And that is simply because gastronomy is a form of art, that developed much later than the founding of classic arts (lucky cinema has gradually been incorporated into the classic arts, due to its fundamental and revolutionary form). When someone says that gastronomy is a passing trend it’s as if they say that fashion itself is a passing trend, which is totally irrational.
This global interest about gastronomy is a phenomenon of the developed and developing world. Of course, in order to be interested in such things, you need to have solved more than your everyday nutritional and well being needs. The prosperity of the last few decades has allowed to even more people to enjoy haute cuisine. Also, globalization has spread local goods and local culinary knowledge all over the world. The result of these changes is visible everywhere today. There are restaurants of the highest quality, ethnic, multiethnic, fusion. There is also cheese, salami, meat, herbs, fruits, wines from every corner of this earth at the neighborhood’s supermarket shelves. There is plenty of magazines, websites, TV shows. Cooks became chefs and chefs became TV stars. New professions became popular. The sommelier, food writer, wine writers, restaurant critic and more recently food blogger.
But the most interesting of all is how quickly people were brought into this new mania. During the last 20-25 years the most important change of all has occurred. The change of the person’s stance towards food. This basic need of people was put in a different dimension. It became an element of personal style, social status, way of living. Mom’s food was kicked out of our kitchen and each one of us began their own drifting in the world of flavors. Whether it is just a short walk or a real Odyssey.
How has all this fuzz really affected food itself? New pleasure standards, new combinations and new flavors have definitely been created. Nobody denies that the mean quality of food products and even restaurants has increased. But there is one thing missing in this mixture of gastronomy and lifestyle. And that is tastefulness. The quintessence of food itself. That element that warms our souls and satisfies our body.
“Tastefulness is the essence”. Tht’s what a well known food critic once told me over a grilled dentex’s head that reminded me of well baked porkSince then, I started ‘digging’ to the depth of every dish seeking the Graal of tastefulness. And what I realized was that decoration, music, wrapping, service, all come second. This is not to be forgotten by all of you that have entered the big world of gastronomy, either as creators or receivers of the culinary art. The essence of gastronomy is tastefulness.
