Behind the Art of Culinary

Culinary arts is simply defined as the art of preparing, cooking, presenting and serving food. If you ever had the opportunity to experience a classy restaurant or enjoyed a good episode of your favorite cooking channel then you know exactly what this means. Most people eat first with their eyes then with their nose and finally with their mouth. Honestly, the best plates are prepared to appeal to your vision, smell, and taste and if you’re like me, a good meal will make you dance. Although I may be a professional eater, I decided it was probably best to get some tips from experts in the culinary world to understand more about the world of their arts. These chefs come from different backgrounds but they all have the common goal of creating a culinary experience that keeps people coming back.

Chef Jaaion Barnes

Define culinary arts.

Culinary arts to me is the science of making food visually appealing to the human eye.

How do you define your style of cooking?

My style of cooking is a New Orleans-based French culinary technical approach. Bright colors, bold flavors, consistency in each bite. My style of plating is fun, decadent, and forward-thinking.

What’s a common mistake cooks make?

A common mistake made is people not cooking from their soul and cooking for attention aka doing it for the “Gram.” Cooking is an experiment of love and we have to treat it as such.

Chef Kolby Kash

Define culinary arts.

Culinary arts is an expression of you as a chef. As with many different artists, your work is a representation of you and culinary arts is no different.

How do you define your style of cooking?

I like to add lots of appeal to my presentation and kick to the flavor profile of my food. I do a lot of cooking online so presentation is super important since most people can't taste the food I make for Tik Tok and Instagram! You eat with your eyes first so I make sure I take that into account whenever I plate my food.

What’s a common mistake cooks make?

I think the most common mistake when cooking is adding too much of something all at once. My grandpa always tells me you can always add more but taking it out once it's in there is a whole lot harder

Chef Lazarus Lynch

Define culinary arts.

Cooking is the preparation aspect of food. The art part comes in the presentation and plating of that food.

How do you define your style of cooking?

My style of cooking is Black, modern and ancestral. I like to play with flavors from the past and reimagine them in new ways. I love playing with my food, which is where the plating comes in. For me, plating is purely personal taste and it changes depending on the type of dish. My signature plating style is whimsical, colorful, and tall.

What’s a common mistake cooks make?

Oftentimes people cook too much food, and they don’t take into account where the food is going once cooked. I love to take out all of my serving dishes before I cook and label them so that I know where the food is going after it’s cooked. For baked dishes that are served in the same vessel (pies, casseroles, etc.), I make sure that I’m as careful as possible during the preparation process so I don’t drip anything on the edges which create brown spots around the actual dish once baked.

I also love playing with height when plating. Make the food go up! Stack and reorient items so that it’s not just flat. Adding garnishes of fresh herbs also helps revitalize or freshen a dish.

Check out the Style Issue.