Chef Sikorski took her first chef position at the Courier Café in Urbana Illinois. After cheffing two years, she went to the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park and graduated in 1984.
Returning to Chicago, Chef Sikorski worked at a five star restaurant, Le Perroquet, becoming their chef in 1985. She then spent 6 years cooking in France.
Chef Sikorski holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Dominican University, and is a certified executive chef?and culinary educator. She is a member of Seafood Choice Alliance, Ocean Conservatory, and the American Culinary Federation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiv

PROLOGUE xvi

1 YOUR FIELD OF VISION 1

Seeing Is Believing 1

An Educated Viewpoint 3

Aesthetics: Art versus Craft 4

Artistic Cookery 7

A Quick Glance 8

Queries and Inquiries 9

Citation and Reference Materials 10

2 THE PLATE IN CONTEXT 11

Repertoire 11

Finding a Focus 12

Sequencing Foods 13

Menu Research 15

Reading a Menu 16

Creativity and Tradition 19

Queries and Inquiries 20

Citation and Reference Materials 21

3 FRAMING CULINARY ART 22

culinary Art history 23

Pre-Plate culinary Art history: The Room Frame 23

Pre-Plate culinary Art history: The Table Frame 24

Moving toward the Plate: The Platter Frame in culinary Art history 27

Queries and Inquiries 31

Citation and Reference Materials 32

4 PLATTER TO PLATE: CLASSICAL STYLE 34

Background 34

Classical Style 35

The Classical Menu and Service 37

Plate Design: The Face 40

Major Tenets of Classical Style 41

Queries and Inquiries 42

Citation and Reference Materials 43

5 PLATE FRAME: NOUVELLE STYLE 44

Background 44

Nouvelle Style: Impressionistic Design 45

The Nouvelle Menu and Service 49

Plate Design: The Sun 51

Plate Design: The Fan 51

Plate Design: Island(s) 52

Major Tenets of Nouvelle Style 52

Queries and Inquiries 53

Citation and Reference Materials 54

6 PLATE FRAME: NEW AMERICAN STYLE AND FUSION STYLE 55

Background 55

New American Style 57

Fusion Style 58

The Menu and Service 59

Plate Design: Elemental 60

Plate Design: Duos / Trios 61

Plate Design: The Stack 61

Plate Design: The Mound 62

Plate Design: BUFF 62

Guiding Criteria for New American / Fusion Styles 63

Queries and Inquiries 64

Citation and Reference Materials 65

7 PLATE FRAME: GLOBAL STYLE 67

Background 67

Global Style 68

The Menu and Service 70

Plate Design: Linear 74

Plate Design: Course within a Course 74

Plate Design: Deconstruction / Abstraction 75

Guiding Criteria for Global Style 75

Queries and Inquiries 76

Citation and Reference Materials 77

8 THE EMERGING MENU: INTERACTIVE TABLE SETTING 78

Background 78

Techno-Emotive Style 80

Menu and Service: Interactive Table Setting 81

A Backward Glance 82

Queries and Inquiries 83

Citation and Reference Materials 84

9 DESIGN AND CULINARY PLATE ARCHETYPES 85

Creative Culinary Questions 86

Elements of Design 86

Principles of Design 89

Considerations in Culinary Design 93

Queries and Inquiries 94

Citation and Reference Materials 95

10 LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION 96

The World at Large 96

Mimicry 97

Mental Maps 98

Ingredients 99

Technology 103

Culinary Creativity: A Shared Meaning 104

Queries and Inquiries 105

Citation and Reference Materials 105

11 PLATING THE STYLES 106

Sauce and Plate Designs 107

Preparation Methods and Plate Design 108

Garnish and Plate Design 110

The Plate Itself 112

Soup as an Example of Fundamentals 113

Back to the Menu 115

Queries and Inquiries 116

Citation and Reference Materials 118

12 CRITIQUING CULINARY ART 119

When: Times for Critiquing 119

Why: Reasons for Critiquing 120

Who: The Human Factor 120

What: Elements of a Critique 123

How: Theories Infl uence Judgments 128

Queries and Inquiries 133

Citation and Reference Materials 135

13 CULINARY VALUES 136

What Is Valued by Customers 136

How a Chef Relates to Customers' Values 139

Value in Artistic Dining 140

Values in Professional Training 142

Wrapping Up 144

Queries and Inquiries 145

Citation and Reference Materials 146

GLOSSARY 147

INDEX 153