By Victoria Pevzner ‘24, Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer

We generally don’t associate food with art, since the sole purpose of food is to be eaten, not to be observed like a painting. After all, how can food be art? And how can art be food? To many, it seemed clear that these two concepts are unrelated, until Charles Michel’s work came into the picture. Michel, a French-Columbian chef, artist, and researcher, redefines art with his work and proves that food can, in fact, be art.

As painters use different types of paints, and fashion designers use different types of fabrics, Charles Michel uses various foods as sustainable materials to create his art. His Untitled piece (left), was created with fruits and vegetables from the mountains of Colombia. Specifically, he used green vegetables, which have a high concentration of chlorophyll. Michel extracted chlorophyll mostly from spinach leaves in order to get the “pure natural pigment” and painted the inner logo with this color. He later decorated the space around the logo with colors close to the natural green in the center with vegetables of different shades of yellow, orange, and green together.

When starring in the cooking show The Final Table, Michel stood out from the other chefs with his ability to turn any plate of food into an artistic experience. One of his best dishes on the show was arguably his Uni (sea urchin) dish. At first glance, the dish may not seem like a lot; a simplistic shell, surrounded by rings made of sauces that would complement the dish. These rings, Michel says, symbolize carvings that sea urchins make in rocks where they live. The meaning behind the dish is further explored when the consumer lifts the sea urchin shell to reveal a rich plate filled with color and texture. The beautiful dish is composed of sea urchin, with black radish, algae, and tofu skin. The importance of sustainability played a large role in the creation of this piece. While other chefs discarded the uni shell, thinking that it was unnecessary in the final dish, Michel’s goal was to incorporate every part of the Uni, including the seemingly useless shell. By doing so, he created a highly innovative final product which masterfully weaved in the concept of sustainability.

Chef Michel’s work truly proves that art is not limited to only traditional mediums. It is a concept that continues to be redefined in ways that we might not expect. Although food is a unique  art material, Michel still incorporates artistic elements used by many artists before him — such as color, shape, space, and texture — to make his work come to life. Michel is also devoted to sustainability. Through his work, he seeks to impact the larger world, stating, “I believe that food is an incredible medium to connect people to nature and to connect each other.” As an artistic chef, he is able to create dishes that are not only delicious but also have a deeper meaning behind them. By creating these highly innovative pieces, Michel redefines what art is and inspires a new generation of artists to continually think outside the box.