What did you eat last night for dinner?

[edinatlanta]



I agree with both Matt and SH. In fact, I'll copy/paste sentences together: Spending a moderate time on making something look nice is worth it, but there is only so much that can be done to make it a better plate of food before it becomes contrived spectacle and I simply look at it and see a victim of creative ego.

This is no different from any other art.

It should also be noted that my view of food is that at the end of the day, when we eat, we are saying "we don't want to die" (to put it really really bluntly) so when I extol the virtues of visually pleasing food, I think that that outlook needs to be considered as well. FWIW.

 

[itsstillmatt]



This is no different from any other art.
It should also be noted that my view of food is that at the end of the day, when we eat, we are saying "we don't want to die" (to put it really really bluntly) so when I extol the virtues of visually pleasing food, I think that that outlook needs to be considered as well. FWIW.

It's not art, or if it is, it is closer to printmaking than anything else. Actually, it is probably closest to building model boats or airplanes or whatever. NTTAWWT.

 

[edinatlanta]



It's not art, or if it is, it is closer to printmaking than anything else. Actually, it is probably closest to building model boats or airplanes or whatever. NTTAWWT.

whatever you want to call it, there is a fine line between plating something beautifully and making it a display of ego, just like with writing, painting, sculpture, architecture, anything else creative or artistic.

 

[Piobaire]

SH is just repping the extreme opposite side of the fetish some folks have over food. Neither is capturing the meat (see what I did there?) of the issue.

Nice looking food adds appeal. A certain amount of novelty or inventiveness in presentation is pleasing.

When I dined at The Mansion, I used my trusty Canon S95 (very tiny, very fast lens so no flash) and I do not think it was distracting to my fellow tablemates and I doubt if anyone at another table noticed. Now, when we did some group pictures, and other tables did some group pictures...that gets noticed.

Dining out is a social occasion. When appreciating the food adds to the social climate at the table, how can this be wrong?

 

[mgm9128]



It's like watching a movie and becoming distracted by the CGI to the point where you stop thinking about the plot and suddenly start wondering how the director made some effect that contributes absolutely nothing to the film but proof that the director is good with CGI. Or it's like reading a book and thinking "Wow, this author has tremendous vocabulary!" when he uses some needlessly obscure adjective that is way outside the lexicon of the reader and a redundant version of one already within it. It's just stupid.

I understand. But this is simply something I am doing on my own. I am not a professional, nor do I plan to be. I simply enjoy cooking and plating food. Whether one finds it visually appealing or not is totally subjective.

 

[mgm9128]



I do think that you tend to miss some of the broader points with food, as evidenced with this post.

And what are the "broader points" I miss?

 

[itsstillmatt]

You'll learn on your own. Things can only be repeated so many times.

 

[Manton]



I understand. But this is simply something I am doing on my own. I am not a professional, nor do I plan to be. I simply enjoy cooking and plating food. Whether one finds it visually appealing or not is totally subjective.

It's not totally subjective. It's more subjective than, say, math but to suggest that there are no standards or frames of reference is wrong.

 

[mordecai]

Stephen, make some little plans?

 

[mgm9128]



It's not totally subjective. It's more subjective than, say, math but to suggest that there are no standards or frames of reference is wrong.

I think the idea of what creates a successful plate varies. My point is that, even when done under some frame of reference, people will have preferences.

The duck, for example. The first plate, some liked, some didn't. The second plate was preferred by a few, and not by others. But both plates were pretty much done under the same basic standards: protein, vegetables, sauce, negative space, contrasting elements, etc. And both tasted pretty similar. Just different styles.

In the end, I think it really comes down to how one would rather have their food presented in front of them, and how one prefers to eat, overall.

 

[foodguy]

i think of cooking as a craft, not an art, in that there is a useful intent behind it. that said, crafts have always been ornamented for aesthetic reasons and at the same time, the absence of ornamentation is appreciated as well. it's like the difference between a chez panisse salad (craftsman aesthetic: stripped down so the elements are the art) or one of matt's or mgm's salads, which are more like french modernist furniture ... extremely self-conscious and somewhat whimsical, but hopefully still delicious. i find the whole "but it's just food" argument to be really ridiculous, particularly on a fashion forum. you might as well say that a kirkland fleece jacket will keep you just as warm.
and as for subjective/objective ... when you have had dinner at a great restaurant with two great chefs who can't agree on whether they love or hate the same dish ... i think that argues for the subjectivity of taste.

 

[itsstillmatt]



i think of cooking as a craft, not an art, in that there is a useful intent behind it. that said, crafts have always been ornamented for aesthetic reasons and at the same time, the absence of ornamentation is appreciated as well. it's like the difference between a chez panisse salad (craftsman aesthetic: stripped down so the elements are the art) or one of matt's or mgm's salads, which are more like french modernist furniture ... extremely self-conscious and somewhat whimsical, but hopefully still delicious. i find the whole "but it's just food" argument to be really ridiculous, particularly on a fashion forum. you might as well say that a kirkland fleece jacket will keep you just as warm.
and as for subjective/objective ... when you have had dinner at a great restaurant with two great chefs who can't agree on whether they love or hate the same dish ... i think that argues for the subjectivity of taste.

Please don't compare my "salads" with mgm's "salads." I do know what you are saying, but I honestly think the intent is completely different, but perhaps I am kidding myself. If I had to mark them, I would mark them traditional, minimalist and ornamented.

 

[foodguy]



Please don't compare my "salads" with mgm's "salads." I do know what you are saying, but I honestly think the intent is completely different, but perhaps I am kidding myself.

sorry dude. give either of you a mandoline and trouble will ensue.

 

[CouttsClient]



i think of cooking as a craft, not an art, in that there is a useful intent behind it. that said, crafts have always been ornamented for aesthetic reasons and at the same time, the absence of ornamentation is appreciated as well. it's like the difference between a chez panisse salad (craftsman aesthetic: stripped down so the elements are the art) or one of matt's or mgm's salads, which are more like french modernist furniture ... extremely self-conscious and somewhat whimsical, but hopefully still delicious. i find the whole "but it's just food" argument to be really ridiculous, particularly on a fashion forum. you might as well say that a kirkland fleece jacket will keep you just as warm.
and as for subjective/objective ... when you have had dinner at a great restaurant with two great chefs who can't agree on whether they love or hate the same dish ... i think that argues for the subjectivity of taste.

Pains me that I know what the Kirkland brand is.

I was staying at a hotel in Beverly Hills and went to the gift shop to buy a white tshirt. $30. I was SO happy with the quality and kept saying to my friend how nice it was and how I needed a whole closet of them. He took a look at the label and said... "Kirkland. That **** is from Costco and probably costs $4"

So yeah...subjective

 

[Manton]



and as for subjective/objective ... when you have had dinner at a great restaurant with two great chefs who can't agree on whether they love or hate the same dish ... i think that argues for the subjectivity of taste.

"But if we cannot decide which of two mountains whose peaks are hidden by clouds is higher than the other, cannot we decide that a mountain is higher than a molehill?"