Why Culinary is an Art and a Science.

We easily refer to culinary as an art or science without understanding what makes it an art and a science.

In this article, we answer questions related to whether culinary is an art and a science or not and if it is an art, what then is the role of art in cooking.

If you have wondered about questions like this, this article is for you.

What makes culinary an art?

Culinary is an art because the culinarian purposely expresses their technical culinary skill with individual creativity and imagination to craft food meant to fulfil a basic human need but artistically arranged on a plate to be appreciated for its visual beauty, aroma, texture, and ultimately taste.

Culinary is more than visual art. The entire food-making process is an art, from the preparation of, for example, vegetables that must look and not only taste good to the cooking of food with technical skill and the final arrangement that must appease the sense of sight, smell, touch and taste.

Why culinary is an art and a science?

Culinary is an art and science as chemical processes occur when heat is applied to food, altering its structure, texture, aroma and taste. The skilled food artist knows what method to use, like dry or moist cooking, to prep food to the desired look, feel and taste, then style it artfully for eating.

Furthermore:

Culinary is an art and a science because in the culinary arena, science and art blend. The culinary artist knows, for example, that hard fat melted when heat is applied carries flavours but also gives food the visual appeal of looking moist.

In the culinary art profession, cooking is more than following a recipe: it is knowing and understanding the precise science of cooking.

In practising their art, the culinary artist understands how to prepare a dish and why it is best done in a particular way.

For example, the culinary artist knows it’s best to allow a protein food like a roasted chicken time to cool off after cooking and before eating. This will enable it to regain some of the moisture that was lost during the cooking process due to the denaturing of the proteins that occur when heat is applied in the cooking process.

The denaturing process results in the proteins binding together into solid clumps that retain water, a coagulation process. Some moisture is released when cooling off, resulting in a moist and tasty roast.

Why is art important in culinary?

There are several reasons why art is essential in culinary.

Art in culinary:

1. Provides a creative outlet for the culinarian.

What keeps a culinarian stimulated in their profession is combining their passion for food with coming up with new food creations. Doing this is encouraging and an expression of their creativity.

They are constantly experimenting with new and old food ingredients and flavours and ultimately creating new designs for plating and presenting food.

The culinarian finds expression for their creativity in the food-making process: the choice of food ingredients and assessing their quality; the preparation of these using their skill and experience with basic and advanced food-making techniques that culminate in the final creation.

Without this opportunity to express their creativity, many culinarians would not find fulfilment in their careers.

2. Brings personal satisfaction to the food artist.

Culinarians experience satisfaction not only from a job well done but from the satisfaction others experiences when enjoying a satisfying meal.

It is all the more personally gratifying when this meal is a new design that the culinarian has created after much trial and error and is a success amongst patrons as it is not only visually appealing but its taste and smell, and texture appeal to all the senses and reflects the chef’s skill and technique in the preparation and presentation of the meal.

For a true chef, this is a job well done.

3. Helps the culinarian perfect their culinary skills.

Just like the artist takes several years to master their skill, culinarians know that they need time and practice to learn all there is to know to become truly remarkable in their art of food making.

4. Enhances the overall food-eating experience.

People gather around food to celebrate special occasions or enjoy each other’s company. Creating food that looks visually tasty, smells and tastes good adds to the enjoyment of the experience of enjoying the company of friends and family around a beautiful meal.

5. Adds to the aesthetic value of celebrations and events.

Art in food adds to the splendour of celebrations like weddings, birthdays, graduations or anniversaries.

A beautifully decorated wedding or birthday cake on display marks the event’s significance and adds to the décor. It can be enjoyed not only for its beauty but also for its taste.

Art in culinary is so vital that big chain hotels use kitchen artists in their restaurants to create elaborate food art masterpieces from chocolate or fruit to enhance the aesthetic beauty of buffet tables or food stations.

6. Reflects changes in food trends.

With the present global awareness of eating healthier, culinarians adapt to the changing needs of patrons by creating new meals and food products that are healthier, still visually appealing, and tasty.

Restaurant menus reflect these changes by, for example, creating appetising meals that appeal to the vegan population or offering more nutritious choices for people who need to consume gluten-free food or are watching their diets and who’d like healthier but tasty meal choices on menus.

7. Reflects changes in societal values.

As consumers become more aware of the urgency for sustainable food practices, these value changes are reflected in culinary artists’ food creations. New food ingredients, locally and sustainably grown, are increasingly used to create fresh meals and menus.

Societal moves to be more accommodating and tolerant of diversity are also reflected in the new meals and food products that culinarians are constantly creating to accommodate not only vegans and gluten-free consumers but also people who have specific dietary requirements based on their religious beliefs.

8. Allows for the search for new meal ingredients.

As culinarians are stimulated by coming up with new food designs, they are always looking for fresh food ingredients to do this. A food forager may, for example, discover a new edible food product that can be used by a chef to create a new meal concept or added to enhance an old recipe.

9. Pushes the boundaries of art in food.

The boundaries are constantly shifting with a move to explore and come up with new aesthetic food creations. For example, we now have cakes that are visually striking and made to look like natural life objects.

10. It is representative of history, culture and traditions.

The art of food carries great symbolic traditions. The food eaten within a country or region represents its history and the origins of its people, culture and blending.

In South Africa, for example:

Bobotie, a traditional South African oven-baked dish made with a minced meat curry and an egg and milk custard topping, was brought to South Africa through the blending of eastern and western cultures when the Dutch came to South Africa and later bringing Malay speaking enslaved people to work in their homes and especially in the kitchens.

The Malays brought their cooking traditions and adapted them to local conditions, blending their spices with the traditional settler recipes, resulting in different food flavours.

The Dutch, learning about the Khoisan’s wild edible herbs and plants, included these in their stews.

The niche of one restaurant in Franschoek in the Western Cape region of South Africa is to grow and include some of the traditional food of the Khoisan, an indigenous group with historical roots in Southern Africa, into their local cuisine as a way of bringing cultures together around food. For example, plants like the num-num, called Natal wild plums, are used as ingredients to create new and contemporary meals.

11. It represents the environment of a region.

This is especially so when culinarians use food products that grow naturally within an area or country.

12. Challenges creativity to create food within limitations.

It is coming up with new ideas for meals within the boundaries of food cuisines of specific cultures and religions that challenges the culinarian’s innovation and creativity.

While it can be challenging when food needs to be created within the limitations of culture and belief, it can be an exciting challenge for the culinarian to stretch their innovative and creative abilities for making new and delicious food.

13. Challenges creativity to create food within limitations.