How does Ultraviolet use images, sounds, and scents to pair courses?

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Ultraviolet pairs its 20-course dinner with images, sounds, and scents by orchestrating each dish inside timed “scenarios” controlled by chef Paul Pairet.

Ultraviolet’s 20-course format is designed around “psycho taste,” a concept Pairet describes as everything beyond the taste itself, using elements that shape how diners perceive flavour. Pairet controls time and food so the restaurant can control the atmosphere and pair each dish with scenarios that use visuals, sound cues, and scent cues, with examples ranging from an autumn woodland mushroom setting to a dessert performance for “Bye-Bye Gummies”.
Each course is placed into a tailored sensory scenario
Pairet’s approach is built on controlling the dining environment so that every dish is paired with a scenario rather than served in a neutral space. In the dining experience, the room is staged like a performance, including an opening sequence with lights going off, a foghorn, and a door opening between the kitchen and dining area while a Haka chant echoes and a fire is lit for the first dish. This establishes the idea that images and sounds are used to frame the course experience from the outset, not just as background decoration.
Visuals and scents are used to match specific dish settings
For the mushroom course, an autumn woodland scene is used to enhance the atmosphere and create a sense of belonging, with visuals such as the forest floor and scents of wet leaves and soil. Pairet also re-enacts moments to enhance the mushroom course, again using the earthy forest atmosphere to align the sensory environment with the dish’s character. The pairing is presented as deliberate alignment between what diners see and smell and what they are eating.
Sounds and movement are integrated into the dessert experience
“Bye-Bye Gummies” is paired with the Bee Gees song “Staying Alive” as the gummies melt in a hot consommé bath, turning the dessert into a timed sensory moment. Diners can also join staff in a race around the room while Super Mario Brothers music plays, and the dessert is described as occurring in an artificial world with gummies racing on a wraparound screen. In this segment, sound, visual projection, and physical participation are combined so the dessert is experienced as an event, not only a plate.
The timing goal is to serve dishes at their peak perception
Ultraviolet’s objective is to serve food at the exact moment it tastes its best, with Pairet linking this goal to a childhood practice where his mother controlled his eating time. This emphasis on timing supports the broader staging method, where sensory elements like visuals, sounds, and scents are coordinated to coincide with when the dish is served. The result is a multi-dimensional pairing where the sensory cues are synchronized with the moment the course is meant to be tasted at its peak.

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How does Ultraviolet use images, sounds, and scents to pair courses?

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