Artistic design techniques in gastronomy: Research on Michelin star restaurant plates

Gastronomy encompasses many disciplines such as art, design, food science, history and culture. Food presentation is often likened to an art form where chefs use techniques similar to painters. Plate compositions created using design principles and elements evoke emotions and create a multi-sensory dining experience. Culinary art is increasingly recognized as an art form that combines design with functionality. The Michelin guide evaluates the dining experience by giving restaurants one, two or three stars according to their qualities. The dishes in Michelin-starred restaurants exemplify the highest standards of design and presentation. The aim of this research is to reveal the interaction between gastronomy, art and design and to examine the importance of creativity and presentation in achieving excellence in gastronomy. The method of this research was determined as descriptive content analysis and semiotics, which are qualitative research methods. Descriptive content analysis was used to create data and a visual pool was created. A total of 15 restaurant plates were determined, including 5 restaurants randomly selected from among 3000 restaurants in the one star category, 5 restaurants randomly selected from among 497 restaurants in the two star category, and 5 restaurants randomly selected from among 149 restaurants in the three star category on the official website of the Michelin Guide. The categorized plates were interpreted within the framework of semiotics, taking basic design principles and elements as reference. The main goal is to analyze the plates of Michelin-starred restaurants and reveal the innovative use of design elements, mastery of design principles, and creativity of chefs. In the research findings, it was observed that chefs used design principles and elements in a balanced manner in the plates of Michelin-starred restaurants, and design elements had an important place in plate design. The lessons learned in the analyses and the results obtained will shed light on both the gastronomy sector and gastronomy and culinary arts students.