Good evening,

After basking in the summer light, we’ve moved into a reflective mood for this issue, the topic? Food and Art.  We do some serious ponderings on the relationship between culinary creations and emotion-inducing, statement-making art. 

One of our favorite guest writers Besim Hatinoglu, asks under what conditions and with what intentions can food be considered art? In an imagined conversation between his Gastroville partner Mikael Jonsson and famous food critic and founding editor of the gastrostomy site Gastromondiale, Vedat Milor.
Canadian wine expert Thatcher Baker-Briggs, gives us reason to rethink Burgundy wines, as diverse and complex as his list of Burgundy women in wine to watch. 
While much-admired London couple, architect Charlotte Skene Catling and artist Adam Lowe take another angle, sharing their intertwining ideas on art, food and history through the lens of 15th century Spanish painter Diego Velázquez. Currently responsible for the artistic restoration of the painter’s house,  a project that has led them to ponder food-themed paintings, they share recipes of old and investigate religious and political influences on both. 

So whether or not you agree with George Ellwanger (1848-1906) that “Cookery is naturally the most ancient of the arts, as of all arts it is the most important.” I invite you to enjoy this month’s issue.

Love,
Aiste

Food, art and recipes: 16th century musings with Adam Lowe and Charlotte Skene Catling (podcast)

British architect Charlotte Skene Catling and her partner, artist Adam Lowe, know something about structure and space. They also know about representation and taste. Their latest project – the artistic restoration of the C16th modest house where the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez was born. In his early career in Seville, Velázquez painted a number of kitchen scenes, known as ‘bodegones’ a particularly Spanish genre of still life painting. This depiction of food in art is the starting point to an intriguing conversation (and recipes) I had the privilege of sharing with this unparalleled and adventurous couple. 

---

A theory of the creation of a dish

Food is art. We often hear this stereotyped premise and it is utterly vague. What is food? Does it refer to ingredients or a dish? The most plausible answer is that a dish is a work of art and cooking is a form of art. Yet, we do not have a satisfactory definition of art. There have been serious attempts over the last decades to expand the scope of art to include food.

---

Finding outstanding equality in Burgundy

The transformative qualities of wine are something that sadly, is often lost. Perhaps due to the fact that wine is often something that one merely drinks, at least in certain regions. The ability of a wine to encapsulate a moment in time and to showcase a year, a place, a person is truly something unique.

---

4 restaurants with wonderful art collections

Art and food have always had a harmonious relationship, showcasing art in restaurants is hardly a new concept. Starting with the days when chefs-proprietors and artists were swapping food and drinks for artworks to hang in the dining room to today’s many modern restaurants which are still showcasing all forms of art.

---