Play’s Republic

Thinking back on the videos we watched last week, I tried to think of other elements in our culture which have the same characteristics of playing with boundaries and expectations. I don’t think we have as many now, because of the fact that our expectations now assume that such things will happen. Now that animation technologies have advanced so that different elements can be so easily combined, people expect far more surrealism and strangeness. Music videos, more than anything else, may have created this situation.
In food, however, the spirit of play is alive and growing. For years, the height of quality food was considered to be drawn from the traditional european cuisines. However, as more international fusion has happened, people have started to do different and unexpected things with food, and those who do are becoming some of the most famous chefs in the world.

Chefs are starting to think of food and how they can change people’s experience in novel and unexpected ways. Concentrated and hidden flavors, foams, and scientific equipment are creating meals which challenge the diner’s expectations of what the experience of food is. A relatively well known example from the Minibar, here in Washington D.C., takes the flavor notes that are usually described as being in a glass of wine and separates them to their individual components, suspended in a sheet of gel. Thus the experience of the wine is changed to one where the diner has control over what flavors they wish to have when. Other food experiences are changed as well, as foie gras is paired with cotton candy or chocolate. Other chefs are doing similar things. To bring the sense of hearing into the enjoyment of food, one chef mixes PopRocks into the crust of a cheesecake. The unexpected popping breaks the boundaries of what people expect in their food.
This is primarily happening at the top end of food culture. Although I have heard much about it, I have never eaten at Minibar, and don’t expect to be able to anytime soon. The hundred dollar price tag prevents me from doing anything more than looking at the website. However, the Food network has brought some of this playfulness to the public, mainly through shows such as Iron Chef. Iron Chef gives chefs an opportunity to break the normal rules of culinary convention and play with new ways of using ingredients and techniques. And more than that, it is done in a way which is accessible to the public.
So what does this mean, aside from some people doing weird things with food and charging lots of money for it? America has been remarkably accepting of new attitudes regarding food. Julia Child introduced people to new techniques and ingredients through her cooking show. Over time, new cuisines have spread and gained acceptance, and now a world of food is available in almost every city. This new playfulness in food preparation will most likely expand beyond its current upper-crust domain. It may wind up being expected, just like we expect the visual play in many forms of modern media. Or it may wind up staying on the periphery. Is playful food more of a departure than playful media? Are people more attached to traditional forms of food than they are to the traditional forms of storytelling and presentation that are often compromised in modern media. It is quite possible. Then again, as people become more comfortable and familiar with these techniques, they may become as accepted as French techniques are now.