What is Beautiful Tastes Good: Visual Cues, Taste, and Willingness to Pay

How much is the plating and presentation of a food worth? A lab study and a cafeteria study investigate two different perspectives on how visual cues bias taste evaluations and willingness to pay. In general, it is found that a “What is beautiful tastes good” perspective provides a better explanation of how visual cues bias the taste evaluation of familiar, favorable foods than does the conventionally used “confirmation bias” perspective. These visual cues of plating and presentation influence taste and willingness to pay by a range of 14-121 percent. Although there is effort and cost associated with plating and presentation, these results suggest it is effective both for ratings of a food’s taste and how much someone is willing to pay for it.