Cooking has become an art, which appeals to our tongue and nose, but often to our eye too. Modern cuisine is following the general trend in art, which tends to shock and attract attention.

The attitude towards cooking and food has changed considerably in recent years. Today's chefs are true artists in their profession. Successful culinary masters have well-developed senses of taste and smell, skilful hands and a talent for arranging and decorating. They confidently follow their intuition, exploring flavours, colours and new combinations and ingredients.

Nicely decorated food catches the eye and we have the feeling it tastes better. An unappealingly decorated piece of meat put in the middle of the plate will not arouse much excitement in a guest. However, if we use the edges of the plate to better present our masterpieces, we add that special final touch to the food. It is, of course, preferable to only put edible things on a plate.

Modern cuisine is exploring new flavour combinations, discovering new dishes, studying old recipes and experimenting with new combinations and methods. It is curious about why some things go well together and why others do not. So you might be served dishes such as tobacco flavour ice cream, pastry made from white chocolate and truffles, chocolate souffle with sardine and olive flavour, yeast soup with cinnamon, snail oatmeal, fish cream made from fish liver with tomato seeds, espresso with parmesan, cauliflower risotto with chocolate jelly, salmon in a liqueur, duck breast with olive oil and chocolate candy, smoked bacon with egg ice cream and many more. The flavours might be very unusual, surprising, even shocking, but they taste wonderful.

Cooking equipment is also developing and changing daily. Today's kitchens are very different from the old ones with wood-fired stoves and hutches. If one of our great great grandfathers was to set foot in a modern kitchen, he would think he had stepped into a laboratory.

For several years now, the Eat & Drink Design event with its original idea of creative integration of excellent cuisine and design has been an established part of the Month of Design. It is a unique culinary/design event bringing together the knowledge of chefs, designers and producers in a tasteful presentation of modern cuisine, original table settings and new food-related products.

Irena Kogoj, SINFO