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Donna Dufault's Pans on display at Culinary Imaginings.

Photographer Donna Dufault discovered beauty behind the food created by talented chefs throughout New England, and a few in New York. While on shoots to capture perfectly plated culinary creations, there is a some down time she explained.

Instead of idly standing to the side, Donna began looking around. When she did, she found an appreciation for the tools behind the scenes of every dining experience. She even saw art. As she described when we sat down to discuss her upcoming show, she didn’t photograph these works in the same way she would photograph a delicate dessert. Her brief downtime on shoots didn’t allow for lighting and staging.

The creative restraints opened her up to a new process, and the result is her new show called Culinary Imaginings. Her first major solo show is compromised of over 30 photographs and opens on Wednesday, January 20 at the Worcester Center for Crafts’ Krikorian Gallery (25 Sagamore Rd., Worcester). The reception is January 25, 2016 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It’s a Monday evening to accommodate the hospitality industry considering they are the ones who inspired her work.

Donna Dufault's Blue Glasses on display at Culinary Imaginings. — Donna Dufault’s Blue Glasses on display at Culinary Imaginings.

“The dents, scratched, cracks and patina all create beauty in their imperfections,” said Dufault. “I truly enjoy tracking down the tools, and documenting their vulnerability from human treatment.”

In anticipation for the show, a few pieces were put on display it the Center for Crafts shop—and immediately sold. That may be a little foreshadowing to a potentially sold out show. From the previewed works, it’s obvious that these photographs are easy to put up in your home to either show off your appreciation for great art or your love of the kitchens that create amazing food for us to enjoy and bond over.

The photographs that sold featured pans, but there are also photographs working with glassware.

“I am drawn to photograph the glass versions I find in my travels. Stacked, arrayed, or layered, the line and repetition of glass creates playful patterns of light and color,” says Dufault. “Light, reflections and distortions revealed through the glass create beautiful, painterly abstractions. It’s a wonderful challenge to compose and capture an image before the light changes and the enchantment of color and luminosity is lost.”

In conjunction with the exhibit, Hungry Minds is coming to the Center for Crafts on Monday, February 1 at 5:30 p.m. This storytelling event will take you further into the kitchen with tales from the inside. Chef Chris Rovezzi of Rovezzi’s Ristorante in Fiskdale, Mass. will share stories from the line. Chef Alina Eisenhauer of Sweet Bar and Kitchen in Worcester will also hit the stage. Professional storyteller, novelist (and Dufault’s ringer for the night) Brendyn Schneider is traveling from Boston to entertain attendees. Dominic Mercurio of Foodies of New England Magazine will do a wine tasting. Finally, the artist herself will speak about her creative process and her passion for Culinary Imaginings.

Then on the last day of the show, February 27, you’re all invited to a pasta dinner slash art workshop. You can eat and make a ceramic plate to take home with you. Tickets are on sale now ($40 for adults, $10 for children).

We’re looking forward to seeing what Dufault comes up with next. When I asked her what’s next, she said she may start a collection focused on artist’s tools. We can’t wait.

The Small Cowper Madonna by Raphael on display at the Worcester Art Museum

Gazing at Raphael’s The Small Cowper Madonna currently on exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum (through September 27th) the simile between art and food is glaring: an artist uses brush strokes like a chef uses ingredients, both resulting in a work of art.

Not everyone likes certain types of food—I, for one, used to carefully remove even the smallest chopped onion from my dish. Similarly, not everyone likes certain types of art—I, for one, don’t understand something that could be “re-created by chance.” But, for all intents and purposes, the masters behind their craft have a vision and passion in what they are creating. Often inspired by experience, a true chef will see their dish from creation through consumption, but the biggest challenge a chef faces is consistency. Unlike a classical painter who spends years creating and refining a masterpiece, a chef has a finite time to create and re-create a dish, consistently. And every time the dish is served, it starts an endless cycle: between those who are trying the dish for the first time and those who have returned to relive their first experience.

As a frequent diner in Worcester, I enjoy eating as much as I enjoy wandering the halls of WAM. The restaurant scene in the city has evolved. Chefs truly are artists not only creating signature dishes that are unique to their restaurant, but consistently reproducing the dining experience time after time. Whether a restaurant like Nuovo where Chef Gjonca painstakingly fuses classic ingredients with contemporary flavors, Armsby Abbey’s Chef Evangelous who constantly “sketches and paints” a new menu every single week for his “collectors,” Chef Bowser who has introduced a new category at The Urban that, arguably, our city hasn’t seen yet, or newly hired Chef Rogers who is taking the successful dishes from Bocado and Mezcal and evolving them in a manner that “favorites” won’t be lost. Chefs aren’t just throwing ingredients from a pan onto a dish; they are creating art.

The next time that you dine out, let the chef choose his or her favorite dish—and don’t ask them to “hold the onions.” Like art, you may not like a certain piece, but when you do, you may be turned onto a world previously unknown. That’s the art of love in Worcester.

Tag: art

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