Taste, Touch, See, Smell, Hear… Repeat

Let’s be honest: coming up with corporate event ideas that actually surprise people is hard. In a world where everyone’s overstimulated, getting guests to pause, notice, and remember something extraordinary takes more than just “interactive stations.” That’s where Cohera steps in—paired with creative minds like Dr. Irwin Adam, a mastermind of food, tech, design, and engineering.

Adam, who runs the Future Food Studio and has helped create immersive experiences like NYC’s Museum of Ice Cream, designs events that engage every sense. His philosophy aligns perfectly with ours: events shouldn’t just be seen—they should be felt, tasted, smelled, and remembered.

Recently, our team worked hand-in-hand with Adam to craft a signature corporate dinner in Ojai, California, designed to fully showcase the destination through all five senses. This wasn’t just about a killer menu. Every moment—from the lighting and soundscapes to textures, aromas, and visual storytelling—was designed to immerse guests in the legendary “Valley of the Moon.”

Multimodal Math: The Science of Sensory Design

The secret sauce behind Adam’s approach? A method he calls “multimodal math.” It’s all about understanding how our brains take in information from sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell—and turning that into a unified, unforgettable experience. Every detail, no matter how small, is designed to engage senses simultaneously, creating a memory guests carry long after the last bite.

Take, for instance, a welcome package waiting in each room. Its weight, the way it opens, the texture of its materials—these choices are crafted to make guests feel something subconsciously. No instructions required. When people interact with it, they remember. That’s how sensory experiences stick.

Smell, in particular, is a memory powerhouse. Tiny aromas travel through the olfactory system and hit memory centers faster than any other sense. Combine that with taste, touch, sight, and sound, and suddenly you’re not just attending a dinner—you’re inhabiting a story.

Food: The Original Social Network

Food is more than fuel. It’s the original social network. Sharing a meal connects people across boundaries—age, culture, background. The ingredients themselves carry stories. When you feed someone, you’re giving them a memory, a moment, an experience they’ll carry with them. It’s powerful, intimate, and, when done right, unforgettable.

Designing the Ojai “Valley of the Moon” Experience

Ojai is one of North America’s few east-to-west valleys, sometimes called a “spiritual vortex.” Its name in Chumash means “moon,” and that celestial theme guided the entire dinner. The event was built like a theatrical production, each course and moment tied to the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the valley.

The Pink Moment
Ojai’s famous sunset—the Pink Moment—became the bookends of the dinner, projected above guests inside a tent to simulate the sky lighting the Topa Topa Mountains. The effect captures the passage of 24 hours in the valley, grounding the experience in the destination itself.

Tide Pool on a Plate
Originally, the first course mirrored the nearby Santa Barbara coastline. Tables were 3D modeled after the shoreline, complete with tide pools. As the “water” receded, guests discovered whelks, edible seaweed, and local seafood—an edible topography connecting them to the environment. (Dietary constraints eventually inspired a creative tweak, but the concept demonstrates how deeply the senses were considered.)

Dessert as Grand Finale
The evening closed with a canopy simulating the night sky, the scent and crackle of a campfire, and gooey, perfectly toasted s’mores. The Pink Moment made a final encore, completing the 24-hour thematic cycle. Guests left with full bellies, glowing senses, and memories anchored in sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

At Cohera, this is exactly the kind of design we live for: experiences that go beyond “interactive” to create lasting, sensory-driven memories. In Ojai, every detail—from tactile welcome packages to sky-simulating tents—proved that when you design around all five senses, corporate events aren’t just attended—they’re inhabited.