A lot has been done with the recipe over the years, but I think more can be done. Its potential as a literary form has barely been explored. I aim to explore it. I believe the recipe is ready to transcend its humble roots, to throw off the bonds of mere utilitarianism, and to come into its own as a full-fledged means of self-expression in its own right. To have its meaning consist in itself, in what it says and in how it says it - and not merely in what might be done with what it says.
To this end, I have planned a series of recipes that will push the boundaries of the form beyond what is expected - that will challenge not only what we assume but what we know - in an attempt to reach deeper into meaning, a meaning that is not content within the bounds of the kitchen. A meaning that dares to approach near to touching the universal. I will not turn a deaf ear to the uses of symbolism and allusion. I will choose my ingredients and approaches with an eye toward sound and rhythm, not ignoring the subtle connotative values the names of the foods, tools, and cooking techniques may possess.
A warning must be issued at this point: I will not be attempting to test or apply any of these recipes myself! That defeats my artistic goal. The point is that a recipe has its own worth, its own value quite apart from some petty empirical validation. Its value is direct: like all art, it can speak to the mind and heart, on its own terms. The meaning and vivid sensory picture created in the mind when one reads a recipe has a validity of its own (especially if the recipe is read aloud - I expect the recipes I create to foster a subculture of public recipe readings to appreciative audiences). I believe the recipe can have value as literature, beyond whatever separate value it may have as instruction. Those who approach a recipe with a wish for a more pedantic "how-to" approach must look elsewhere to meet those needs.
The time of recipe as slave to saucepan and chopping board is over. We usher in the age of Recipe as Art.
To this end, I have planned a series of recipes that will push the boundaries of the form beyond what is expected - that will challenge not only what we assume but what we know - in an attempt to reach deeper into meaning, a meaning that is not content within the bounds of the kitchen. A meaning that dares to approach near to touching the universal. I will not turn a deaf ear to the uses of symbolism and allusion. I will choose my ingredients and approaches with an eye toward sound and rhythm, not ignoring the subtle connotative values the names of the foods, tools, and cooking techniques may possess.
A warning must be issued at this point: I will not be attempting to test or apply any of these recipes myself! That defeats my artistic goal. The point is that a recipe has its own worth, its own value quite apart from some petty empirical validation. Its value is direct: like all art, it can speak to the mind and heart, on its own terms. The meaning and vivid sensory picture created in the mind when one reads a recipe has a validity of its own (especially if the recipe is read aloud - I expect the recipes I create to foster a subculture of public recipe readings to appreciative audiences). I believe the recipe can have value as literature, beyond whatever separate value it may have as instruction. Those who approach a recipe with a wish for a more pedantic "how-to" approach must look elsewhere to meet those needs.
The time of recipe as slave to saucepan and chopping board is over. We usher in the age of Recipe as Art.
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