What’s with Cezanne and the oranges? Warhol and the soup cans? And what about that notorious nutter Dali, who once made a sculpture of a woman with a baguette draped over her head?
Because food and eating are elemental, sensual pursuits, it’s not surprising that they’ve played a large role in art history. A British TV series, “Eating Art,” probes the fascinating overlap of food and art, this month and the next on the Ovation channel (that’s channel 147 for many Charter cable subscribers, www.ovationtv.com).
The 10-episode program is hosted by successful English restaurateur and art collector Oliver Peyton. He takes a look at the symbolism and significance of foods that artists have chosen to depict, visits artists’ kitchens, and shares how food was cooked during various periods from the past. Peyton also challenges noted chefs to recreate the foods from various paintings, and to use other paintings as inspiration for new dishes.
Highlights include bits on the scandalous story behind the first private dining rooms; cookbooks authored by painters Claude Monet and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec; a Degas painting featuring a buzzed absinthe drinker that caused an outrage; a chandelier made of bread for the Paris surrealists; a chef at New York restaurant Nobu recreating Paul Klee’s painting Fish Magic in sushi; and Picasso works drawn on paper tablecloths with ketchup, mustard, and coffee.
Ovation is also airing the foodie program “After Hours with Daniel Boulud,” in which the celebrated French chef and restaurateur visits other chefs after their restaurants have closed for the night to share meals and gossip during the wee hours.
