What is art? Is art just art in the traditional sense of the word, a simple watercolor painting and nothing else? Is art more akin to the performing arts, such as dance or music? Or is art more diverse than that? To me, art is anything that is created for the sensory or emotional pleasure of beings. Art is the visual pleasure one attains from seeing a Picasso. Art is the audible pleasure one gets from listening to Mozart. Art is even the tastable pleasure of eating a succulent dish, or the inner warmth one gets from eating comfort food.
In this sense, a chef is truly an artist. Sure, we can go on our entire lives eating bland food that gives us just enough to survive, but chefs believe that there should be more than that, that we should enjoy taste as much as we enjoy any of the other four senses. Just like famous painters and muralists, chefs can create masterpiece dishes that invoke emotions that one has never felt before. And just like any other art, chefs are constantly creating new styles of cuisine, new cooking techniques, and even entirely new foods and flavors, so that they can express their form of art in their own unique ways. As such, when talking about artists, chefs should definitely be thought of and included amongst the group.
Babette's Feast
In Babette's Feast, sisters Martine and Philippa are born into a highly religious Cristian sect which revolves around renouncing the pleasures of life on Earth and avoiding any sin. As such, the sisters are not allowed to have relationships, or even indulge in materialistic pleasure, like fancy clothing or elaborate food. However, as the story progresses, and more people from the 'outside' world enter into the lives of the sisters, their views on their religion slowly begin to shift.
Although Lorens' status as a dashing officer in the Swedish army and Papin's claim to fame as a singer do get the ball rolling, the sisters', and in fact the town's, transformation does not fully occur until they taste Babette's feast. The amount of love and care Babette puts into her food for the people who took care of her is unparalleled, and her good intentions of providing the town a sensory pleasure that they have never experienced before truly awakens the inner human spirit of the town. No longer do strict religious standards govern the lives of the sisters, but rather the sisters can truly experience life for the first time. It is almost like Babette's feast is the opposite of The Last Supper, for this is the first supper that many of the townsfolk have really enjoyed thoroughly.
Although Lorens' status as a dashing officer in the Swedish army and Papin's claim to fame as a singer do get the ball rolling, the sisters', and in fact the town's, transformation does not fully occur until they taste Babette's feast. The amount of love and care Babette puts into her food for the people who took care of her is unparalleled, and her good intentions of providing the town a sensory pleasure that they have never experienced before truly awakens the inner human spirit of the town. No longer do strict religious standards govern the lives of the sisters, but rather the sisters can truly experience life for the first time. It is almost like Babette's feast is the opposite of The Last Supper, for this is the first supper that many of the townsfolk have really enjoyed thoroughly.
Comfort Food
Comfort food. We all have one. Whether it is something simple like chicken noodle soup, or something as preparation intensive like baby back ribs, we each have a particular food that soothes us, brings us back to our childhood, or fills up not only our stomachs but our souls as well. These foods are always on our minds when we think of 'good' food, and we could never grow tired of eating them even if we tried. In this sense, we each have a comfort food. However, our comfort foods are not the same, and will probably never be. My comfort food is mine alone, because it fills up my soul. Your soul, or your embodiment, is much different than my soul, and thus different desires, emotions, and satisfactions are invoked. In a sense, our comfort foods are as unique as we are ourselves.
For me, nothing says comfort like naan and paneer. Whenever I go out to eat at Indian restaurants, it always has to be ordered no matter what. Mutter paneer, paneer tikka, paneer pakoras, simply anything with the word paneer in it, at least one type ends up being served to my family every time. It surrounds my soul with its warmth, and makes my taste buds dance with joy. Every bite is like winning the taste lottery, and makes me want to take that next bite that much quicker.
For me, nothing says comfort like naan and paneer. Whenever I go out to eat at Indian restaurants, it always has to be ordered no matter what. Mutter paneer, paneer tikka, paneer pakoras, simply anything with the word paneer in it, at least one type ends up being served to my family every time. It surrounds my soul with its warmth, and makes my taste buds dance with joy. Every bite is like winning the taste lottery, and makes me want to take that next bite that much quicker.
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