Burning Q: Is cooking an art or a trade?
Things you wonder when you've had like, one day off this month and you're entering a special mental space.
August 19, 2016
Q: Is cooking an art or a trade?
Justin Wills | Restaurant Beck, Depoe Bay, Oregon
That’s a pretty loaded question! I think it depends on the type of establishment. I would definitely say in the type of restaurants that I own and operate it would be considered an art. However, for some its considered a trade. I think it depends who you ask, quite frankly. I would say though, when it comes to the operation side, you want both types of people in your kitchens. You want someone who maybe starts out as it being a trade and then might leave appreciating cooking as an art form. I think a trade would be something you do out of necessity. With art, you do it because of passion and love.
Eric Werner | Hartwood, Tulum, Mexico
Cooking is both an art and a trade. I first started cooking at the age of 17 because I needed to learn a trade in order to financially support myself. As I grew older and began to learn, and become disciplined in cooking, then it became an art. I needed discipline before creativity.
Cooking is both an art and a trade. I first started cooking at the age of 17 because I needed to learn a trade in order to financially support myself. As I grew older and began to learn, and become disciplined in cooking, then it became an art. I needed discipline before creativity.
Bonnie Morales | Kachka, Portland, Oregon
Neither. It's a craft. It requires the creativity and inspiration of an art as well as the specific skill set of a trade. The most successful cooks are craftsmen. If it were just a trade, you could just have cooking robots. But we all know there is a creative element to it. However, it drives me bonkers when I hear chefs call themselves "artists". Major eye roll. This is a business. And if you aren't running your kitchen like a business, you don't get to keep doing it (unless of course you have a sugar mama or papa). So this makes it a craft. You know, like a designer: form meets function and all that jazz.
Neither. It's a craft. It requires the creativity and inspiration of an art as well as the specific skill set of a trade. The most successful cooks are craftsmen. If it were just a trade, you could just have cooking robots. But we all know there is a creative element to it. However, it drives me bonkers when I hear chefs call themselves "artists". Major eye roll. This is a business. And if you aren't running your kitchen like a business, you don't get to keep doing it (unless of course you have a sugar mama or papa). So this makes it a craft. You know, like a designer: form meets function and all that jazz.