Food as Art

The primary criteria of the enjoyment of food is of course its taste, but modern chefs are putting increasing emphasis on the visual impact of their food, both in the innovative creation of the food itself and the arrangement of food on a plate. An ability to do that sets a chef apart from the others, because it cannot be easy to focus on cooking the dish well, and serving it quickly enough before the dish gets cold, yet putting in some thought to put the dish together in a manner pleasing to the eye.

For the fun of it, we've put together a full menu of some of the prettiest and most creative things we have eaten.

Amuse Bouche

 La Ciau del Tornavento's Tempura Leaf

Amuse Bouche
Piazza Duomo's Mashmallow of Swiss Chard

Appetiser
Le Jardin de Joel Robuchon's Salad of Tomato and Basil

Soup

Hibiscus' Royale of Crozier Blue, Caramelised Hazelnuts, Warm Veloute of Brocolli and Almonds

Appetiser

Astrance's Cepes Mushroom Tart

Appetiser
Hajime's Mineral - 66 vegetables of season and light emulsion <mineral of shellfish>

Entree 

Andre's Texture: potato in different ways, with squid, petit pois and chili flakes

Entree
Eleven Madison Park's Lobster and Leek


Entree
WD~50's Monkfish, Smoked Barley, Beet-mustard, Nori

Cheese Course
Le Meurice's Tomato and Mozzarella with Basil 'in a modern freshness style'

 Pre-dessert
Cuisine Michel Troisgros' Almonds and Red Berries 'Soup'

Dessert
Cepage's Clementine

Dessert

L'Osier's Strawberry 'Burger' 

Mignardises

Guido's White Macaroons

Interestingly, looking back to the photos above, it appears that the types of food least often 'dressed up' are red meat, foie gras, oysters, truffles and chocolate. Could it be because these foods can in their purest form get diners excited?