How to train your tastebuds to like all food

Heston Blumenthal, the owner of three-Michelin-starred restaurant The Fat Duck, at Bray in Berkshire, said memory played an important role in which foods people preferred.

Blumenthal lamented many consumers' lack of confidence when it comes to eating new things. "This is especially sad because you can actually teach yourself to like any food."

Giving the example of pickled gherkins, he explained: "What you do is you have just one bite of gherkin every single day for a month. Don't have the whole thing, just a little taste each day. At the end of the month, leave it a week then try a bite again.

"I guarantee you'll dislike it a lot less than when you started and, quite often, you will think 'yes, I do like that now'."