The chefs' recipe for moving us in restaurants

"I regularly observe customers shedding a tear over my dishes", admits Eric Guérin. And the chef at Mare aux Oiseaux, in Saint-Joachim (Loire-Atlantique) comments, "It's a real reward! "The author of "Migrations: voyages, émotions, cuisine" considers that two types of cuisine coexist: the technical and "then there are the chefs, of which I am one, who work on the emotional aspect, because a meal in a restaurant is not just about eating". For him, it's also about nourishing the heart and the mind. If the chef-artist inserted the word "emotions" in the title of his book-escapade published by Editions de la Martinière in 2015, it's anything but a coincidence.

Shiver. Tremble. Emu. Overjoyed. There are so many ways to describe the emotions that can overwhelm a customer from the very first bite. As many ways of reacting as there are different customers. The pleasure of the taste sometimes acts as a trigger for a whole host of emotions. Some people find themselves in such a state, even though it's only a meal. But the truth is, it's not nothing. We only need to understand what's going on in our heads to appreciate the importance of tasting. "In the brain, there's a direct connection between smells and emotions. The proof: when you smell something, you're able to tell whether you like it or not right away, without even knowing what it is," reveals Gabriel Lépousez, a neurobiologist at the Pasteur Institute. He goes on to demonstrate that "it's emotions that give us easier access to moments we've already experienced, memories that are emotionally rich, like the first bicycle or the chocolate cake".

Proust's madeleine, the ingredient that makes us vulnerable

Men, women, executives, employees, married, young or old... Customers are not alike, but they have all been children. And it's often this page of personal history that chefs go looking for to titillate feelings. "I grew up with the scent of my grandmother's morning hot chocolate. I draw on my personal grimoire to touch my customers. Because very often, their emotions are linked to memories they had when they were younger," says Jean-Michel Lorain. The Côte St Jacques chef sums it up this way: "my childhood past made me the chef I am today".

The famous expression "Proust's madeleine" is not overused. It aptly describes this impression of reminiscence in relation to a flavor that marked one's childhood. "It's the moment when you build your library of aromas, flavors and textures. It takes you back to something you'll never experience again. You reconnect with the past, knowing that it will be evanescent. Just the time of a dish. It's moving, especially as we know it will only last a few minutes. What's more, you have no control. Only a chef can bring that moment back to life. It's a kind of vertigo," says Dr. Lépousez.

In Loire-Atlantique, France, Eric Guérin has perfectly transcribed the emotional value of childhood memories onto the plate. It's even one of his signature dishes: choco-truffles. "Imagined as a transition between savory and sweet, it's a recipe that symbolizes the passage between childhood and adulthood. I associate a product from the first period, in this case white chocolate, with an ingredient that we learn to love over time, namely Fourme d'Ambert cheese," he explains. Why does this recipe work? "It's when you succeed in finding that reassuring, regressive side that you touch the heart," explains Eric Guérin.

The secret of emotional cuisine: surprise

By his own admission, Eric Guérin is a secretive man. The chef behind La Mare aux oiseaux hides "things" in his dishes. "But I don't say it deliberately in the title to create surprise. Small pieces of crispy bacon, for example, for reassurance. "There was a time when I always told my team to add a little cream. Just enough so that the sauce didn't change color and show through. It had to convey emotion and smooth out the edges," comments the chef. The surprise can also come from the pep's of the ingredient hidden like a chili pepper, at La Mare aux oiseaux.

"It could be a hint of coffee in the Jerusalem artichokes, which, along with the truffle, brings an originality you wouldn't expect," explains Jean-Michel Lorain. "It's not in the gustatory strength of an ingredient that we engage emotion, but in its subtlety", he stresses.

On a neurological level, these little gustatory gifts disseminated by chefs do have an effect. "Our brain is the seat of reward and pleasure. It releases dopamine. But this hormone should more properly be called the hormone of desire, since it is produced when we look at an object that predicts future pleasure," explains Gabriel Lépousez.

The emotion can therefore be very strong at first bite, especially if the pleasure exceeds expectations. "You're flooded with dopamine," he comments. That's how you can end up in tears! Or even orgasm, says Mr. Lépousez. "The mouth is the area with the highest density of touch sensors. You can experience heightened sensations compared to what you touch with your hand," explains the neurobiologist. In short, it's as if we were living in a new dimension. "What's more, when we look into the brain of someone eating a meal or drinking a glass of wine, compared to someone looking at a painting, more cerebral regions are called upon. More of the senses are summoned together," he adds. CQFD.

Just be sure to master the exercise, for chefs. "The scientific demonstration is also valid for explaining disappointment when there's this gap between the expectation ofthe same is true when you expect a dish to be aesthetically pleasing, but in the end, the taste doesn't live up to expectations. "It's the same when you're expecting a memorable experience, if you're booking a table in a top gourmet restaurant for the first time, for example. You almost have to taste blind without knowing what kind of restaurant you're in to really enjoy it, without anticipating the experience you're going to have. Because you can also idealize a pleasure when it's presented to you as something rare. It stimulates the imagination," illustrates Gabriel Lépousez. But that's another subject...