Experiential Cuisine

[Bond Girl]

As a food critic, how do you feel about experiential cuisine? How would you judge food that were may be experiemental and creative and gives you a different experience of dining but does not necessarily taste good?

[Mimi Sheraton]

As far as I am concerned, if it doesn't taste good, it is a failed experiment. I give no points for trying just for the sake of trying.

Otherwise, I am in favor of experimentation but do not think all experiments should be served forth for dinner.

[Mimi Sheraton]

I now realize, Bond Girl, that you said experiential..not experimental...but isn't all eating and tasting experiential? I assume you mean for its own sake, as at the highly-touted El Bulli in Spain where I have not been...That is fine if it is so labeled and not offered as being a real meal..it is a great luxury, of course, and very elitist, especially when so much foam is involved, but for those who care, a very intriguing esoteric experience...and one with a long history..ours is not the first generation to create such eating.

[Bond Girl]

I believe (from an art history course back in the stone ages) the Dadaist in the 30's were really be on the experience of eating and served strange things like live lobsters and ball bearings. Not edible but experiential.