I believe food can be an art. I think that it is up to debate most definitely but it depends on the type of food being discussed. For instance, in my opinion, fine dining in which the plate is deliberately portioned and skillfully positioned to resemble the same thing in every dish is an art. Additionally, sushi is another example of artistic food. Each ingredient is specifically placed in the roll and then once cut displayed on the plate with the intent of being visually appealing. In the reading, Tefler writes, “The cook who creates such a recipe is a creative artist. A cook can also create recipes by producing variations on someone else’s recipe or on a traditional one, like a jazz composer arranging a standard tune or a classical composer arranging a folk song; cooks who do this are also creative artists” (Tefler 16). This I believe is very relevant to the comparison between art and food. This is because food can resemble art when it has been prepared with great care and attention to detail.
However, as addressed in the fast food presentation, McDonald’s is a prime example of this attention to detail being forgotten. It is clear with these types of fast food chains that chemicals and machinery replace the artisan nature of small batch, quality ingredient restaurant or homemade food. It instead is seen in a clinical manner and no longer has the sustenance to satisfy consumers even an hour after. As the video states, “What you eat defines you intrinsically.” Therefore, fast food eaters aren’t proud to eat that food instead it comes from convenience or price point. This in turn results in consumers shifting to a slow food movement diet instead. I see this as a very affective method of transitioning for many people.
Also, as written in the article by Dissanayake, “In a highly-specialized society like ours, the arts are also specialties and may exist for their own sake apart from ritual or any other purpose.” This illustrates a similar connection to the relation between art and food. It offers people the opportunity to appreciate their food more and understand how food can impact your nutrition. In the end, the importance of food being seen as an art in many ways I think is something society is not fully aware of but with correct implementation and decreased reliance on fast food, it could become a reality.
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3. https://youtu.be/VGCQ40d063Y
Sushi is a great example of food being art. Even though I don’t consider food to be an art form, the way food is displayed definitely can be. Especially when the sushi is displayed on a fancy dish with other garnishes surrounding it, there can be a sense of artistic style. But the sushi itself, while appealing, I wouldn’t call art.
The video about fast food was a great example of how people are losing touch with healthy, enjoyable food. Burger chains are ruining the idea of a backyard barbecue, and instead people just go to the closest place and get it in a matter of minutes. But unlike the mcdonalds or burger king, a home made burger tastes and feels so much more filling, with more flavor from the spices and the grill you use to cook it on. It’s a shame that it is becoming less common.
But I think that fast food is sort of a product of our extremely fast paced and busy lifestyles. If we had time to sit down and enjoy our meals every day, do you think fast food would be as popular as it is right now? I don’t think it would.
I appreciate your contrasting views and it provides me with very interesting insights on the opposing argument of the food vs. art comparison. I enjoyed your analysis of my fast food example. From your additions, I could go on to say that food is becoming more clinical and is losing more of its artistic qualities through the chemical and over processing of fast foods. McDonald’s Big Macs are not made with the same care and attention to detail that a handcrafted burger with special cheeses and natural grass fed beef. Additionally, I think it’s very true that fast food is a result of fast paced lifestyles; therefore, the importance of raising awareness of new efforts such as the slow food movement to refocus the appreciation for food is crucial for healthier and more realistic food consumption in the future. In the end, since fast paced lifestyles are causing a dependence on fast food, the artistic natures of food are slowly becoming an unrealistic expectation but I do not believe it is impossible to recapture with greater appreciation for higher quality food.
Well put. In my own response I argued that food is not art. I did go on to say that artistic desserts can be an exception but I failed to think of some of the points that you made. I will concede that sushi can be very artistic in the way it is presented. Spider rolls or dragon rolls often are made to look extremely similar to what they are called. Ultimately I would still argue that I find it difficult to classify food as an art, but with the quote you took from the reading I will say that that the creation of food can be artistic. On that same point however, I would argue that even though the creation of the plate can be artistic, it still lacks some of the key characteristics that we would use to define art. Primarily, I would say that food lacks a form of interpretation. I don’t feel that many consumers look at a plate of food and try to come up with an interpretation of what the chef was trying to say with the display of the plate. Ultimately I liked a lot of the points you made. I took the other side of the argument so reading a well written opposing argument helped establish a better understanding of the argument as a whole for me.
I agree with your point in the first paragraph about how when food is made with an artistic intent then it can be consider art. I also want to bring up the example you made about McDonald’s and how they replace artistic intent with chemicals and machinery. I think another way to look at this is that chains like McDonald’s or any type of mass produced food cannot be considered art because there is no artistic process that goes into making it. There need to be a type of creative process that speaks to what the creator is trying to express to their audience, whether that be through creating a new recipe that envokes a new taste or producing a tradtional dish that has a process that needs to be learned.