The culinary art reminds me eerily of the work of Arcimboldo, a painter of the sixteenth century, as unclassifiable as any of his creations, as well as those of the great surrealists, where the food is transformed into what is not, and even who is not.
And I say eerily because despite having little to do with the plastic arts, his conception of the environment is connected with the essence of an artist of more than five centuries, as well as with his contemporaries, guaranteeing that get transformed into art conceptuality .
Text: Lorena Aguilar Ramírez
----------------------------------------------------------
Food is one of the basic elements that run our body, our internal motor fuel, a question so basic that no one raises it, except in cases where it is lacking. However, in our welfare society, we have soaring food as one of the great pleasures of life and our brain receives activating our pleasure receptors, as can music, painting, drugs or sex.
We delight, even while eating, speaking of other delicacies, being able to recall with great detail a meal that we left a mark, with a clear and vivid image of that memory: the smell, taste, the sensations caused, etc. Since the creation of this unforgettable delight acquires meaning only through the global participation of all the senses: taste, touch, smell, sight and even hearing, the great chefs of our time, gourmet gifted alchemists have taken advantage of its sensitivity and that of those around them, to bring the products of the land to another level.
Marta knows what Arzak, daughter and sister of the renowned Basque chefs, curator of an exhibition project of a symbolic nature, which is named Ura Frijitzen / Friendo agua, we can see until 9 January at the Fundació Pilar i Joan He looked at Mallorca. Here we offer a metaphorical representation of the laboratory and condensed Arzak gastronomic restaurant. Reflective, intuitive and creative, the laboratory is the starting point of a loop of conceptualization of the environment where, although the food is always the focal point, is not always the reference to creating a dish.
And while the taste of what we eat is essential, sometimes the trigger for a dish has nothing to do with it: to represent an idea, suggest an emotion through smell or create confusion through his touch. Culinary creative process is the contrast between ingredients from all directions, large plates inspired by the textures, smells and tastes. Listen and look with eyes of an artist, designing images and creating relationships not previously imagined, but they always have to do with the essence of each product chosen.
In these labs creative, experimenting with the art and ideas. They are laboratories for the creation of stories, because through them is like chefs show us how they see the world and let your imagination where gastronomic far only an artist can go.
Basque cuisine in the forefront include many names that are now essential, as Subijana, Berasategui, Aduriz Atxa, Arbelaitz, etc. and others will be, as those who will bear the Basque Culinary Center, the first University of Gastronomic Sciences in the state for next year and where they study, in addition to traditional techniques, culture, art and technology. Although no longer so strange to see these terms associated with the kitchen, its Research and Innovation in Gastronomic Sciences (IDI), will provide the essentials for the development and dissemination of Basque cuisine to the international arena even further.
Returning to this culinary, we could talk at length about the Basque chefs, because they highlight, in addition to their vocational expertise, and delight in sharing his knowledge of cuisine, but we will only in a few strokes.
Andoni Aduriz of Mugaritz, is without doubt the cook of the senses, exudes sensitivity in every dish, fruit of the surrounding environment. Each day serving tray to the guests, forests and gardens of herbs around the Mugaritz. Its cuisine is based not only on products of nature, your kitchen is the mimesis of nature transformed into art and design: palpable odors, flavors, touch, etc.
Passionate textures, Mugaritz laboratory, experiment with Azti-Tecnalia, Center for Marine and Food Research, to offer the database texturing agents, which provide information on new types of food products and tools for fusion science kitchen, creating a pleasant melody of seduction based on the relationship between texture and flavor.
Eneko Atxa more olfactory current work focuses on the possibilities of natural flavorings, through empowerment by means of ultrasound applied to food. But not only smell edible items, but aromas of earth and wood, coal, sea aromas and smell of a field, applied to certain foods to enhance their qualities and captivate your senses: a sort of perfect match with our environment.
Subijana, is the king of half-truths, the master of trompe l'oeil: flakes of salt without salt, without pepper pepper, sponges made of ice cream, frozen yolk spheres chips, etc.. Nothing is what it seems in their kingdom of illusion.
Boundaries are blurred in all areas of our existence, something like if they did the human and the divine. You can be the result of globalization or the result of freedom of the human mind that enjoys reaching new heights and break the boundaries, but the main thing from this experience is that all the senses we possess urge us to eat and we entertain them all equally only way to reach the summit of the experience.