When art meets food. But why?

It is the age where not only do your looks count, even how your food looks counts (for something I don't know either).

I don't recall ever saying food was 'gorgeous' before Gary, George and Matt (of Masterchef Australia fame) waltzed right into my living room and introduced me to the new food vocab.

Masterchef Australia - They're here & they're hungry!
First up, it's odd that we watch a show that is culturally so different from ours. Then, we watch people cook dishes with ingredients we don't even consider 'food' in the first place (pheasant, quail eggs, squid ink et al.) We watch their top chefs drool and praise the food and feel good about it (can't say why). And we immerse ourselves in their 'oohs & aahs' and indulge in some desi version of comfort food while watching them cook on TV!

Adriano Zumbo with his creation - The Macaroon Tower

Yes, ridiculous I know. But I do it too! There's something so addictive about it. I'm a sucker for food that looks good. Never tasted it, but c'mon! Food that looks so good must taste amazing! Especially one of those Adriano Zumbo creations! (yes I know his name by heart and no I cannot name more than two Indian chefs apart from Sanjiv Kapoor, let alone a food critic).

So, here's a thought -- we describe food as 'beautiful', even call it a piece of art sometimes. That's how much detail people go into these days - but what's the whole point? From the perspective of the creator - they created something so beautiful that you can stare at forever, until somebody eats it! Why would you want to eat a piece of art - or worse, watch someone else demolish it?

What's the joy? Where is the catch? Is it masochistic, at some level? Or purely altruistic?

I have a theory for it - and it's called the perfect win-win! :)

When art meets food - you don't question it! 
It's a match made in heaven.

And I'm sure all the chefs and cooks out there will agree, that there's no better praise than a silent table of people digging away at their plates.

The creator is happy for the pure artistic joy of it and the viewer/consumer of the food experiences ultimate nirvana - it's a feast for the eyes and the tongue - which in the typical Hindi phraseology can be summed up as - ek teer se do nishaan! 

Hence proving my theory that it's a perfect win-win!

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