Inside the Minds of Malaysian World Pastry Chefs: Portraits of Culinary Creativity
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INSIDE THE MINDS OF MALAYSIAN WORLD PASTRY CHEFS: PORTRAITS OF CULINARY CREATIVITY By KAI-SEAN LEE Bachelor of Science in Culinary Management Sunway University Selangor, Malaysia 2016 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE May, 2018 INSIDE THE MINDS OF MALAYSIAN WORLD PASTRY CHEFS: PORTRAITS OF CULINARY CREATIVITY Thesis Approved: Dr. Li Miao Thesis Adviser Dr. Denise Blum Dr. Ben Goh Dr. Stacy Tomas ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My interests, apart from food, revolve around basketball and the graphic novels of Batman. As much as I try to isolate myself both literally and figuratively to mirror the likes of the Caped Crusader, I noticed that the Batman is never truly alone. He always had help, regardless whether it was Alfred, Robin, the Justice League or even the Joker. Batman is never alone. This section is dedicated to the many members of my Bat-Family, who are near and dear to me in my pursuit for greater knowledge through this project. First, to my parents, Mummy and Daddy, I love you. Thank you for consoling me during my defeats and successes and loving me unconditionally 9500 miles away. To my kor (brother), Jet, sometimes I think you should be here pursuing the graduate degree instead of me. Thank you for your colorful ideas that more often than not, spark and ignite my writing and thinking. To my graduate mentors, Dr. Li Miao, Dr. Ben Goh and Chef Tiffany Poe, I am blessed to have the opportunity to learn from the best and work with the best. My successes are just as much yours as they are mine. A page is not enough to acknowledge all of your efforts; you are all the roots of my drive. To Dr. Denise Blum, who have read my portraits since its rawest of drafts. I will never forget our Monday two o’clock sessions. Thank you for being my soundboard and for investing countless hours in me. You are just as much the portraitist of this project than I am. To Dr. Stacy Tomas, I owe you for listening to my frustrations, and most importantly for refining my lens as a researcher. This project’s goals would have still been a blur if it wasn’t for your guidance. And of course, Jacquie Pickering, thank you for guiding me through this graduate process. I’d never forget our “walks.” I appreciate everything you do for me. To my “lil bro” JaeyMinn, and girlfriend, Debbie, thank you for the hours spent in transcribing my voice memos. Thank you for enduring hours of rewinding, pausing, replaying and transcribing all for the sake of my study. To Anthony Liew and KimYeow “Forever 7” Tan, thank you for being my brothers from other mothers. You both make home feel so much closer than it is 9500 miles away. To my roommates, Tate Wallar and Angel Casco, brothers whom I have had the pleasure to develop close relationships with here in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Thank you for housing a nutjob who never eats, sleeps, and makes coffee at one-thirty in the morning. I owe it you both for taking care of me. And last but not least, special thanks to the Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia, the Malaysia Pastry Alliance and the many chef-representatives of the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie Team of Malaysia. I am grateful for each of you! I can only hope that through this project, I have done your stories justice. Finally, to Chef Wei Loon Tan, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. You are my golden key of this project, and thank you for granting me access to the wonderful world of Malaysian pâtisserie. You are truly my inspiration. Thank you. iii Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University. Name: KAI-SEAN LEE Date of Degree: MAY, 2018 Title of Study: INSIDE THE MINDS OF MALAYSIAN WORLD PASTRY CHEFS: PORTRAITS OF CULINARY CREATIVITY Major Field: HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION Abstract: Retaining quality chefs has long been an issue in the culinary industry. Existing literature insists that practitioners should enhance work environments to support and foster chefs’ creativity. However, the core issue of how chefs manifest creativity remains unclear. This study focuses on elucidating the nature of pastry chefs’ (an underrepresented category of the culinary profession) culinary creativity through a phenomenological approach. Nine extraordinary pastry chefs who have represented the Malaysian Pastry Team in the prestigious World Pastry Cup were sampled, in which in- depth interviews and several material artifacts were collected to explicate the essences of culinary creativity. The data analysis was conducted in two phases: the first was to capture the individual essences of each pastry chef’s creative experiences; and the second was to categorize and group each individual essence into themes that best encapsulate Malaysian World pastry chefs’ creative experiences. Portraiture was used as a vessel to help portray each chef’s unique experiences, which led to nine distinct yet rich “portraits of creativity” being portrayed. This was then followed by a phenomenological analysis to help group each essence together into four unique themes – (1) creative harmony, (2) the poetics of creative space, (3) the duality of creative identity, and lastly (4) imaginative episodes. In essence, this study contributes to three avenues. First, this study provides empirical support that culinary creativity is not one that is governed by a sequential/linear process, but rather a patient endeavor of incubation and fueled by continual inspirations. Second, this study enhances current literature on chefs’ occupational rhetorics particularly from the viewpoint of an artist, as it is informed by a contradictory, yet inseparable personification of a scientist. This brings to consideration that there is much to consider about the science behind the making of art, and the art in the development of science. Lastly, through the usage of portraiture, this study gained a greater understanding to how chefs experience creativity through several instances of imaginative episodes, which extends and overlaps with the theory of flow. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 Culinary Creativity as a Form of Artistic Creativity ............................................. 2 The Uniqueness of Culinary Creativity ......................................................... 3 Problem Statement............................................................................................... 5 Purpose Statement ............................................................................................... 7 Contributions of this Study .................................................................................. 8 Definition of Key Terminology............................................................................ 9 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................... 10 Artistic Creativity the Artistic Creative Process ................................................. 10 Culinary Creativity and the Culinary Creative Process ....................................... 13 Chefs as Creative Artists .................................................................................... 17 ‘Extraordinary’ Pastry Chefs as Artistic Figures ................................................ 18 Pastry chefs as a context or culinary creativity ............................................ 20 Malaysia Pastry Team as a ‘New World’ Entity ................................................. 23 III. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................ 26 Subjectivity Statement ....................................................................................... 27 Philosophical Stance and Assumptions .............................................................. 29 The Phenomenological Approach ...................................................................... 31 Sampling method ............................................................................................... 33 Data collection................................................................................................... 35 Material Artifacts ....................................................................................... 35 Interviews .................................................................................................. 36 Phase 1: Portraiture .................................................................................... 38 Phase 2: Phenomenological reduction ........................................................ 42 Ethical considerations ........................................................................................ 43 Trustworthiness ................................................................................................. 44 Chapter Summary .............................................................................................. 46 v Chapter Page IV. FINDINGS PART 1 .......................................................................................... 47 Portrait #1: Chef Wei Loon – “The War General” .............................................. 48 Theme 1: Creative spatial meanings of the kitchen ..................................... 50 Theme 2: Breaking creative limits “on stage” ............................................. 52 Summary of the War General ....................................................................