Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS NOVEMBER 2019 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 4 FROM THE EDITOR Greetings! I've been thinking a lot lately about the nexus be- tween the two magazines in which you're reading this letter. One of them is about retailing kitchen- ware, and the other is about retailing specialty food. There was a time when I thought of these as two very different and completely separate kinds of enterprises, but over the past few months, I've come to think differently. For Gourmet News, I cover the food system, from how it's grown on the farm through to how it's sold in stores. I have now come to see Kitchenware News as the other end of that food chain; it's about what happens to food between the store and the consumer's bod- ies. It has taken me a few months to think this through and to be able to articulate what led me to think of these two publica- tions as existing at both ends of the same spectrum, but I'm now ready to tell you about that. Professional chefs are already accus- tomed to thinking about this, which is why they pay attention to the technology they use to prepare a meal and to the dishware on which they serve it. Next time you watch a television cooking show, watch the glee with which chefs introduce their tech- niques to their fellows and the care with which they plate their food. They do this because they know that we eat first with our eyes, and the cues that people get when their meal is delivered to them helps them decide how they feel about the food. Psychologists have discovered that the weight and color of our eating utensils can affect how sweet or salty the eater thinks the food is. Round, white plates make food taste sweeter, and angular, black plates bring out savory flavors. People eat less when the food is served on a red plate, and seeing a red color also reduces soft drink intake. According to psychologist Charles Spence, who has studied this matter in depth, "The visual appearance of a dish is just as important as, if not more important than, the taste/flavor itself." Mondelez found in 2013 that a Cadbury Dairy Milk bar tasted sweeter and creamier to con- sumers if the bar was made with rounded rather than square corners, even though the formulation of the chocolate had re- mained the same. Scientists have also found that hot chocolate tastes more chocolatey if it's served in an orange cup than it does if it's served in a white cup. You can learn more about all this in the book, "Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eat- ing" by Charles Spence, published in 2017 by Viking. As you guide customers through their se- lection of tabletop items as well as their kitchenware and, of course, their ingredi- ents, you're not just supplying them with "stuff," you're helping them create experi- ences for their friends and family. The qual- ity of those experiences depends very much on what they take home from your store, whether you're selling them their turkey or the platter on which they'll serve it. I wish all of you a memorable and joyous Thanksgiving season as you gather around your tables with the people that you care about. And as you all lift your glasses to the holiday, I hope those are glasses that you truly love. GN — Lorrie Baumann Editorial Director FROM THE EDITOR G OURMET N EWS ® OSER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP FOUNDER Lee M. Oser MEMBER OF: Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ, and additional mailing office. Gourmet News (ISSN 1052-4630) is published monthly by Oser Communications Group, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715; 520.721.1300. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of pro- prietary classified information. ©2019 by Oser Communications Group. All rights re- served. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without writ- ten permission of the publisher, is expressly prohibited. Back issues, when available, cost $7 each within the past 12 months, $12 each prior to the past 12 months. Back orders must be paid in advance either by check or charged to American Express, Visa, or Master Card. Gourmet News is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and dis- tribution channels of the specialty foods and hardgoods trade; paid subscriptions cost $65 annually to the U.S. and Canada. All foreign subscriptions cost $150 annu- ally to cover air delivery. All payments must be made in U.S. funds and drawn on a U.S. bank. For subscriber services, including subscription information, call 520.721.1300. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Gourmet News, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715. WWW.GOURMETNEWS.COM PUBLISHER Kimberly Oser SENIOR ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jules Denton-Card jules_d@oser.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann editor@oser.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Anthony Socci anthony_s@oser.com SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR Greg Gonzales ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jeanie Catron ART DIRECTOR Yasmine Brown GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jonathan Schieffer CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER Susan Stein CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSOCIATE Spencer Fisher CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Tara Neal tara_n@oser.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green jamie_g@oser.com EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Heather Albrecht heather_a@oser.com PUBLISHING OFFICE 1877 N. Kolb Road P.O. Box 1056 Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 Fax 520.721.6300 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Gourmet News P.O. Box 30520 Tucson, AZ 85751 520.721.1300

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