Reflections of Virtual and Augmented Reality Applications on Culinary Science

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, successfully applied in various fields such as the game and advertising sector for a long time, have also been reflected in the gastronomy field in recent years. In this context, this study aims to examine the current uses of VR and AR in culinary science in an inclusive way and to emphasize their potential to shape the gastronomy sector in the future. Today, by integrating VR and AR technologies into gastronomy, food and beverage businesses can offer their customers extraordinary experiences. These experiences not only lead customers to have different eating experiences but also allow the perceived flavour of the food to be manipulated to increase the preferability of healthy foods, which many consider unpalatable. VR and AR technologies can also be used for training chef candidates or food and beverage business personnel. In this study, it has been determined that with the effective integration of these technologies into gastronomy, consumers have a high potential to enjoy food more and to increase the competitiveness of food and beverage businesses. Therefore, it is thought that chefs and food and beverage businesses will strengthen their position in the sector if they use these technologies.