The Joy of Cooking at the Art Hive
Final Creative Action ARTE 631/398 P
Véronique Chassé
For my final act, I chosen to work with a great passion of mine, culinary art. I researched the materials (food ingredients in this case) that were most readilly available in the fruit and vegetable shops around my neighbourhood. These are fruits and vegetables no longer deemed acceptable for regular sale, either because they are too old and or bruised, and are ready to be thrown away or highly discounted. These ingredients became the basis of my creations, the recipes. Drawing a parallel between food and the materials available in Art Hives, I observed what happens when the materials at hand are not necessarily those we would have chosen and the variety of creations repurposed materials might spark. It forced me to look outside my repertoire of usual dishes and think of these base ingredients in terms of possible textures, colours and flavours rather than traditional purposes. For example, if we are used to eating tomatoes fresh it might be a stretch to consider them in grilled form. It also forced me to replace ingredients I don’t have with those available that have similar properties. In one recipe where avocados are used, I would have normally used eggs, in another where I would have normally used couscous, I used cauliflower. Another factor I considered while making this cookbook was that in knowing an ingredient is on the verge of going bad, I might be more willing to try things I would not normally try. Bon Appétit!