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Do Diners Want Authenticity or Flavor?
Joyce Goldstein, San Francisco chef and author of one of my favorite cookbooks, launched a rant last week that seemed to sum up the current state of (some) restaurant cuisine. About a recent dining...
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Is Cooking an Art or Craft?
In his wonderfully eccentric cookbook Eat Me, New York chef Kenny Shopsin writes: I think the difference between art and craft is that in craft you care what the person consuming your product thinks....
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Can American Chefs Compete?
The U.S. is the home of countless “reality-show” cooking competitions—Top Chef, Iron Chef, Hell’s Kitchen, Chopped, etc. But when it comes to the real thing. Eh, not so good. Bocuse d’Or, a biennial...
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A Dumb Debate about Cooking as Art
I took exception to Corby Kummer’s attack on tasting menus and chefs as artists last month. Food writer Michael Ruhlman also pushed back: I get hysterical over a lot of things, but the tasting menu...
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10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Be a Picky Eater
Here is a bit of conventional wisdom: Each of us is an expert on what we like and picky eaters are not at fault for their fussy attitude. If I hate sushi, I haven’t made a mistake or committed a...
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A Chef’s Mythology
Usually when chefs talk about their “philosophy”, it amounts to a few platitudes about using fresh ingredients or locally-sourced ingredients—admirable and tasty but calling it a “philosophy” is a bit...
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Food, Art, and Meaning
Critics of the idea that food can be art claim that flavors are not about anything—they don’t tell stories or give insight. Thus, food lacks the intellectual credentials to be a genuine art form. I...
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Populist Gastronomy?
Is fine cuisine worth its exorbitant price? Sometimes, although price can be an unreliable indicator of quality. But when I have had the opportunity to indulge in high-end dining, I’m struck by how...
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Wine and Cuisine: Craft or Art?
In his wonderfully eccentric cookbook Eat Me, now deceased New York chef Kenny Shopsin wrote: I think the difference between art and craft is that in craft you care what the person consuming your...
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Living For the Moment
The experience of food (and wine) is remarkable for how it compresses time in the spectacle of the moment. It begins with the soil being cultivated and fertilized, the seeds planted, nurtured,...
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