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Recipes, cooking lessons, tips, tricks, food blog, and more.
There is some controversy to this question. Somehow, some people think that being an artisan is not as good, nor as glamourous as being an artist. Others think artists are "just" temperamental and demanding loons. Setting aside the value judgement, I prefer to look for the right word to accurately describe the trade!
3 April 2010
I've had this discussion with a few people over the years. It's high time I put my thoughts down on "paper" (even if only virtual paper). Are chefs artists, or artisans?
I've been called an artist often enough. And it is somehow flattering to think people like your food and think kindly of your skills. Yet, for me, it is more being an artisan than an artist.
The crucial difference is that an artist can and does flop, sometimes spectacularly. They have room for error. On the other hand, the artisan uses their artistic skills, their "creative juices" to produce a similar product day-in, day-out.
The professional cook, or chef, has to feed the restaurant's patrons. They cook what is on the menu. And if Mr. Joe orders the same dish 5 days in a row, he expects the dish to taste, look, and smell the same way every time.
Obviously as a cook, we use artistic skills when we create new dishes. I'm not convinced that having artistic skills implies that we are artists, necessarily.
Looking at the definition of the words artist, artiste, artisan, craftsman (I prefer craftsfolks, but that's not in dictionaries...), it is easy to get a bit confused. Evolution of language, I think, plays a great part of that. One might argue that in this case it is more the dillution of the language than its evolution. The word artisan is not used a lot in English anymore, I don't think. At least I seem not to encounter it very much. The word artist seems to be tied more to the "fine arts", such as painting, sculpting, etc. In the dictionary anyway. Because in practice, "Our language has evolved, and 'Artist' has become a generic word applied to any person who expresses their self through any medium" (John Burton, in his article "Am I an artist or artisan?").
I'd like to know what you think of this. Are you or have you been cooking professionaly? Do you agree that we are artisans more than artists? If you disagree, why do you disagree? Are you an artist in a field unrelated to cooking? If so, what's your take?
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I'm trying to eat better. And, I do feel wise after drinking tea. After eating vegetables, I just feel hungry. Carrie Latet
These days "artisan" applies to bread. I'd say chefs are artists.
Comment by: Dianne Jacob - April 4th, 2010 @ 6:28
@HerbGuy (Ron Zimmerman) said that all chefs were artisans, and some of them were also artists. I like that.
@Dianne, "artisan" also applies to cheese, doesn't it?
Comment by: Nic - April 4th, 2010 @ 12:39
Perhaps the chef is an artist when first creating a dish, and an artisan when replicating it.
Comment by: Carl Ingalls - April 4th, 2010 @ 12:46
@Carl, that is an interesting view. Thank you
Comment by: Nic - April 4th, 2010 @ 13:33