According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), art “nourishes the creativity, innovation and cultural diversity of all peoples of the world, and plays an important role in the exchange of knowledge and the promotion of interest and dialogue.”
For this reason, World Art Day is celebrated every April 15, but what does it have to do with gastronomy? For many, this discipline is a form of artistic, authorial, cultural and social expression that begins, like everything else, with the interpretation of the senses. And who doesn’t think that with a scent you can remember places, times, feelings and people? Listening to a song, watching a movie or appreciating an art painting is the same as trying a special dish.
Read also: Interview with Alan Carias: the storyteller chef of the Riviera Maya
World Art Day. “Basket with Fruits”, by Caravaggio.
This phrase comes from an essay published by the Institute of Philosophical Research of UNAM (IIF), it puts the question on the table: How is it possible that the world of cooking is not the subject of philosophical discussions around art? One of the theses is in the use of the five senses.
The essay proposes the differentiation between eating to nourish oneself, biologically speaking, and gastronomic eating to taste. To better exemplify: we use the sense of sight to see the environment, move around the city, carry out our activities; but we also watch movies that we analyze or see paintings that we enjoy in a museum. The same happens with the sense of taste and smell: an “aesthetic pleasure” develops, as the IIF explains.
The Cocina Futuro organization also explains it: “Gastronomic art is born at the moment in which all aspects of food perceptible to the senses are interpreted as […] artistic creation. Food is freed from its most immediate and material aspects: it is no longer a necessity, it is no longer a means to nourish ourselves. It has been transformed into a vehicle of sensations, a direct expression of the artist who created and manipulated it.” It is precisely the cultural relationship with the ingredient of the cook.
Read also: 5 traditional cuisines to discover this weekend
Traditional Cooks from Michoacán win the Gourmet Excellence category at Fitur. Photo: Visit Michoacán
This is how the artistic appreciation of cooking is born. María Luisa Safont Molinero explained in her essay Art and Gastronomy “When you enter the kitchen, and you are inspired, there is an approach like the artist. [pintor] in his workshop. Each condiment, each utensil, has its specific function and, in turn, each dish is subject to certain measurements and times.”
The passion for cooking was born since humans discovered the use of fire. Thus, as in other artistic disciplines, the history of a culture and its worldview are told through what they ate and how and with what they did it. The Pan American University explains it:
“Chefs combine flavors and textures, presenting dishes with a visually attractive style. A mixture of aromas and colors that stimulates our senses and invites us to explore new gastronomic horizons.”
Read also: What is the purpose of curing a clay pot?
Wagyu Migrant Experience. Photo: Courtesy
This is how photos of dishes revolutionize social networks day by day, as if you shared the photo of the Mona Lisa on Instagram. There is an exchange of traditions in fusion cuisine, there are tastings in hundreds of food restaurants from a specific country.
But there is also inspiration in the kitchen. Mixologists create drinks inspired by songs, cooks create dishes that remind them of their family, chefs develop menus from their country of origin that recall their home. Each one is a form of personal, cultural and social expression.
Adriana Amezcua explains it in Food as an Object of Art, “culinary creativity shows us that food is much more than a simple physiological need; It is an opportunity to express emotions, cultural values and experience new flavors and textures.” For this reason, cooking should be considered a true art.
Read also: Manta, chef Enrique Olvera’s restaurant in Los Cabos
Photo: Alan Nájera / El Universal
- Gastronomy: covers the study of food and its relationship with culture. It focuses on the connection between people, their history and food. It comes from the Greek “stomach” and “knowledge.” As well as the set of culinary techniques of a place.
- Culinary art: focuses much more on how food is made, the reason for its preparation and its cultural origin; It seeks to express in a creative and original way the artistic ideas of a culture. Respecting the flavor, traditional techniques and rituals that can transport the diner to that specific region or time.
Receive Hello Weekend every Friday, our newsletter with the latest in gastronomy, travel, technology, cars, fashion and beauty. Subscribe here:
