As Tefler mentions, “Work of art is by definition a man-made thing, even if the human involvement need consist of no more than putting a natural object in a gallery and giving it a title”(12). With the progress of the society, people’s pursuit for art has been very different. Art is not only an artwork; it can also reflect a kind of attitude of people’s life. Art exists in various forms, it is not only limited to works of art; art exists in culture, music, movies, nature, clothing and so on.
Next, let’s take food as an example, shall we consider food as art? Personally, I think foods can be considered as art. Food is not only maintains our survival, but also be used to create stunning art. Recently, I read an article called “From bento to chocolate: 10 delicious examples of food art” by marc. In this article, the author mainly focus on simple foods can be turned into art. And then the author lists ten examples of food art, bento boxes, chocolate portraits, sushi, meat, toast and so on.
As marc said “ Lunch is no longer a joyful time to cherish, but a disappointing time spent in front of a microwave. Not everyone has succumbed to this despair, however, and a lot of people are compensating for smaller, healthier, portions, with beautiful aesthetics.” According what marc mentions, we can know that, people has changed the aesthetic of art, they began to care about food aesthetic. For example, Marc shows chocolate portraits. Artists use chocolate to create artworks, and which is eye-catching and creative. People not just for eat the chocolate; they also wanna to appreciates the beauty of the chocolate. In Easter, people make chocolate egg shape, with a layer of exquisite packaging. In Christmas, people use chocolate to make Christmas trees, and gingerbread house made with biscuits etc. Thus, why food is not an art?
When we choose a fancy restaurant for dinner, store services and decoration can be called a kind of enjoyment. However, this enjoyment is set for food. In this type restaurant, chef is very care about the selection of ingredients, the collocation of color and so on. Also chef cares about the details of the food, like dishes with proper decoration. The process of cooking, as if the artist in the creation of a work of art. Furthermore, as Tefler states “It is generally agreed that there can be aesthetic reactions to tastes and smells (11)”. For example, cream brulee with ice cream. The desert is melt in mouth, with vanilla smell, and without too many sugar, which is health and tasty.
Moreover, in recent years, some restaurant offers a molecular gastronomy. It’s a new cooking method that combines creation of art and features of food together. Chef adds different materials during the cooking process, and after a short time, the food will change its physical or chemical properties. It’s a subversion of the traditional cooking method. For example, chef use chocolate and cocoa power to make cigarettes and soot respectively. If people do not know that it is molecular cuisine, then they must think this is real cigarette. It’s pretty similar as Tefler’s opinion, “We can distinguish liking the taste and smell of food from approving of it instrumentally on the grounds that is nourishing, fashionable…..(11)”. Thus, sometimes food brings a sense of visual enjoyment to people; it’s one of the arts.
However, some people think food should not be treat as art. As Tefler said,“The first argument against food and drink as works of art in the evaluative sense concerns the usefulness of food and drink: it might be claimed that nothing useful deserves to count as a work of art (18)”. By looking at this point, I do not think this argument is complete truly. Maybe, someone think, the historic building is a useful art. Because people could visit there and to appreciate it. But food is just for human basic needs. To be honest, I am a little agree with this opinion, but just for fast foods. The common fast foods are like burger, carbonated beverage with too much sugar and fats, and without nutrition. But let’s consider the foods that I mentions previously, those foods are smells and tasty, and with creation. So I think most slow foods could be treat as art.
To sum up, with the change of time, the food has been more than just a food. Cooks treat food as art, and people began to enjoy the fun that the food brings to us. That’s one of the art form.

Marc. Urbanist. [Web]. Retrieved:http://weburbanist.com/2010/05/04/bento
-chocolate-and-jesus-10-intriguing-examples-of-food-art/

Tefler, E. (2002). Food as Art. In Neill, A. & Riley, A. (eds.) Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2nd ed., Chap. 2). New York, NY: Routledge.