{"id":8357,"date":"2026-03-08T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7561914\/denmark-is-set-to-explore-if-gastronomy-can-be-recognized-as-an-art-form\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T06:29:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T14:29:41","slug":"denmark-is-set-to-explore-if-gastronomy-can-be-recognized-as-an-art-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8357\/denmark-is-set-to-explore-if-gastronomy-can-be-recognized-as-an-art-form\/","title":{"rendered":"Denmark is set to explore if gastronomy can be recognized as an art form"},"content":{"rendered":"

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) \u2014 Imagine dining on \u201cedible plastic\u201d made from algae and collagen from fish skins. While you ingest the dish, ocean-borne plastic pollution seemingly floats above you, projected across the restaurant\u2019s huge domed ceiling. It\u2019s an experience \u2014 and dish \u2014 inspired by large garbage patches found in our seas.<\/p>\n

In Denmark<\/a>, chef Rasmus Munk<\/a> doesn’t offer dishes at the Alchemist restaurant. Instead, he whisks guests on an \u201cimmersive dining experience\u201d combining performance, music, projections in its planetarium-like domed dining room, and, of course, food.<\/p>\n

Opened in 2019 at the site of a former industrial harbor area in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, Alchemist was named the world\u2019s fifth-best restaurant in 2025. It has two Michelin stars, signifying excellence in cuisine, out of a maximum three possible for one establishment. <\/p>\n

Guests at this restaurant can experience 50 \u201cimpressions,\u201d most of them edible. Dining there means trying various foods \u2014 a large eyeball dish featuring caviar and codfish eye gel, nettle butterflies served atop cheese and artichoke leaves \u2014 over many hours, in a slow process that invites reflection on the food and surrounding projections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe convey messages through our food, our food is our medium of expressing ourselves,\u201d said Munk, whose dishes also explore issues such as state surveillance and animal welfare.<\/p>\n

Gastronomy as art<\/p>\n

Once known for bacon, herring, and rye bread, the Scandinavian country\u2019s cuisine has been in ascendancy since 2003 when Ren\u00e9 Redzepi\u2019s world-beating Noma first burst onto the scene, preaching a \u201cNew Nordic\u201d philosophy that celebrated foraging, fermenting and Scandinavia\u2019s seasonal larder. <\/p>\n

Emboldened by the success of the New Nordic movement, Denmark’s Michelin-starred restaurants are now asking a new question: Can gastronomy be art? <\/p>\n

Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said in January that Denmark would explore whether gastronomy could be formally recognized as an art form. If realized, it could become the first nation to legally place cooking \u2014 or at least the highest versions of it \u2014 on a similar pedestal to painting.<\/p>\n

It’s not clear how the culture ministry\u2019s plans will be impacted by the country\u2019s March 24 general election<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Munk, 34, who says he spent almost a decade honing his \u201cartistic practices,\u201d has been a driving force behind the move and described it as a \u201cbig milestone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think all food is art \u2026 I think the craftsmanship needs to be on the highest level,\u201d he said, noting that ultimately it’s a political decision what gets called art and what not and that, for now, \u201cthis is a closed society for chefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The change, still in its exploratory phase, would eventually require a vote in Denmark\u2019s 179-seat parliament to reclassify gastronomy from craft to art.<\/p>\n

It could also make the country\u2019s chefs eligible for state subsidies and funding from private foundations \u2014 like writers and musicians \u2014 to get their projects off the ground.<\/p>\n

A dining destination<\/p>\n

Other nations with famed food cultures, including France and Japan, haven\u2019t made similar moves. Last year, UNESCO granted Italian cooking<\/a> cultural heritage status.<\/p>\n

Denmark has previously expanded what constitutes art and culture, for example by awarding a lifetime national arts honor to heavy metal act King Diamond. Last year, the Sonning Prize, Denmark\u2019s largest cultural award, was awarded to French gastronomic artist and chemist Herv\u00e9 This.<\/p>\n

The Nordic nation of 6 million people has become a dining destination, home to 37 Michelin-starred restaurants, including Copenhagen\u2019s two-star Kadeau, which was opened in 2011 by head chef and creative director Nicolai N\u00f8rregaard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI approach it like I would approach making a piece of art, like an artwork or a piece of writing,\u201d N\u00f8rregaard said. \u201cIt\u2019s about getting sort of an experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 46-year-old head chef, whose recipes reference the seasonal flavors of Danish island Bornholm, said that such recognition would be a \u201cbig step.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo acknowledge that this can also be looked upon as art \u2026 that\u2019s what\u2019s important for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

‘It doesn\u2019t make any sense’<\/p>\n

But not everyone, even some within the industry, are toasting the idea.<\/p>\n

Nick Curtin, the American executive chef and owner of Copenhagen\u2019s Michelin-starred Alouette restaurant, argues that art and gastronomy are fundamentally different.<\/p>\n

\u201cArt\u2019s sole purpose is expression. It\u2019s to evoke emotion. Food must be consumed,\u201d he said. \u201c(Art) can evoke disgust or disappointment or pain or sorrow or joy or longing. Food actually can\u2019t express all of those things. It can, but it shouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some in Denmark\u2019s art scene also have expressed concern that such a change might see greater competition for funding between chefs and more traditional artists like painters.<\/p>\n

Holger Dahl, the architecture and art critic at Denmark\u2019s 277-year-old Berlingske newspaper, is more blunt: \u201cI think it\u2019s quite silly, there\u2019s no use, it doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit like a bicycle and a car \u2014 they have round wheels, they\u2019ll take you from one point to another point, but it\u2019s not like a very good bicycle all of a sudden turns into a car,” he said. “It doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Chefs prepare the dishes inside the prep kitchen at restaurant Alchemist in Copenhagen, Denmark, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo\/James Brooks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
A dish named “Tongue Kiss” served at restaurant Alchemist in Copenhagen, Denmark, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo\/James Brooks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Chiefs prepare food at the restaurant Kadeau in Copenhagen, Denmark, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/James Brooks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
A cured squid, white cabbage, hazelnuts and walnuts dish served at restaurant Kadeau in Copenhagen, Denmark, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/James Brooks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) \u2014 Imagine dining on \u201cedible plastic\u201d made from algae and collagen from fish skins. While you ingest the dish, ocean-borne plastic pollution seemingly floats above you, projected across the restaurant\u2019s huge domed ceiling. It\u2019s an experience \u2014 and dish \u2014 inspired by large garbage patches found in our seas. In Denmark, chef […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":8358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"48646056-e2ab-4298-bf48-a2c45395866a","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"James Brooks","published":"2026-03-05 06:29:41","updated":"2026-03-05 06:29:41","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[711,1822,1815,1823,704],"tags":[],"region":[547,548,549,550],"class_list":["post-8357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-entertainment","category-international","category-music","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8357\/denmark-is-set-to-explore-if-gastronomy-can-be-recognized-as-an-art-form\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Denmark is set to explore if gastronomy can be recognized as an art form","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8357\/denmark-is-set-to-explore-if-gastronomy-can-be-recognized-as-an-art-form\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8357\/denmark-is-set-to-explore-if-gastronomy-can-be-recognized-as-an-art-form\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-c57366bdf696e3dfbb92d395738f4d80d4b5069f5959abed263097e566722b19.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-c57366bdf696e3dfbb92d395738f4d80d4b5069f5959abed263097e566722b19.jpg"},"articleSection":"business","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwine","logo":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/logo-inwine.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-03-08T20:00:00Z","datePublished":"2026-03-08T20:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-03-08T20:00:00Z"},"rendered":"