Would you like some pepper with that iPod?

When I was at the Fat Duck a couple of months ago for dinner, one of the dishes we were served on our Tasting Menu was not food at all. Rather, what came on a small square plate were two shiny new iPod shuffles. They were intended to accompany a dish that was perhaps even more bizarre than the gadgets themselves.

Heston Blumenthal, the chef, said he wanted to experiment with using sound to enhance a dining experience. Hence the iPod, playing the soothing sound of the sea breeze and waves gently caressing the seashore. The dish itself was dubbed Sound of the Sea, with different components on the plate representing something from the seaside. No Seagulls' poo or oil spill residue though, instead we had sand made of tapioca infused with miso, with medallions of Monkfish liver (Ankimo) in a seawater foam. There were also some bits of Abalone, clams, and Samphire, which, appropriately enough, is sometimes called Sea Asparagus.

Was it a gimmick, you asked? Well, of course it was. If you were averse to gimmickry you might not want to go to the Fat Duck in the first place. Ultimately, the concept was fun, the dish tasted good -if a bit odd- and we giggled like two kids in a sweet shop. Unfortunately I still couldn't quite decide if my taste-receptors of all things from the seaside were hightened in the presence of the iPod whispering music of the bay into my ears. I was too distracted by the look of envy from other diners in the room –alas the Seaside dish at the time was still under development and we were one of the lucky few that day who got to play Guinea pigs.

By the way -If you still had to ask- no I didn't take any pepper with my iPod.

Comments

[Mary]

I'm glad that you had fun with that dish, it seems that we too often take our food obsession too seriously. The point is to have fun and eat well, right?

[veron]

If I wanted the sound of the seaside , I would go to a seaside. I think this gimmick falls pretty flat... though like you I would giggle at the experience.

[Simon]

Gimmick or not, this is a great idea. In fact I am a great believer in the matching of music and sounds with food. Food being such a sensory experience, I think that music is integral to really enjoy a meal. I've been known to sit at a restaurant bar, eating the beautiful meal in front of me and rocking the headphones and iPod. That is exactly why my blog is dedicated to matching cooking and enjoying a meal with music :-)

[Trig]

I think it's a great idea! And I defy anyone to tell me that a plate of garlicy, buttery escargot wouldn't taste better to the sound of a quintessentially French accordion playing in the background

[gobsmacked]

Re Trig's comment - accordion music is as quintessentially French as ... well, everybody in the UK braying "Jolly hockey sticks!"! Quelle horreur! Serge Gainsbourg or Patricia Kaas, on the other hand; would be tres fabuleux indeed! Mind you, with dinner; I'd opt for some Satie or Marin Marais - tres civilized.

[aaron]

did you get to keep the ipods for testing the dish

[lindsay]

gimmick or not, sounds like fun! i love playing with other senses - had a chance to check out a restaurant in montreal that involved eating in the dark. interesting, but a one time thing. next time they should give everyone uber high quality headphones to enhance the experience even more. :)

cheers!

[Doug]

I think I'd feel corny wearing something like that. Dining out, my first priority is enjoying those around me...with good company, even the food can become an afterthought...okay maybe not an AFTERTHOUGHT, but you get the idea.

[Caroline]

I believe that all senses can enhance others. A gimmick, maybe.... A new sensory experience, yes!

[Diva]

In Italy in the 20's was a movement called Futurismo, and they had dinner parties involving all the senses...

one of my friends recreated one of them here..
fragrances.. sandpaper and silk.. poetry, noises food sculptures.

I am sure yours was at a much higer level.
But all said.. nothing is new

[sam]

I think they call samphire 'sea beans' here in SF - at Far West Funghi where you can buy it sometimes

[Jeremy]

Gimmicky yes, fun, yes too, but my problem lies elsewhere. I'd be willing to argue that in this case, the ipod detracts from the dining experience. Apart from the fact that ipods are bordering on clicheed "cool" and are used here in that very sense: an ipod as a side is cooler than background sound of the sea and gulls on the restaurant's speaker system, they detract in the sense that unless one is dining alone, it is nice to be free to converse with your company without having to remove a headphone from your ear. I suppose one could argue that it is more than made up for by the conversation that it would generate post-dish. Still, only the ipod is new. The idea itself is old.

[rich]

Interesting concept - but that picture of the food, whew! .... at first glance it really looked like something I've had to clean up off the floor after one of my cats barfed. Not exactly my idea of 'eye appeal' in food - 'sea foam' or not that just makes me shudder to look at it.

[Pim]

Mary, of course, that's the point.

veron, we did giggle.

Simon, It's an interesting experiment, yes. Oh, and cool blog, by the way.

Trig, I'm a bit allergic to that stuff. The accordion, no the snails.

gob, really? I've always thought the 'authentic' French bistro music is bad '80s pop.

aaron, I wish.

lindsay, yeah, it's fun.

Doug, yes, of course I understand. But I also think that there are times -and when one dines at the Fat Duck would be one- where perhaps the company and other stuff take a little step back for the food and the theatrics of the experience.

Caroline, yes, of course.

Diva, that's true. That was Goethe, right?

sam, never thought to look. Next time I'm by there I'll check it out.

Jeremy, well, I agree with you that it detracted from the dining experience. But that's mostly because we couldn't stop giggling, and couldn't stop the entire room staring. Frankly I had no idea at all if it did anything to my tastebuds.

rich, well that's probably my fault. Food photo is tough, especially when doing it on the fly like this.

[pradeep]

The player, which Steve Jobs showed off at its most recent product launch in September, will contain a gigabyte of flash memory