I know people who can feed themselves almost exclusively on greyish smoothies. They ingest a vitamin formula several times a week that gives them everything they need to survive. Anything but color — and fun, if you want editorial commentary.
These people for whom eating is only utilitarian — and by choice — fascinate me. How do they do it? It is inconceivable for me to voluntarily do without the smells, textures, flavors and colors of a good meal. Or even a way. When I cook, I look forward not only to tasting what I’m preparing, but also to devour the leftovers for dinner the next day… It’s passionate.
So what does one gain by eating with the eyes as much as with the mouth? I took advantage of this special “Colored” edition to discuss it with three people who are even more raunchy than me.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
For Geneviève Plante, colors are life!
You’ll find me intense, but I can’t believe nature makes foods like that! When I see purple cauliflowers, red cabbages or vibrantly colored berries, I am struck by it. There is something that picks up on me emotionally. How a beautiful melody or a sequence of chords can pick me up…
Geneviève Plante, trumpeter, blogger and author
I don’t find Geneviève Plante intense. I find her endearing. The professional trumpeter has been running the culinary blog Vert Couleur Persil since 2014 and has published six recipe books. She transposes her artistic sensibility to cooking.
PHOTO LAURA G. DIAZ PROVIDED BY EDITIONS LA PRESSE
A plate in shades of yellow and green, taken from the cookbook Soon on your plate: 30 salads and 30 dressings by Geneviève Plante, published by Éditions La Presse.
“Nobody likes to have a beige life! It’s the same for the plate. Eating is not just a matter of taste. It’s also a matter of smell, of hearing — think of what crunches under your teeth! —, of touch and sight. Colors can make us salivate; we eat at first sight. And it is when we eat with all our senses that we are entitled to a conscious experience. »
If our pace of life often pushes us to eat in a hurry, colors invite us to slow down.
“When I pay attention to small details like colors, my pleasure mechanism is triggered and it makes me want to take the time to eat,” continues Geneviève Plante.
There is even something “carnal and sexy” in this process, according to Claud Marguerite Fortin, culinary stylist with the agency Sid Lee and Mitsou Magazine among its customers.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Claud Marguerite Fortin, food stylist
When sight is stimulated by colors, there is an extension at the cerebral level which takes us into a universe of emotions. We are the accumulation of our experiences, so we eat memories, comfort or a love we had…
Claud Marguerite Fortin, food stylist
Daniel Raiche, culinary and accessory stylist (in particular for magazines Savor And Caribou), there is also a romantic reference to it: “Color creates expectations. This is the a priori of what is coming in flavors and sensations. It’s a meeting! Like when you’re dating someone and certain aspects of them turn you on quickly, but it might not work when you French them.. »
(I get the picture. And I think I’d rather be disappointed in love than betrayed by food.)
Since our relationship to food is emotional, there are obviously codes to stimulate our appetite. Daniel Raiche teaches me that dishes with saturated colors are more enticing because they come with the promise of intense flavors. Claud Marguerite Fortin tells me for her part that the eye appreciates the texture, the shine and the mix of colors.
PHOTO LES GARÇONS/L’ÉLOI, ARTISTIC DIRECTION ROXANNE CHAGNON
This spring, Claud Marguerite Fortin designed the styling for this SAQ campaign for Cossette.
The food stylist also has her favourites: “I think yellow, gold and white pay off. It juxtaposes well with textures and other colors. We can think of the cheese fondue, the béchamel or the big ball of burrata. It’s all appetizing! »
Yes. Very.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, experts know that certain colors are less popular from a marketing standpoint. Meat dishes in particular come with their challenges, as they are often brownish. “We are going to be encouraged to use a bit of greenery, even if it doesn’t really relate to the recipe, reveals Daniel Raiche. We’re going to put a sprig of thyme on shredded duck, for example! If we think of food packaging, in the suggested presentation, there will be cherry tomatoes or small cut vegetables next to the meat. It will trigger the idea of freshness in the consumer… We sell dreams! »
Not only does color whet our appetite, it also grabs our attention. And while everyone is running around trying to divide their time between cell phone notifications, requests from loved ones and their thirst for a nap, this asset is of great value for advertisers.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Food stylist Daniel Raiche
There has been a buzz around colors in food communications for the past year or two. The bright colors are very present behind the plate. It has to scream loudly to capture attention.
Daniel Raiche, food stylist
It’s hard to catch the eye of consumers who are constantly bombarded with images of food, both in advertisements and on social networks. He is therefore presented with dishes in very colorful environments.
“Sometimes I wonder: does it enhance the content of the plate or does it divert attention? asks Daniel Raiche.
If colors can help us eat more consciously, they can also invite us to consume more impulsively. They have a power… A power that escapes people capable of feeding exclusively on beige smoothies.
They are perhaps more free than me, if not having less pleasure.
All that remains is to try to make the most of the colors that run like so many emotions in our kitchen… “I would like people to see their plate like a canvas, suggests Geneviève Plante. We are the artist of our plate and our food is paint. The ideal is to have fun creating a dish before you even have the pleasure of eating it. »