I have presumed so far in this column that food can be considered art. Am I wrong? Should food instead be considered as ‘craft' or is it neither...is it just food?

I was explaining my world view to someone the other day and it kind of goes something like this: I accept nearly everything as legitimate, with a right to exist in this complex world of ours. To that extent I generally allow any idea or thought validity, or at least it has validity to the person having the idea or thought. This partly has to do with my belief that everyone's reality is completely unique, and one could say if you think it, it is real because it is part of your reality. 

Now before I launch into an explanation of parallel universes let's get back to basics, back to food. So to answer the question is food art we firstly need to define the meaning of the words we are discussing. Considering everyone has a different definition, especially when it comes to art, it is best we turn to a trusty dictionary* for the answers.

food   n 1. a nutritious substance, esp. solid in form, that can be taken into an animal or a plant to maintain life and growth.

art  n 1. a human creative skill or its application. b work exhibiting this. 

craft  n 1. skill, esp. in practical arts. 2. a trade or an art.

Let's ignore the fact that much of what's called food out there is far from nutritious, and so we'll presume to talk about decent restaurant food. Of course the dictionary meaning is somewhat cold and stale, and our real life experiences of the word are far more rich and complicated. So when we use the word food we are not just talking about a nutritious or solid substance we put in our mouths. We can be describing a meal, an experience for the senses, or an offering from the person who made it. 

Of course some food is just food; a snack on the way to work, a microwave dinner...there is not much beyond shoving something in your mouth. On the other hand there is special food; the food that is the sensory experience I talk about so much. This food is the type I would relate to as art and/or craft.

Now the day-to-day definitions of art and craft are even more complicated. Let's tackle craft first.

Notice the use of the word practical in the dictionary definition. Within the art world craft is defined by its practical nature; things like embroidery, pottery, wood carving or leather work. This is opposed to things like painting, drawing, and sculpture which are seen to require a greater skill. This of course could be greatly debated; there is just as much skill in the practical arts as in the fine arts. Looking back at the dictionary definition we see not only the word skill but the word art also. Now the word trade is important in relation to cooking since being a chef is considered in most countries as a trade. It's undertaken, or at least it used to be, by those that couldn't make it in academic careers or just didn't fit into the office scene. Cooking therefore is in my mind definitely a craft.

Now if you look at the definition of art compared to craft we see the only real difference is the use of the word creative. This is a little silly when you think about how creative the majority of craft is. In the real world we see art as something aesthetically pleasing, showing a talent or skill, and for a lot of us we see art as something that makes us think. The most contention comes from those who suggest something isn't art. Now this is where my view on realities comes in. In my reality art is art when a number of factors are at play. Most important over all else is that the artist says it's art. If they have created something with an intention and they believe it is so than that's enough for me. Then there is the viewer, do they think it's art? Well that all depends on their reality and what they consider to be art or artistic. Following me now? Every person will see it in a different way. A piece may be so ugly, apparently meaningless and even childlike, and yet I think it could be considered art because either the artist believes it is or for me even more importantly it has made me think. 

In your reality you may think food is just food, and that's probably true for you. In my reality food is sometimes just food. Sometimes food is craft, the person has used their skill to create something for you to consume. Other times food is manipulated by an artistic chef to become art; art that is beautiful and art that makes me think. The answers for me are simple, because honestly all things are possible. What does your reality tell you?

Images: 1, 4, 5, homepage courtesy of Man Wah (Mandarin Oriental HK), 3 Fairmont Hotels

*Moore, Brude ed. The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary.  4^th Edition. 2004 Oxford University Press