Want to know what books Barry C. Smith recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Barry C. Smith's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
This title tells the full story of the meteoric rise of Heston Blumenthal and 'The Fat Duck', birthplace of snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, and the passion, perfection and weird science behind the man and the restaurant. more This title tells the full story of the meteoric rise of Heston Blumenthal and 'The Fat Duck', birthplace of snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, and the passion, perfection and weird science behind the man and the restaurant. less 
Barry C. SmithHeston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck Cookbook is my fifth book choice, the first of a number of cookbooks that have come out from Heston and have been following the development of some of his own recipes. I’ve picked Heston Blumenthal because he is exactly the sort of figure who is the chef-scientist: he blurs the boundary between chef and scientist. In fact, he may have been the first to lead the... (Source)
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2
The authors of The Perfect Meal examine all of the elements that contribute to the diners experience of a meal (primarily at a restaurant) and investigate how each of the diners senses contributes to their overall multisensory experience. The principal focus of the book is not on flavor perception, but on all of the non-food and beverage factors that have been shown to influence the diners overall experience.
Examples are:
the colour of the plate (visual) the shape of the glass (visual/tactile) the names used to describe the dishes (cognitive) the background music... more The authors of The Perfect Meal examine all of the elements that contribute to the diners experience of a meal (primarily at a restaurant) and investigate how each of the diners senses contributes to their overall multisensory experience. The principal focus of the book is not on flavor perception, but on all of the non-food and beverage factors that have been shown to influence the diners overall experience.
Examples are:
the colour of the plate (visual) the shape of the glass (visual/tactile) the names used to describe the dishes (cognitive) the background music playing inside the restaurant (aural) Novel approaches to understanding the diners experience in the restaurant setting are explored from the perspectives of decision neuroscience, marketing, design, and psychology.
2015 Popular Science Prose Award Winner. less Barry C. SmithI’ve chosen a book by Charles Spence and his co-author Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, The Perfect Meal. I was hugely influenced by Charles Spence’s work in the understanding of taste and flavour. Charles is one of those people who, in a very early stage of my thinking about this topic, made me understand just how multisensory our experiences of flavours are. Charles wrote some classic articles about... (Source)
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3
A complete collection of Frank Sibley's articles on philosophical aesthetics, this volume includes five, remarkable, hitherto unpublished papers written in Sibley's later years. It addresses many topics, among them the nature of aesthetic qualities versus non-aesthetic qualities, the relation of aesthetic description to aesthetic evaluation, the different levels of evaluation, and the objectivity of aesthetic judgement. The later papers constitute both a significant development of Sibley's individual approach to aesthetics, such as his discussion of the distinction between attributive and... more A complete collection of Frank Sibley's articles on philosophical aesthetics, this volume includes five, remarkable, hitherto unpublished papers written in Sibley's later years. It addresses many topics, among them the nature of aesthetic qualities versus non-aesthetic qualities, the relation of aesthetic description to aesthetic evaluation, the different levels of evaluation, and the objectivity of aesthetic judgement. The later papers constitute both a significant development of Sibley's individual approach to aesthetics, such as his discussion of the distinction between attributive and predicative uses of adjectives and of the aesthetic significance of tastes and smells, a topic Sibley considered to be much neglected.
less Barry C. SmithSibley was a wonderful aesthetician. He wrote interestingly and carefully about the subject. He was very keen to dismiss quick reactions, very keen to give Aesthetics a firm foundation. As he says, to do Aesthetics properly you need to understand a lot of the rest of philosophy. It’s not for amateurs to go in there and simply express their preferences. He’s very good on that front. But there he... (Source)
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4
The definitive text of tasting and evaluating wine by the recognized world authority. Physiology of the senses, the role of memory, analysis and training, pitfalls, illusions, tricks and techniques. How to determine and define quality and value in wine. Practical guidance on statistical interpre-tations, tasting tools and wine vocabulary. Essential for all wine professionals and serious wine lovers." more The definitive text of tasting and evaluating wine by the recognized world authority. Physiology of the senses, the role of memory, analysis and training, pitfalls, illusions, tricks and techniques. How to determine and define quality and value in wine. Practical guidance on statistical interpre-tations, tasting tools and wine vocabulary. Essential for all wine professionals and serious wine lovers." less Barry C. SmithPeynaud is the grandfather of oenology — the science of winemaking and of wine assessment. Peynaud is revered in the world of wine as the grandmaster who really put thinking about winemaking and thinking of all of the factors that are involved in creating a better wine on a scientific standing. Émile Peynaud in this book, The Taste of Wine, is daring to do something which you think science would... (Source)
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5
A delightful and hilarious classic about the joys of the table, The Physiology of Taste is the most famous book about food ever written. First published in France in 1825 and continuously in print ever since, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s masterpiece is a historical, philosophical, and epicurean collection of recipes, reflections, and anecdotes on everything and anything gastronomical. Brillat-Savarin—who famously stated “Tell me what you eat and I shall tell you what you are”—shrewdly expounds upon culinary matters that still resonate today, from the rise of the destination... more A delightful and hilarious classic about the joys of the table, The Physiology of Taste is the most famous book about food ever written. First published in France in 1825 and continuously in print ever since, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s masterpiece is a historical, philosophical, and epicurean collection of recipes, reflections, and anecdotes on everything and anything gastronomical. Brillat-Savarin—who famously stated “Tell me what you eat and I shall tell you what you are”—shrewdly expounds upon culinary matters that still resonate today, from the rise of the destination restaurant to matters of diet and weight, and in M. F. K. Fisher, whose commentary is both brilliant and amusing, he has an editor with a sensitivity and wit to match his own. less 
Gary TaubesThis book used to be described as the most famous book ever written about food. He has several chapters on the cause and prevention of obesity. (Source)
Barry C. SmithI’ve chosen The Physiology of Taste by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin — a French philosopher, early physiologist, a gourmand who was fascinated by taste and eating and diet and ways of living all involving the consuming of food and drink. What I love is the particular attention to detail that allows him to focus exactly what is going on in us as tasters when we’re consuming food and drink. Most... (Source)
P. D. Mangan@Blacklabellogic Yes, first diet book ever. Brillat-Savarin wrote about how overweight people love carbs in the early 19th century. (Source)
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