We spoke to Colombian chef Ricardo Sandoval about how cooking is a whole ritual for the senses

Cooking, especially gourmet food, could be defined as the art of preparing and presenting food in a creative and formal way, according to Colombian chef Ricardo Sandoval in an interview with LatinAmerican Post. By mixing different foods and cultures you can create styles that are alternative and your own. This presents us with endless possibilities that seek to please every palate, as well as admirers of this art. With the passage of time, food has acquired a meaning beyond satisfying a need, opening the way to what we know today as gastronomy. This is not only based on the way of cooking, but there is a link between people and the environment that surrounds them, from which they supplement the food resources they use in a cultural and social way.

Leer en español: "La cocina es como el lienzo del pIGNORE INTOr, y las pinturas son los ingredientes"

Ricardo Sandoval explains the difference between conventional cooking and the culinary arts:

"Conventional food could be called the kitchen of the house, of the mother, the kitchen that they make in order to satisfy your stomach and your need to eat. On the other hand, there is art, this is not only intended to fill the stomach of someone, but it is worthy to admire and think", explained Sandoval.

It is not only the action of cooking, it is about involving other types of techniques such as the composition of food, color, decoration and, above all, the final result of the dish as a harmonious whole. These become relevant aspects when it comes to creation. In a way it is a whole ritual of pleasure for the senses.

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The chef says that the gourmet is a term that can be misinterpreted and that this does not mean that it has a higher status or that it becomes something exclusive with dishes that are not named in this way.

"The kitchen is like the painter's canvas, and the paintings are the ingredients. Not all paintings are works of art, the same thing happens with food. A conventional dish can be made by anyone not expert in the culinary theme. A gourmet dish, it could be said, is more likely to be achieved by a person with gastronomic knowledge. What I'm going for is, the gourmet, in general, is more exquisite and sophisticated, which becomes part of a culture or lifestyle with a special taste for the art of high-level cuisine".

Not only the mixtures of ingredients, flavors and textures make these dishes a great work, it is also important the purpose with which they are designed. In some cases the dish is only made to admire and recreate the view as it happens in many food exhibitions, in others to satisfy the stomach. However, culinary art is a way of stimulating all our senses.

"As well as the preparation, the development and finally the serving of the dish, everything has its art", Sandoval affirms and adds: "Even the simplest in the kitchen has its way, for example, a fried egg. It all depends on how you serve it, decorate it and accompany it".

For this expert in cooking, a gourmet dish is a technique that consists of using ingredients of high quality and freshness, as well as giving them the perfect touch in their combination and preparation. An impeccable, harmonic and colorful presentation is also important. In short, it is "an art within this discipline".

LatinAmerican Post | Amaranta Úrsula

Translated from "'La cocina es como el lienzo del pIGNORE INTOr, y las pinturas son los ingredientes'"