Culinary Art On The Other Hand example essay topic

Buffet catering emerged as result of foreign and local diners' demand for good meals commensurate to what they have to pay. Sumptuous meals has come to mean delectable not only to the taste but also to the eyes. Thus artistic food garnishes and elaborate table settings was introduced. This allowed the chef's artistic talents to flourish. Today we can only be amazed by the beauty, simplicity and aesthetic nature of their decorative work. Filipino chefs and food enthusiasts adapted the genius of their foreign counterparts and at the same time came up with their own unique artistry employing indigenous materials. (such as banana leaves, anaha w leaves, bamboo tubes, etc) Visual excitement can enhance the dining experience.

Culinary art is perhaps more profound an art form than drawing, painting sculpture, ballet, or opera. A drawing or painting is seen, an opera seen and heard, a sculpture seen and touched, a symphony heard. Culinary art is perceived very differently. The viewer - or, should I say, the diner - not only sees the artful creation, he also smells it, tastes it feel its texture, and in some cases hears it (as with a sizzling steak or a bubbling fondue). All five senses are involved in the act of eating. What more comprehensive sensory experience can there be?

Shouldn't this ensure its proper place among the great arts of humankind? The primary difference between recognized art pursuits and the culinary arts is the ultimate destiny of the medium. The "art" produced in a kitchen is the most transient of any. Within a few days, and sometimes only a few hours, every culinary creation falls under the scrutiny of a hungry individual, who with tools in hand, proceeds to demolish the "art". No other art undergoes such a transformation. True, symphonies, operas and ballets are transient, even abstract in nature.

But these performing arts are now preserved on tape, record, or videos, and then enjoyed over and over again in that form. Drawings, paintings and sculptures may last for centuries. Culinary art, on the other hand, is never savored again. Recognizing this transience, and thinking a way to accommodate it, is a significant step in the development of culinary skills and in the search for the art in food. The chef as an artist like most artists look forward to enjoying their creations over and over again, the total destruction of each creative work threatened to foster an eternal dilemma. Imagine each magnificent buffet platter, every entr " ee, souffl'e, torte, tart, and p^at'e - each one an intensely beautiful picture, a harmonious blend of texture, color, bouquet and taste painstakingly created by the chef-artiste - suddenly gone forever.

Imagine each labor of love destined to disappear, with no chance for future appreciation. Every chef or culinary artist therefore had to resolve this dilemma before he could continue his pursuit of the "art" in culinary arts. They had to protect themselves from the danger of becoming emotionally drained and depressed by the transience of the food medium. The solution to this is twofold: He must cultivate a detachment from the finished work. He may be intimately engrossed to his work until its completion - then they go their separate ways and he moves on to bigger and better things. When the dish leaves the kitchen he puts it out of his mind and turn his attention to other works, other menus, and other kitchen-related duties.

He does not make the assumption that he will always receive positive feedback as a result of his work. Any accolades would be icing on the cake, a bonus. And that bonus - the word of gratitude, the invitation to join a table of guests for an after-dinner cordial - is sufficient feedback to keep his creative fires burning. And it is that much more satisfying if it is unexpected. The culinary artist thinks of himself as an invisible wizard, one who could thrill the eyes, ears, nose, hands, and heart of an unsuspecting recipient, inside of whom his handiwork would be transformed into new flesh, blood, and body cells. If the power and seduction of his efforts were successful, then that brief event in the life of the diner would be a memorable one.

That meal could well lift the spirits and soothe the troubled heart of a recipient. All this, at least, projected some solace into his oh-so-fragile art. Exploring this transience, and discovering a way to shield himself from the hazards inherent in that transience and help him shape his conclusion about the "art" in culinary arts. Art must come to fruition for art's sake alone. The artist seeks to express some part of his emotional self through his work. Those who see his work will feel that emotional message, which will in turn ignite emotional responses in them.

There is no need to be a painter, sculptor, singer, or dancer in order to be moved by a powerful drawing, a heartrending song, or a classical ballet. The chef's Boeuf braise 'a la mode Parisienne, avec Pomme's r isol " ees - as magnificent as it may be - can be only meat and potatoes to a hungry restaurant patron. Where is the art when someone is hungry and just wants a plate of hot food? "Is it art? The chef - or, to sound even more professional, the cuisinier - is primarily a craftsperson. A carpenter can construct a wooden house frame with mathematical precision and exquisitely fashioned dovetailed joints, but the house frame is only a support structure destined to be covered by roofing and siding.

The carpenter can be very artful in the way he assembles that house frame, and he can even perceive himself as an artist, but his contribution, in the most basic sense, is shelter. Do the residents of that house think about the "art" in a part of it that they never see? In the same way, a chef or a cuisinier, though perceiving himself or herself as an artist, may be only rarely appreciated as such. The chef remains a craftsperson, albeit at times a very artful one within that craft. But the transience of the medium and the basic need to consume food will always prevent a chef from attaining permanent and full-time status as an artist.

Culinary arts expresses the chef's passion for exposing his guests to the power, charm, and beauty that exist in food. All his creation or master pieces have been tested in the pressure-packed environment that often exists in the kitchen. This means that all can be produced within the rhythms of the kitchen in order to embellish a plate or platter of food and to make that presentation a pleasure to behold. That people eat with their eyes first is a significant axiom in this craft.

The first glance at a plate of food initiates the flow of gastric juices and is an important prerequisite to the enjoyment of the dish. If it looks good, it usually follows that it will taste good..