Quotes

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
Scott Adams



That particular quote is often mistakenly attributed to John Updike. None-the-less it is a quote I like a lot. I battle with this often, not only in my food presentations but in the other creative endeavors I partake in as well. It is not an easy task. I try and not take more than 20 pictures of a given dish simply because with too many choices it gets nearly impossible to decide, so usually its more than five and hovers around fifteen.

"Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better."
John Updike




"Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing."
Salvador Dali

Greek flavors were the idea behind this dish. Rice pilaf with grilled cubes of beef flavored with mint, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil with a little watercress salad.




"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work"
Aristotle

While this is far from perfect my aim is still high and it is a new flavor pattern I am experimenting with.

"The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star."
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Less is more

Meaning

The notion that simplicity and clarity lead to good design.

Origin

This is a 19th century proverbial phrase. It is first found in print in Andrea del Sarto, 1855, a poem by Robert Browning:

Who strive - you don't know how the others strive
To paint a little thing like that you smeared
Carelessly passing with your robes afloat,-
Yet do much less, so much less, Someone says,
(I know his name, no matter) - so much less!
Well, less is more, Lucrezia.

The phrase is often associated with the architect and furniture designer Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe (1886-1969), one of the founders of modern architecture and a proponent of simplicity of style.