Dining is a social activity, yet human–computer interaction (HCI) research has rarely examined how extended reality (XR) headsets shape shared restaurant experiences. Although XR can augment taste perception, headsets also obscure facial expressions – particularly pertinent when only some diners wear them. We identify an opportunity to make a wearer’s biodata socially visible via an outward-facing display on the headset to facilitate novel social dining experiences with XR. To explore this, we designed E.A.T. (Expressive Augmented Togetherness), a novel XR dining system that combines food augmentation with external displays depicting physiological arousal and pupil movement to facilitate social interactions. Through interviews following a restaurant field study with five groups of three diners, we examined how the system influenced taste perception and social interactions. We identify six design considerations for socially legible XR systems for dining, ultimately, aiming to inform how HCI can better support social dining experiences.

Sounds play a crucial role in shaping dining experiences. Recently, designers have increasingly integrated them into interfaces that connect diners with food. Yet, little is known about how sounds can function as culinary materials to enrich chefs’ creativity, particularly in creating meaningful auditory interactions that resonate with their culinary creations. Hence, we present GastroConcerto, an auditory dining system that combines a magnetic contact microphone equipped under the plate with a companion mobile application. This system delves into the interactive space between diners and their food to introduce a novel interactive mechanism of dining–sound pairing, enabling chefs to design specific auditory interactions that respond to diners’ individual interactions with the food on dining containers. Through a within-subjects study and field deployment, we examined how GastroConcerto enriches chefs’ creative practices in crafting "sonic dish" experiences. Ultimately, our goal is to shift the ownership of auditory interaction design from interface designers to chefs, thereby supporting their culinary creativity.

Drinking is an inherently multisensory activity, yet the potential of immersive technology to dynamically shape flavor experiences remains underexplored in Human-Food Interaction (HFI) research. We introduce “XTea”, an adaptive beverage cup-based system that integrates large language models to translate natural language input into modifications of a parameterized immersive environment experienced through a headset when drinking bubble tea. Through a study with 12 bubble tea enthusiasts, we derived themes that demonstrate how “XTea” can enrich sensory engagement, support personalized and agentic experiences, and foster social qualities of drinking, pointing toward new explorations for multisensory HFI design. We also present four design strategies for multisensory beverage experiences. Ultimately, we aim to contribute to the advancement of HFI research on how multisensory interaction design can enrich flavor perception and engagement.