Want to dazzle the guests at your next dinner party? Nailing a meal that elicits groans of delight doesn’t have to involve overpriced produce, deft seasoning or lubricating everyone beforehand with a very stiff drink. Instead, researchers from Oxford University have shown that you can intensify diners’ satisfaction with their meals simply by providing heavier cutlery.
In the experiment, 130 guests at an Edinburgh restaurant were served the same dish of sea trout with mashed potatoes, spinach, capers and a smoked brown-shrimp butter. Half of the diners were secretly given cutlery that was three times heavier than the rest. When quizzed about their meals afterwards, those who used the weightier utensils enjoyed their meals about 10 per cent more and were willing to pay 15 per cent more for their food. That small study in gastrophysics feels oddly relevant when considering the enduring popularity of platinum watches, which are heavier and more dense than gold.
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