The creative minds of extraordinary pastry chefs : an integrated theory of aesthetic expressions – a portraiture study
Purpose: This paper aims to demystify the creative experiences of an extraordinary group of pastry chefs – The Malaysian World Pastry Team, champions of the 2019 World Pastry Cup. The authors adopted an expressionist theoretical lens informed by two aesthetic philosophers – John Dewey and Wassily Kandinsky. Design/methodology/approach: A two-year portraiture was conducted – a qualitative methodology that draws features from phenomenology and narrative inquiry, rendering artistically and empirically written “portraits” that reflect themes and patterns of participants’ experiences. In-depth interviews, observations and material artifacts were collected amid a journey alongside nine extraordinary Malaysian pastry chefs. Findings: Presented in story structures, the authors offer three “portraits” of culinary creativity, each representing a core essence of the creative phenomenon: creative harmony in the form of sensorial and symbolic poetry; imaginative episodes as a hypnotic state of inspiration and incubation; and the creative duality of scientific rationalism and artistic fashion. The authors delineated the intricacies of each theme by presenting them as individual narratives. Research limitations/implications: The portraits indicated that culinary creativity reflects an organic and emancipating aesthetic experience that is unbounded by formative structures or sequential processes. This provides a novel theoretical view that moves beyond conventional studies’ capitalistic frameworks, and toward the intimate viewpoints of the chef-creators. Specific contributions are discussed. Originality/value: Through a unique qualitative approach and an aesthetic theoretical framework, this study provided a novel perspective on the culinary creative process. The aesthetic view captures culinary creativity through the eyes of the creator, a viewpoint less considered, yet imperative to the culinary profession.
Year of publication: |
2020
|
---|---|
Authors: | Lee, Kai-Sean ; Blum, Denise ; Miao, Li ; Tomas, Stacy R. |
Published in: |
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. - Emerald, ISSN 0959-6119, ZDB-ID 2028752-5. - Vol. 32.2020, 9 (07.08.), p. 3015-3034
|
Publisher: |
Emerald |
Saved in:
Online Resource
Saved in favorites
Similar items by person
-
Effects of spatial colors on guests' perceptions of a hotel room
Siamionava, Katsiaryna, (2018)
-
Setting parameters: operational budget size and allocation of resources
Smith, Wayne W., (2010)
-
Han, Heesup, (2019)
- More ...