Cooking = Art?

If you known me for any length of time you know that I've gone through many phases of artsyness. My first foray into the world of self expression was the visual arts. I even had an art scholarship at Alvin Community College (now that is something to be proud of)- where I painted this:
Which is about four feet tall, and even scarier in real life. I quit painting when I started playing bass, which is mode of self-expression number two. I still play bass, and since I've been in Florida I've begun to gravitate toward more funky, island style bass lines. We'll just have to see if I come up with anything remotely original in that department. I have a friend that plays guitar and leads worship at a local church that I'd like to play with if we can ever get a break from the constant studying.

I did paint once more, by the way, for my old band's second album cover:
I thought it came out fairly well given the ten year lapse between painting projects.

So, I've covered art from the visual media, as well as the auditory. But cooking covers all the senses. Great chefs (and me) know that you eat with your eyes before you eat with your mouth. Therefore the presentation of the food appeals to the visual sense. Smell and taste should be fairly obvious for the intelligent crowd that visits this site. Preparing the food with the slicing and dicing and stirring and all that covers the tactile/kinesthetic senses. What else is left? Hearing you say? How is that covered? One of my favorite sounds is the moment diced onions hit a hot pan. Also high on my list of things to hear is the phrase, "dinner's ready."

And one more thing about the art of cooking. You gotta eat.