What will the foodies come up with next. I hadn’t heard of this one, from Chez Pim:

Heston Blumenthal, the chef [at Fat Duck in Berkshire], 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.

While I’m certainly not going to soundtrack my every meal (or start eating dinner in the dark, or switch to an all-foam diet), I would love to try something like this. I think Pim’s comment about gimmickry is right on: I know a gimmick when I see it, but just ‘cause it’s a little goofy doesn’t mean it doesn’t sound like fun.