THE FIFTH TASTE

Délicieuse!” “Splendide!” “Magnifique!” diners at the Ritz Hotel in Paris exclaimed. It was the late 1800s, and influential French chef Auguste Escoffier had begun serving dishes that tasted better than anything anyone had ever tried before. Escoffier’s food was more complex, savory, and delicious than other chefs’, but no one could figure out why. Was it his use of elegant ingredients like filet mignon, foie gras, and black truffles? Or did the secret lie in his fancy espagnole and demiglace sauces? What exactly made Escoffier’s food more delicious?

The Science of Taste

In Escoffier’s