Q.  Which would you rather eat, the Sheri Chen lunch or the school lunch?

A. Probably the Sheri Chen (Happy Little Bento) lunch because visual appeal is a major part of the pleasure of eating. Which is probably why we enjoy dining out; food is usually packaged and presented in ways that enhance the dining experience.

According to a study done at the Nestle Research Center, the appearance of food affects taste perception; “The individual’s (visual) evaluation of food, before it is eaten, is a crucial stage, not only for making nutritional choices, but for impacting the entire eating experience.”

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0032434