One of my favorite authors, Michael Ruhlman, takes a moment in one of his books to wittily criticize those that think that cooking is an art. He believes that it is a craft, not an art. Trivial? Not in my little world, I guess. This got me thinking.
Art defined: the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.
I’ve spent a lot of years believing that art involved something else – integrity. You can write a song, paint a painting, or prepare a dish without any intention of artistic endeavour. I could write a silly song for fun, but I wouldn’t call it art. I could paint a stripe and it’s technically a painting, but would express jack squat.
I think art requires you create something leaving nothing on the table. You have to put everything you have into it. It has to be genuine. I think many chefs would believe they’d accomplished that a time or two.