Food as Art

To receive an “A” for each paper, simply do the following:   1.   Write no less than four paragraphs, no more than six 2.   Paragraph 1 – Thesis Statement…hmmmm, scratch that……write what you                        want, how you want…..a single page should do it 3.   Do absolutely no research, sit down with a cup of tea or adult beverage of                        choice, and let your mind wonder 4.   Be positive, dig deep, and express yourself as only you can…I’d love to see                        your personality in ink 5.   Make me giggle to myself at least once from something you wrote 6.   Turn it in on time   OK, simple enough?            Creative Writing Assignment I:  Food as Art   Viewing food as art, is not new.  We all know people eat with their eyes, and if your entree doesn’t look good, it probably won’t taste good….at least initially.  Therefore, chefs know that food product presentation, no matter what you are serving, can be as important as the taste of the dish itself.  Contemporary Cuisine , takes food presentation to a whole new level, an artistic level.  The “art” of breaking down a dish into its individual parts has been around for many years, and it is slowly leeching into more mainstream diets. You see it most commonly on cooking shows as the “deconstructed” forms of popular meals. For example, a deconstructed lasagna might consist of tomato soup, cheese curds, and tiny pieces of pasta- it’s all the components that make up a lasagna, separated and presented on their own.     But should food look like a Jackson Pollack painting?                           There are definitely similarities between the two, I’d just rather eat the one on the right however.  Food product deconstruction is a common theme in plating contemporary cuisine, the goal of which is explicitly artistic design.  For this first writing assignment, I’d like to therefore tap into your artistic mind.     I’d like you, in written form, to create the “Contemporary Cuisine Recipe” of your life (has my instructor lost his mind)?  Before you think I’m nuts, let me explain what this means.  Consider this!  If your life and your personality could be represented by a single “contemporary cuisine deconstructed” plate presentation, what would it look like?  What ingredients would be represented and why?  What kind of clientele might gravitate to your recipe?  What would your dish be called?  Would it be spicy, savory, smoky, sweet, etc ….. have bold or more neutral colors, be served cold, hot, or at room temperature?  What elements of this dish reflect your personality, or perhaps represents your life.  In other words, use the “recipe” as a metaphor for your character and personality.  This assignment answers the question to the statement you’ve heard on every episode of Hell’s Kitchen…….”It’s me on a plate chef!”  Now, creatively, explain to me why and how.