Food as Art

Food Glorious Food

 

My daughter, Kari Graves is a chef and has worked at some pretty swanky places, such as the Four Seasons, Scottsdale, Arizona, the Seelbach in Louisville, KY., Belterra Casino and countless smaller fine dining restaurants.  She graduated with a degree in culinary arts from Sullivan University in Louisville, KY.

When I asked her to be a guest poster, she was all on board,

so here is 

"The Beauty and Art of Food.

When she was about 5 we took all 4 children to the Beehive Tavern, in Augusta, KY., a fine dining restaurant in a very small town on the Ohio River.

Kari ordered chicken curry for dinner which she had never even heard of, it just sounded fun to her.

She helped finish off her brother's plate and my plate. 

She loved the carmel flan and chocolate mousse we had for dessert.

The next day we were walking down the street and she asked when we could go back to the Beehive.

I told her is was a pretty expensive night and we had to save it for very special occasions.

Then I asked "did you like it last night"?

Kari replied "They cook good".

I should have known then there was food in her future.

She currently lives in Nashville with her 4 year old son and she works for a high end day care who wanted a chef for their children.

She's loving it!

It just seems to have come full circle.

The fun behind eating great food is constructing really great and beautiful dishes. Every dish I eat or make I not only consider how it tastes but how it looks, the colors used, the textures. What are the elements of a great dish? What catches the eye of not only the consumer but the artist? Finding the balance is not only what makes a great dish but a great chef.

                When we go into a clothing store, grocery store, art gallery what draws our eye? Colors, balance, proportions, the same can be said for a beautiful plate of food.  As cooks we want our food to taste wonderful.  It is the chef in us that brings out the beauty and art of every dish we make.  You will find a variety of colors in a fresh green salad, accented with ripe red strawberries, walnuts for texture, and yellow cherry tomatoes maybe.  We as chefs see a brilliant green sauce as part of our paint pallet as we look on a plate of perfectly cooked white chicken paired with olive oil poached roma tomatoes or roasted purple beet puree.  I try to bring your eye in first so you want to eat it.  I work hard to slice a fruit plate with exact consistency, uniformity and balance with colors and shapes. I look for all of these items in every dish I make.

                The drive behind cooking and a great dish starts and stops with great product.  Picking vegetables from the garden right to the table is the best way to feel like you have made a great dish.  I take pride in every ingredient and treat it well like an artist takes care of their best brushes.  Great fresh ingredients are our paint and our knives our brushes.  In my mind cooking has always been an art for me.  

 

So there you have it friends.

Art is all around each of us, if we choose to create it, look at it, wear it or eat it.

Enjoy.