Exploring the science, memory, culture, and human experience of taste
Umami is often described as the fifth taste.
Yet throughout history, people across cultures have sought, preserved, traded, and celebrated umami-rich foods long before the word itself existed.
This lecture explores umami not simply as a flavour, but as a lens through which to understand culture, memory, human survival, and the ways people have shaped meaning through food.
What You’ll Discover
After this lecture, participants may begin to see:
- Umami as a universal human experience rather than a culturally specific concept
- The connections between taste, memory, and identity
- How preservation and fermentation shaped human societies
- Why flavour reflects both biology and culture
- How food carries stories across generations and borders
How the Lecture Is Adapted
Each lecture is tailored to the context of the host organisation, audience, and event theme.
Examples include:
Museums and cultural institutions
Food, visual culture, heritage, preservation, and cultural exchange.
Libraries and public programmes
Everyday food, memory, history, language, and the way taste connects personal experience with wider culture.
Cultural festivals and community events
Taste as a shared experience across people, places, and generations.
Professional or interdisciplinary audiences
Umami as a lens for discussing perception, flavour, culture, memory, and human wellbeing.
While each version is adapted to its setting, all lectures are guided by the Five Doors framework: science, flavour, memory, culture, and future reflection.
Who Is This For?
This lecture is designed for audiences interested in:
- Food and culture
- History and heritage
- Museums and cultural programmes
- Libraries and lifelong learning initiatives
- Science communication
- Human experience and everyday life
No prior knowledge of food science is required.
Practical Information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Lecture |
| Duration | 45–90 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Audience Size | Small groups to large public audiences |
| Venue | On-site or online |
| Tasting | Optional |
| Fee | Upon request |
Facilitator Profile
Kumi Matsushita is an Umami Expert / Curator based in the Netherlands.
Kumi Matsushita is an independent researcher, curator, and speaker exploring food, culture, memory, and wellbeing through the lens of umami.
Her work brings together history, science, and lived experience to examine how taste shapes the ways people understand themselves and the world around them.
This lecture can be adapted for libraries, museums, cultural organizations, festivals, educational institutions, and public programmes.