The Modernist Recipe: A New Approach to a Neglected Literary Form

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.