Is culinary considered an Art or Science or both?: By Dr. Vikneswaran Nair

To be good Chef which is more important? Should the balance beam below be the same or maybe it should be weighed towards arts or even science? There are many providers around the world that is offering Culinary Arts degree and some Culinary Science degree.

A quick glance through some major websites showed the following:

The word "culinary" is defined as something related to, or connected with, cooking or kitchens.

Culinary art is the art of cooking. A culinarian is a person working in the culinary arts. A culinariao working in restaurants is commonly known as a cook or a chef. Culinary artists are responsible for skillfully preparing meals that are as pleasing to the palate as to the eye. Increasingly they are required to have knowledge of the science of food and an understanding of diet and nutrition. They work primarily in restaurants, fast food chain store franchises, delicatessens, hospitals and other institutions. Kitchen conditions vary depending on the type of business, restaurant, nursing home etc.

Culinary science is the planning and preparation of cuisine. Culinary science shows students how to arrange dishes and present those dishes. Different schools emphasize the culinary delights from different nationalities and themes such as the creation of French or of Italian cuisine.

Then, you have another term called Culinology. It is an approach to food that blends the culinary arts and food technology. Through the blending of these two disciplines, culinology seeks to make food taste better--whether purchased in a supermarket or eaten in a restaurant. Culinology also seeks to make food more consistent and safer. A primary method of culinology is to logically translate sophisticated food concepts, such as those applied in fine dining or in a traditional ethnic cuisine, for items on the menus of chain restaurants or those processed for retail sale. Such product or chain-menu development is only possible through the astute combination of the culinary arts and food science or technology.

I would like to get your personnel opining on what you think?