Paris region
“Art on the Plate”: a recipe for synergy between art and gastronomy.
The project began with a collective observation during a practical work session at the Sainte-Thérèse hotel management school of Apprentis d’Auteuil in Paris, where student cooks found it difficult to prepare a “pretty” plate. They were unaware of the interplay of volumes and colors… With the exception of a few techniques, this type of know-how cannot be passed on. It can only be developed through a personal artistic approach.
Based on this conviction and the determination of Éric Fardel, the lycée’s deputy director, the “Art on the Plate” program was designed to create a direct link between cooking and art, using photography to explore a wide range of aesthetic notions: colors, materials, textures, compositions, presentation, emotions… A “Representation of self and others” component was also included, based on an introduction to the art of portraiture. Bringing together 14 11th and 12th grades students in vocational catering & Commercialisation and services and a duo of complementary, caring supervisors with a passion for art, consisting of photographer Laurence Godart and cooking teacher-trainer Jean-Bernard Piquet-Caron, the sessions began in early November 2017 and culminated in an exhibition in the lycée’s application restaurant with an opening on December 20, 2017.
In concrete terms, this project enables these young apprentice chefs to transpose a painting they have chosen – from classic or modern works of art to street art – into a culinary creation. It’s a chance for them to open up and give free rein to their sensibilities. The various workshops are designed to help them develop a more personal, creative style of cooking, with a colorful, well-constructed and harmonious presentation. Young people are also encouraged to write about why they chose their piece, what it evokes and inspires in them personally, and to tell the story of their plate as a self-portrait. They must also photograph each other, thereby seizing the power to create a meaningful, structuring image of others and themselves. The project also gives them an insight into Bauhaus pedagogy, and allows them to study theoretical notions in art history concerning composition, construction (Kandinsky) and color (Johannes Itten).
Can you recognize the works of art hidden in these plates?
Finally, by creating their own culinary creations, young apprentices become aware of their own capacity for creativity. Accompanied by Laurence and Jean-Bernard, the plates are photographed according to the students’ wishes for light, framing, composition and contrast, proving that they have become masters, craftsmen and artists of their project.
