Blue is the colour for dieting

● Get a blue bulb (or blue lampshade) if you’re trying to control your weight as it is shown to suppress appetite. This might be because blue lighting tends to make food look less appealing.

● Invest in heavy cutlery. Weight appears to convey quality and class.

● Listen to your coffee machine. My team has worked for a number of years on modifying the sound of kitchen devices such as coffee machines. It is possible to change people’s perception of the harshness, or bitterness, of a cup of coffee simply by changing the loudness and frequency profile of the noise made by the machine.

● The smell of warm bread, roasting coffee or citrus seems to make us more likely to help others (ie, offering to do the washing up).

● Coloured napkins, tablecloths and place settings can all influence people’s emotional state. According to a study, diners said a bowl of tomato soup tasted significantly better when placed on a tablecloth.