Plate spinning: the smart chef's secret ingredient

Food that’s pointing in a particular direction is more appealing – which is why restaurants can charge you extra for it
In what must be food’s biggest contribution to science since Newton’s apple, a plate of pickled onions has given us new insight. Small, halved teardrop-shaped onions, to be precise, arranged on a puddle of tapioca, sugar cane vinegar, peanut and fermented cream. Charles Michel, a chef with a keen interest in food psychology, came across this dish by the Michelin-starred