On the men you

Finding your personality revealed in the foods you choose from a menu might seem like a piece of New Age flummery, but there is research suggesting that your food choices might reveal more about you than you suspect.

- Terry Robson

If you are human, then you search for meaning. That's the noble view of how we operate. But perhaps we could replace the word "meaning" with "understanding", because the real human quest is to understand what is happening around us so that we can make the best decisions. It is a survival tactic, and it involves understanding not only the world around us, but also the world within us. Part of the search for understanding will involve you in seeking narratives that weave your past, present and future together. That is why anything that claims to reveal your personality feels so good. Nothing quite tickles your pleasure gland like being told you are "practical and grounded". "spontaneous and playful", "dramatic and free-spirited", or "dedicated and passionate". Even a negative personality appraisal can spill warm-fuzziness into your bloodstream. For very good reasons, you love to gain insight to your own psyche, but could your food choices provide a window to your soul?

It's in your blood

Using your food choices to understand your personality might sound a little bit like using a screwdriver to explain dark matter, but there actually is a little science to support the food-persona theorem.

In 2022, the journal Current Research in Food Science published a paper by experimental psychologist Charles Spence from the University of Oxford. The paper was titled "What is the link between personality and food behaviour?". In that paper, Spence pointed out some of the physiological basis for expecting a connection between the food that you choose and your personality.