Unit 4: Food As Art
October 23, 2013
This discussion about whether food is art or not is actually quite ironic. If you were to ask me whether food is an art four years ago I would have told you no. But for the last for years I have had the pleasure of working with two cooks who specialize in fine dining. Both of these cooks (who are also friends) worked with me at separate times on a commercial fishing boat up in Alaska and both worked together at the best restaurant in the nation, Eleven Madison Park. If I never crossed paths with them then I would still regard fine dining as expensive restaurants with tiny portions. But both of them opened my eyes to the fact that food and the process of making the food is a form of art. I will explain why.
First lets remember the notion that art can take on many forms. For example, art can be a painting, art a sculpture, or even screen prints made from ink and the list doesn’t stop there. If you have ever been to an art museum you’ll notice that the entire museum is filled with a wide array of art, never just one form such as painting. Therefore we know art can take on many forms. Now lets discuss what classifies something as art. In the reading “What is Art For?”, Ellen Dissanayake states that art is “palaeoanthropsychobiological” (pg.1). The third term in this adjective, “psycho”, suggests that art provokes emotional and psychological responses when viewed. Well I have to say, the meals that were cooked for us on the boat were presented in such a way that you almost didn’t even want to eat it, the meal was put together so beautifully. According to what protein was being used for the dish (fish, poultry, or meat) they would compliment it with sides that went together with it perfectly in terms of taste and color. They would also intentionally place each side and protein in a certain manner that was aesthetically pleasing, tasty on the eyes. But a line has to be drawn to at which point food is art or whether it is just food. To me food is art when the cook has made the meal with passion and heart to not only have it taste great but portioned and put together in a way that makes it aesthetically pleasing. Therefore I consider fine dining art and your standard meal from a basic restaurant food. So therefore food can be art but is not always.
Article: “Art As Food”
Here is a picture of one of the many dishes we’ve eaten for dinner for the past four Summers:
One of the many meals that we’ve eaten for the past four summers, aka Art
One Response to “Unit 4: Food As Art”
October 24th, 2013 at 2:13 pm
Sean,
You are making me hungry after reading your post! That picture you posted looks incredible. I also believe that food can be considered art, but there needs to be restrictions. After seeing the fast food presentation there is no way that I consider that an art form. However, when food is crafted in such a delicate and aesthetically pleasing way, then that is definitely considered art. Do you feel that the individual eating the food also has a role in whether food is considered an art form or is it just the role of the chef? Such as in Telfer’s article Food as Art she states, “a cook who has cooked a work of art is not satisfied if the eaters do not notice what they eat” (14). I also think this has an important part to judging whether food is art because it is important if the individuals are also engaged in the process or else it food just be another typical meal to satisfy one’s hunger.