Science Reveals Interesting Truth About All-You-Can-Eat Buffets

Unless you’re a ridiculous food snob, most everyone loves a good buffet — which is precisely why buffets mean big business. This is especially so in Las Vegas, where people frequent buffets for all-you-can-eat king crab legs, kobe beef and sashimi. The only negative is that these buffets can often cost over $50 per person…

According to new research, however, spending more money on your buffet may actually make it taste better.

The Study

Researchers analyzed 139 participants who were offered fliers for an $8 buffet and a $4 buffet at an Italian AYCE buffet in New York. Both groups were served the exact same food regardless of the price they paid. The researchers then tracked the participants’ data over the course of two weeks.

Findings

Participants who paid $8 for their buffet rated their pizza as 11 percent better tasting than those who only paid $4. Those who paid less also perceived their pizza as tasting worse with each and every slice when compared to the $8 group.

David Just, one of the authors of the study, told The Atlantic:

“People set their expectation of taste partially based on the price—and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If I didn’t pay much it can’t be that good. Moreover, each slice is worse than the last. People really ended up regretting choosing the buffet when it was cheap.”

Written by NextShark