Cooking is my favorite metaphor for the creative process. The creative is JUICY. When we work on a creative project, we STIR things, QUICKEN the energies, and let ideas SIMMER and COOK. We also need a STRONG POT. On that note, here are 12 important tips for a winning ‘dish’ from the reality tv show [ Read more … ]
top chef
Chefs have to taste everything. So do scholars.
On the reality tv show Top Chef, the competing chefs can’t refuse to work with a particular ingredient. The chefs that have the most “well-developed palettes” are the ones who go on to win the competition. Over my years of academic teaching, I’ve sometimes had Ph.D. students who resisted reading some of the literature I [ Read more … ]
Creativity Lessons from Top Chef
I adore Top Chef. I have no idea what fois gras is or why anyone would want to eat a meal of molecular gastronomy, but regardless, I think the show offers some very helpful tips for any creative genre. (Beside, where else can one hear such phrases as “exhibit balance” and “show restraint”?) Here are [ Read more … ]
Ahh, nothing like an exquisite dish
I’m a huge fan of Top Chef, the reality tv show where gifted chefs from across the country compete with each other in elimination challenges. The show has hooked me into cooking as an art form. (I think I like the titles of the dishes almost as much as the visual…) Watching Top Chef has [ Read more … ]