The Aesthetics of Food: Is There a Greater Purpose?

The Aesthetics of Food

Is There a Greater Purpose?

by Ava Barry

Look at the two images below- which looks yummier to you? Is it the image to the left... or the image to the right? Do you have your answer yet? If you choose based on the meal being prepared, then good for you; however, I'd dare to say that most of us choose the image on the right because it was presented more aesthetically. Maybe it is the array of beautiful colors, the lighting, or maybe its that it isn't merely just one dish, rather it is a spread. Maybe it is because the image on the left is really nailing the yellow-brown tint... However, the fact of the matter is that no one here has eaten either of these meals. Maybe you have had a meal similar, but you have not eaten these in particular. You may have just chosen your imaginary meal based on pure aesthetics rather than taste. 

Images found through un splash creative commons license 

But, don't be embarrassed, many of us do the same thing! When I prepare meals, I have a need to make them look aesthetically pleasing. Are the garnishes always necessary, most certainly not- but do I always add them, absolutely. For many of us, the way food looks tells us how yummy it is going to be. This can be a very narrow way fo thinking about food, for food is so much more than aesthetics or taste alone, it can build community and connect people to religion. For the Lucumí, this is the case. 

"Correctly prepared ashés were 'right' and 'good' rather than merely 'beautiful,' for values materialized in aesthetic forms."

(Pérez, 93)

This quote from Pérez's book Religion in the Kitchen highlights the Lucumí's spiritual relationship with food. Ashés, mentioned in the quote above, is the foodly offering made for the Orisha's (deities or head gaurdians). The cooking of ashés is both sacred and communal. The food must be prepared correctly, and if you make a mistake, you will be humbled by an elder. This preparation of food is both delicate and tiresome; moreover, it is not for the faint of heart. The ashés does not need to look beautiful or aesthetic, the ways you or I may feel the need food to look, it merely has to be right for the Orisha.

"Emergence of Lucumí religious subjectivity through the micro practices performed in cooking for the orishas. I argued that kitchen work fosters emotions, affective states, and sensibilities that catalyze initiation, thereby conducting to the spread of the religion"

(Pérez, 93)

As the author states above, cooking and food preparation goes so much beyond what is visually aesthetic; furthermore, the Lucumí focus more on practices that go into the hard long preparation. Food is more than just a good taste, or visually appealing- it is a direct connection to their gods and their community. We should all take lessons from the Lucumí and look more critically at the way we approach meals, for food can be so much more than then taste, colors, and correct lighting.