EPISODE · Oct 23, 2025 · 55 MIN
Food Anthropologist: The hidden power of taste & how it shapes our experience
from The Experience Designers · host Steve Usher
What if the future of experience design starts not on a screen but on your tongue?In this episode, food anthropologist Caroline Hobkinson invites us into her London kitchen to explore the connection between taste, sound, and human emotion. Through a live sensory experiment, she reveals how our brains respond to flavor, sound, and ritual and why modern life has numbed our ability to truly feel. From seaweed that “sings,” to the psychology of coffee rituals and the intimacy of blindfolded dining, this conversation reawakens our senses and reframes how we connect with food, with others, and with ourselves.00:00 – Welcome to Caroline’s Kitchen02:00 – What Is a Food Anthropologist?06:00 – The Ritual of Coffee: Modern Communion09:30 – Why Taste Is the Most Intimate Sense12:00 – The Seaweed Experiment: Eating With Sound18:00 – The Science Behind It: What the Brain Does24:00 – Blindfolded Bananas & the Art of Surrender33:00 – Designing for the Senses: Lessons for Brands and Experience Creators41:00 – The Smell of Memory44:00 – Bringing Mindfulness to Everyday Eating46:00 – Closing Reflections: Reawakening the SensesCaroline's bioImmersive Experience Director - MultiSensory FoodArtist – Food Anthropologist investigating behaviour, ritual and interrelationships of sensory modalities Born in Cologne in 1979, trained at Central Saint Martin’s where she gained a degree in Fine Art and SOAS where she earned a master’s degree in Anthropology, she has been creating events and food installations, in galleries, museums and public spaces worldwide.She has published and co-authored numerous research and academic papers on the neuroscientific workings of eating behaviour and conducted anthropological qualitative research into food and drink habits and rituals. She is a fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute.Operating within the intersections of technology, food and the senses, Caroline has been giving numerous interactive talks and lectures that reimagine people‘s food rituals. Her work and research has appeared in numerous publications and she has collaborated on events for Unilever, Disney, Barilla, Magnum, Selfridges, Bang & Olufsen, Kensington Palace and Pink Lady Apples.Contactwww.carolinehobkinson.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-hobkinson-creative-director/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What this episode covers
What if the future of experience design starts not on a screen but on your tongue?In this episode, food anthropologist Caroline Hobkinson invites us into her London kitchen to explore the connection between taste, sound, and human emotion. Through a live sensory experiment, she reveals how our brains respond to flavor, sound, and ritual and why modern life has numbed our ability to truly feel. From seaweed that “sings,” to the psychology of coffee rituals and the intimacy of blindfolded dining, this conversation reawakens our senses and reframes how we connect with food, with others, and with ourselves.00:00 – Welcome to Caroline’s Kitchen02:00 – What Is a Food Anthropologist?06:00 – The Ritual of Coffee: Modern Communion09:30 – Why Taste Is the Most Intimate Sense12:00 – The Seaweed Experiment: Eating With Sound18:00 – The Science Behind It: What the Brain Does24:00 – Blindfolded Bananas & the Art of Surrender33:00 – Designing for the Senses: Lessons for Brands and Experience Creators41:00 – The Smell of Memory44:00 – Bringing Mindfulness to Everyday Eating46:00 – Closing Reflections: Reawakening the SensesCaroline's bioImmersive Experience Director - MultiSensory FoodArtist – Food Anthropologist investigating behaviour, ritual and interrelationships of sensory modalities Born in Cologne in 1979, trained at Central Saint Martin’s where she gained a degree in Fine Art and SOAS where she earned a master’s degree in Anthropology, she has been creating events and food installations, in galleries, museums and public spaces worldwide.She has published and co-authored numerous research and academic papers on the neuroscientific workings of eating behaviour and conducted anthropological qualitative research into food and drink habits and rituals. She is a fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute.Operating within the intersections of technology, food and the senses, Caroline has been giving numerous interactive talks and lectures that reimagine people‘s food rituals. Her work and research has appeared in numerous publications and she has collaborated on events for Unilever, Disney, Barilla, Magnum, Selfridges, Bang & Olufsen, Kensington Palace and Pink Lady Apples.Contactwww.carolinehobkinson.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-hobkinson-creative-director/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
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Food Anthropologist: The hidden power of taste & how it shapes our experience
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