In recent times gastronomy has been recognized as a legitimate object of serious study as it is part of culture insamuch as the arts and other cultural expressions. There is a strong link between food and sex as appetites and between gourmandise and sexuality as elaborate social constructions. Moreover, it has been recently suggested that a new world-wide interest in cooking, ingredients and techniques arose in the sixties and seventies simultaneously with the \"sexual revolution\". Even if this is just a theory, what is a fact is that food is often linked with sexual activity, as a prelude or as a conclusion and that desire, and appetite for food and drink both lurk in the deep recesses of the hypothalamus. Human beings have always searched for aphrodisiacs – substances that arouse and maintain sexual desire and response. Recipes for potions and foods are as old as humankind; however we have come a long way from rhinoceros horn and mandrake root, although many turtles still succumb to the legend of their eggs\' power. However, the search for a perfect meal linked to the erotic still persists. Many of the foods with justified or not –erotic fame- come from the Americas. How could we speak of modern day aphrodisiacs without mentioning avocados or chocolate? This presentation will try to recreate the (virtual) experience of the perfect erotic meal using ingredients originally from the Americas. It will discuss ingredients as well as techniques and will, finally, deliver the recipes to recreate it in whatever setting the participants may choose. Unfortunately we will not be able, as in any sound scientific experiment, to present the results of reproducing our experience, but we can definitely attest to the pleasure and joy of many persons who have had a non-virtual experience with our postmodern “aphrodisiacs”.
Conflict of Interest: None disclosed
Financial Support/Funding: None disclosed
Recorded: Sydney, Australia, April 2007
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