Making the case for food as artMaking the case for food as art

Over the last 20 years in foodservice — a span that could reasonably be labeled The Rise of the Celebrity Chef — there has been no shortage of kitchen artisans and culinary aficionados who have proclaimed that food is art. But can something transient and consumable like food be called art?

A lot depends on how you define art. My favorite is, “The purpose of art is to reveal something hidden,” attributed to acting coach Uta Hagen. This statement alone makes a singular case for food as art, for what brings out the concealed flavor of one ingredient better than its appropriate pairing with another? And who but an artist could make that happen when many others before could not?

A human being’s three key needs are food, security and love, in th...