Plenty of people talk (and write) about the connection between food and art. But few people take their passion for the two worlds – gastronomic and aesthetic – and manage to intertwine them in a way that feels both unique and natural. Enter Maite Gomez-Rejon, founder of Artbites. With a BFA from UT at Austin and an MFA from Chicago’s School of Art Institute, Maite’s art world bona fides are easily established. Of course, art alone wasn’t enough, apparently, because Maite also completed the Culinary Arts Program at the French Culinary Institute and has been a private chef for the likes of Aerosmith and KISS.
But it is where Maite’s love for food and art meet that is the true focus on this post. In 2003 she designed a class for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art called Art and Food: Looking and Cooking, which traced the history of food as seen through the Met’s collection. The popularity of that class led her to found Artbites, and she continues to put on great programs throughout the U.S. dedicated to the confluence of art and food.
It was at the inaugural session of her new ”Dinner and a Movie” series that I met Maithe. 20 or so of us watched some clips from the fantastic film Like Water for Chocolate and then proceeded to make an absolutely fantastic spread of Mexican food inspired by the film. And there was certainly no shortage of absolutely beautiful and delicious food - handmade tortillas, stuffed peppers, chicken with mole, zucchini and corn salad, beans, rice, and flourless chocolate cake with rose petal sauce. What an absolutely fantastic experience!
Thanks Maithe!! See you at the next class!!
Cheers and buon appetito!!
