesthetic pleasure. Fluency is related to aesthetic response. If uency is high, signals are quickly processed by the brain. (7, 8). Experiencing things of beauty leads to a certain degree of arousal and desire. From a neurological point of view this happens when a certain part of our brain, the orbitofrontal cortex, gets stimulated in such a way that dopamine gets released. A prerequisite is that the brain understands the signals. This is what the uency is about. Furthermore elements of surprise and expectation are very important. We dont get excited, if we know whats going to happen next. The study of how the brain responds the beautiful sensory signals is called neuroaesthetics. It is suggested that neurology will eventually uncover laws of aesthetic experience that identify the common preferences for symmetry, grouping and proportion that successful artists have been applying intuitively (9, 10). Harmony or the coherence of signals need not to be recognized instantly. When signals are intricately interwoven and hard to recognize, our brain may initially fail to see the harmony. However, with some help and training we can ultimately learn to recognize the beauty. This may be associated to the so-called acquired tastes in avour. The liking for beer, Brussels sprouts, coffee, and plain chocolate takes some time to develop. Wine tasting is also often mentioned in this respect. People can learn to recognize avours and build up experience. In the process it is likely that preferences and likings are going to shift. Elements that experts consider as positive, may be negative drivers of liking for normal consumers, and the other way around: amateurs may like avours that experts consider to be defects (11, 12).

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Aesthetic Gastronomy Now that the attention for food and its nutrients, liking and health has gained popularity, there is every reason to know much more about the aesthetics of gastronomy. It is not a surprise that avour is hardly ever mentioned in regard to aesthetics. Smell and taste are generally ranked lower than sight and sound. Perhaps they have always been too closely related to the pleasure side of life. Hedonism or Epicurism are not considered to be very serious philosophies certainly not as far as many preachers are concerned. Furthermore, a painting, sculpture, building, or even a person can be seen and assessed over and over again. If necessary it can even be restored. Also we can hear music of Beethoven, Bach or the Beatles whenever we want, and without them being there. How different is avour in that respect. It is a one-time experience, foods and drinks are swallowed and assessed within seconds and then gone forever. Nevertheless Im quite convinced that Yummy is not a coincidence. Is there a natural order in gastronomy? Or, to speak with Thomas of Aquino, how can integrity, harmony and radiance be applied to modern gastronomy? In avour, yummy is what beauty is in vision and sound. It is the capacity of foods and drinks to please our brain. To achieve this, we have already seen that our brain needs to be excited. I am not pretending that theories on harmony and aesthetics in colour and sound are immediately and easily applicable in gastronomy. We have to learn how to organize avour signals. What we have to do is to observe critically what happens in daily practice. These empirical observations need to be solidly objectied in order become a body of knowledge that can be applied. Important steps have been made. My thesis on avour classication shows that an organization of avour is feasible when based on objective parameters. This avour classication has led to a better understanding of avour as a whole. It has proven to be useful in nding pleasant combinations of wines (and other beverages) and foods, and in helping to determine menu order or the composition of a particular dish. It is fascinating to observe in daily practice that the chance of liking increases when the avour theory is applied (13). Furthermore, the theory has been used to formulate the Culinary Success Factors. This was done by analyzing the signature dishes of the best chefs in the Netherlands. These principles of composition have not only been applied in restaurants but also improved hospital meals in Denmark, much to the satisfaction of the patients (14). These examples show a strong resemblance with aesthetics in art. Beauty is not an accidental experience that just happens to someone haphazardly; it is primarily the result of doing things right. Clearly, pleasure is not guaranteed as we have seen. More is needed: our brain needs to get aroused. Knowledge, experience, expectation and elements of surprise are required for this to happen. Although these elements are directly related to the taster, they can be inuenced.

Peter Klosse, The Beauty of Flavour, November 17, 2011

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In hotels and restaurants it can be managed; or should I say must be managed? A well-trained staff both in the kitchen and in service can do wonders when they are aware of their role in arousing pleasure. Besides making the right choices in composition, they can provide the guest with functional information, control expectation, and organize surprise. And trust me: this is not about gastronomy in utopia.

Aesthetics and Hotel management The main mission of a lectorate is to initiate and coordinate research. The results should be applicable in daily practice. Besides being benecial to the trade, the educational programs and the teaching staff should also prot from the research that is done. In other words, in regard of todays theme lart pour lart is out of the question. Business today is about creating emotional ties with customers. This is particularly true in hospitality. Gastronomy relates to many elements of the curriculum of International Hospitality Management Studies. To be successful in their trade, IHM students must be expertly trained, not least in being able to understand the science behind satisfying the taste of guest. This is a challenging task that becomes even more demanding in a global context with a multitude of foods and cultures. Developing an understanding of why foods and drinks are liked, aligns gastronomy with management. Furthermore, food production and consumption are important issues in society. Gastronomy has a direct link to a variety of global issues, including food related health problems, food and age groups, industrialisation, growth of the world population, ethical and environmental issues. To mention one example: a disturbing number of people in nursing homes are undernourished. This implies that necessary or even life saving operations cannot be performed. As far as Im concerned these are issues that concern gastronomy. Because of the extent of Gastronomy, the research agenda of my lectorate needs to be well structured. It can best be compared to a huge puzzle with many pieces. The pieces need to be identied and nd their place to complete the picture. We have distinguished the following research areas in avour and taste and mentioned some topics to give an idea: Products and Techniques Sensorial characteristics of ingredients and nished products Evaluation of new techniques Assessment of production methods Tasting Developments in sensory research

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 Human differences The role of extrinsic factors Flavour combinations and liking Beverages and dishes Interaction between ingredients Culinary Success Factors This has already started. Currently the following hospitality research projects are under way: A study on the avour proles of Pinot noir Wine and cheese combinations Music in restaurants The kitchen of Peru and wines of Chili The role of Flavour styles in nding harmony Assessment of organic products Preferably, future projects build on previous ndings in order to obtain a true synthesis and create the body of knowledge that we are looking for. Clearly our ndings will be published in academic and other papers. Futhermore, a textbook is needed. My next book is called The essence of Gastronomy and is about the theory that has been developed so far. It will of course be used here, in the minor Gastronomy and ultimately in the master program, but hopefully also beyond the walls of this institution. The international character of the Stenden IHM program, the Grand Tour and the campuses all over the world will certainly help to develop theories and understanding that are universally applicable. Last and certainly not least, we will endeavour cooperating with other institutes worldwide to share knowledge and possibly make use of their facilities and expertise. The whole of these activities will strengthen the prole of the IHM program of Stenden University. Students with an interest in Gastronomy will know where to go. Throughout their study they can specialize in this eld and get a specic mention in the end on their Bachelor diploma. After that they can choose to enrol in the Master Program Gastronomy. The ultimate ambition of Stenden University is to become the Centre of Excellence in Gastronomy. Evidently I cannot do all this on my own. To achieve these ambitious aspirations the lectorate needs full support from the Executive Board and the deans of the school, both in budget and in people. After all, the logo of Stenden is a swallow: in order to achieve these goals, the consequences must be swallowed Ill gladly do my share in trying to get as far as we can. Indeed, it is a beautiful perspective.

Peter Klosse

Peter Klosse, The Beauty of Flavour, November 17, 2011

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Noten 1. Oxford dictionary 2. Zangwill, N. Aesthetic Judgment (2007), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 02-282003/10-22-2007 3. Stewart, I. (2007), Why beauty is truth: a history of symmetry. Basic Books 4. McAllister, J.W. (1996), Beauty and Revolution in Science, Cornell University Press, Ithaca,N.Y. 5. Barasch, M. (2000), Theories of art - from impressionism to Kandinsky, part IV Abstract art, chap. Color: 332-3 6. Bavaresco, N. (2004), Harmonic compositions of complementary colors according to their lightness degree, AIC 2004 Color and Paints, Interim Meeting of the International Color Association, Proceedings 235 7. Reber, R., Schwarz, N., Winkielman, P. (2004), Processing Fluency and Aesthetic Pleasure: Is Beauty in the Perceivers Processing Experience? Personality and Social Psychology Review, Vol. 8. No. 4: 364-382 8. Ross, G. (2004), Beauty and the Brain, American Scientist, Vol. 92, nr 6 9. Ishizu, T., Zeki, S. (2011), Toward A Brain-Based Theory of Beauty. PLoS ONE 6(7): e21852. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021852 10. Zeki, S & Kawabata, H. (2004), Neural Correlates of Beauty, Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 91: 1699-1705 11. Hughson, A.L. & Boakes, R.A. (2002), The knowing nose: the role of knowledge in wine expertise. Food Quality and Preference, Vol. 13: 463472 12. Delgado, C., Guinard, J.-X. (2011), How do consumer hedonic ratings for extra virgin olive oil relate to quality ratings by experts and descriptive analysis ratings? Food Quality and Preference, Vol. 22: 213-225 13. Klosse, P. R. (2004), The concept of avor styles to classify avors, Academic thesis defended at Maastricht University; Academie voor Gastronomie 14. Klosse, P. R., Riga, J., Cramwinckel, A. B., Saris, W. H. M. (2004), The formulation and evaluation of culinary success factors (CSFs) that determine the palatability of food, Food Service Technology, 4: 107115

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Dr. Peter Klosse (1956) rst completed his BBA at the University of Nijenrode and then his MBA at Delft before he decided to follow his fathers footsteps in the world of Gastronomy. He learned the trade by working in famous hotels and restaurants and joined the family business, restaurant De Echoput. He acquired it in 1986 and continued working on its reputation as one of the cornerstones of the Dutch Gastronomy. Today De Echoput is a modern ve-star Hotel, with two restaurants. Peter is a born speaker who likes to teach and nd out why things are the way they are. He founded his own Academy for Gastronomy and developed successful courses on wine, wine and food pairing and the full year training to become a professional Gastronome/Sommelier. Most of the leading persons in the Dutch Gastronomy have been in his classroom. He is also the author of the textbooks in this eld that are used all over the country. He earned his PhD at Maastricht University after defending his thesis The concept of Flavour Styles to classify avours. Currently he is writing his textbook in English The essence of Gastronomy, that will help to introduce the rest of the world to Gastronomy.

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