Fig. 2

The ‘beetroot and orange jelly’ as served at The Fat Duck restaurant in Bray a few years ago. This represents a classic example of hidden sensory incongruity (see [52]). Heston Blumenthal ([7], p. 237) had this to say: “A new sensory experience or additional piece of information, however, can jog the brain out of this state and give it the opportunity to find a new attractor state and new viewpoint. Our brain assesses the food we eat and makes a best guess as to what it is according to the sensory inputs it receives. As Orange and Beetroot Jellies show, this approach isn’t always accurate. I had always hoped to create a dish that didn’t just surprise diners but made them flip between different sensory perceptions, jogging the brain into new attractor states.” [Picture coutersy of Heston Blumenthal / Lotus PR.]