De Vulgari

A fine dining experience at De Vulgari marked the culmination of the semester long question, “Can food be art?” De Vulgari, meaning “the ordinary” or “the common,” presented us with courses that were actually beyond the ordinary in terms of presentation. Common Italian courses such as pasta with wild boar ragu or truffled eggs were prepared and served in unique ways that were aesthetically appealing to the consumer. The question became, was the aesthetic appeal enough to transform a plate of spaghetti into a work of art? Before I dive in to my opinion let me take you through our delectable meal.

The first item was a liver pâté topped with a puree of parsley followed by a beef tartare with swiss chard and a sake foam. The beef tartare was more aesthetically pleasing because of the contrast between the red color of the meat and the greens whereas the first course didn’t show much creativity in the plating. 

Next was a poached egg with a potato and truffle sauce garnished with more truffle. This came in a red patterned bowl which seemed to detract from the course. However, the aroma was so delicious it made up for the unexpected plating. The wild boar ragu arrived next in the same bowl, this time with even less contrast because of the red sauce. Again, it was still absolutely delicious but there is a popular saying that, “You eat first with your eyes” (credit unknown). 

For desert we were presented with a ginger gelato on top of almond meal and finished with salted caramel sauce. This arrived on a cute white plate with black spots and I really liked the look of it, all of the flavors in this dish went together perfectly. 

As you can see aesthetic taste has a certain subjectivity to it which makes it hard to define but there are specific objective qualities defined as the Principles of Design a few of which are balance, white space, and contrast. 

In my opinion, food can be art within the proper context. However, because there are far fewer contexts in which food can be considered art in comparison to paintings or sculptures, it is more difficult to determine. When food becomes part of an exhibit, such as the interpretation Filippo Marinetti’s futurist food at the Gugenheim, it is easier to consider it as art. But then it is being judged in the same context as a painting or sculpture. There may never be an easy and complete way to define food as art as there are many concepts that bring you in loops that easily contradict your former statements. The jury is still out on the art but I know for sure that I enjoyed the flavors!