Culinary Artists? The Great Debate.

Enjoying food can be pure bliss. What besides the atmosphere and wine can create this? Culinary artists, or a craftsman using his or her trade? First of all let's research the definitions of art, craft and skill according to Webster's.

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Art: human creativity; skill acquired by study and experience; any craft and it's principles; the making of things that have form and beauty; any branch of this, as painting, sculptor, etc. (p/) creative and nonscientific branches of knowledge, esp. as studied academically.

Craft: manual skill, esp. in handiwork or the arts; a skilled trade; the members of a skilled trade.

Skill: (n) proficiency; expertness; dexterity; a developed aptitude or ability; a type of work or craft requiring specialist training.

So in saying that here are my views and opinions on the subject. I believe strongly it's an art, because in creation you show expression. Sculpting raw products or ingredients into something visually appealing and appetizing.

When a dish is created a certain amount of art and craftsmanship is involved. After a dish is cooked and plated to standards, it becomes repetition and more of a service.

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But the chef who learns and betters themselves while doing repetition is on top of the game. Chefs become chefs by learning, learning is evoked by practice. Practice is what makes any artist, skilled labourer or craftsman improve.

The want to keep learning is driven by passion and success. Passion for cooking creates: motivation and the aim to excel. Pure passion doesn't always make good food though.

A person just working for a living, who doesn't have passion, shows little art. Usually not using much artistic thought in their work, their actions reflect dollar amounts.

Sure not all restaurants can have full artistic freedom, but taking extra time to plan and pair foods is an art in itself.

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Menu planning, structure and general atmosphere reflects the chef's artistic imagination and value. Food pairing, menu balance and overall knowledge also reflect art.

The ability to create appealing dishes, takes skill, knowledge and self confidence. Cooking in any "classical" way takes skill and a bit of art.

Fusing styles is an expression of a chef's skill and art abilities. The culinary business is a hard job to stick with and make a career out of, but go strong and set goals.

In closing, every chef has their own opinions on this subject. Mine was expressed here based on my own knowledge and experiences.