The event’s title summons up Brétillot’s work: a dessert of figs and chocolate intended to be eaten in the center of an installation of mirrors arranged in homage to the Mad Hatter’s “Happy Not Birthday” party. Brétillot, the official father of the contemporary Culinary Delight movement in Paris, created the culinary design program at the Ecole Supérieure d’Art et de Design in Reims. His movement doesn’t just turn food into installations; it transforms the act of eating into performances that draw attention to the animal and intellectual desires that drive our cravings and food preferences.
Alléno, the Michelin-starred chef at Le Meurice, collaborated with the pastry chef Camille Lesecq on a ring of white chocolate, Normandy cream, rose petals, fruits, caviar and gold leaves. He sees his designs on food a little differently: “I am and I will always be a craftsman,” he said. In contrast, Brétillot’s definition of culinary design is extremely close to the thought-provoking purpose of art. He asserts that his form of edible art is inherently subversive because it forces people to reconsider how, not just what, they eat. “Suckling is different to drinking. Licking is different from biting,” he says. “You cannot isolate the act of eating from its environment.”
Source: New York Times