The 4 Bridges Art Festival is this weekend, its 25th anniversary, which is a fabulous event, showcasing national artists from some 17 different mediums.

Photography. Watercolor. Ceramics. Wood. Furniture. Jewelry. Leather. Basketry.

But no chefs.

No food.

Why not?

Aren't chefs artists, too? Can't the plate be a canvas?

Food can be gorgeous, an intentional invention made up of similar elemental ingredients as formal art: preparation, 10,000-hours of dedication, beauty, risk, vision.

Chef Erik Niel calls food an "ephemeral" version of art. Some dishes are stunningly beautiful. The big difference between what's served on a plate and hanging on a wall? Time. One lasts; the other, gone by our second glass of Pinot.

"It’s a beautiful thing to create and disappear," said Easy Bistro & Bar's Chef Joe Milenkovic. "To be created and consumed within minutes."

A Zen garden with fork: here, then swallowed whole.

It's rare, but not uncommon, for chefs to be treated as artists. (The Virginia State Fair allows for culinary arts competition.)

If art is a combination of skill, vision, ingredients and expression, then aren't the dishes produced by multiple Chattanooga chefs considered, well, artistic?

Months ago, we asked this to a regional art leader. No response. So, we thought: let's launch our own art show.

This morning, welcome to the First Annual Food as a Verb Art Show.

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We're showcasing nine separate dishes by a few of our city's top chefs. Treat Sarah's photography as you would any museum or exhibit. Approach with care. Don't rush. Savor. Search for the countless pockets of beauty - the pop + intersection of colors, the waves of textures, the overall feeling goodness within.

As Joe said: It's a beautiful thing ...

Sujata Singh and Oscar Cobon, Spice Trail

• Tamarind rice basmati with chicken, pomegranates, cilantro, curry leaves and peanuts served in a cast-iron skillet.

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* Chicken tikka masala with baby potatoes, chicken, pomegranates, mint date chutney, tamarind date chutney, tomato aioli, cilantro.

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"Chicken tikka masala is not really Indian. It was developed for a British palate," said Sujata. "I made our own version. Instead of being in a curry or sauce, it's dry. Oscar added potatoes."

The dish debuted last week when she unveiled it at a school-fundraiser, where it was most well-received. It's coming to the Spice Trail menu this week.

• Keema Pie with date chutney and aioli

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"Keema means 'ground meat', cooked with spices. We chose lamb," Sujata said. "There's a flaky crust served with chutney and aioli. Oscar turned it into an empanada sweet pie."

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Chef Khaled AlBanna, Calliope

* Fresh wild mahi with dry-rub fisherman's spices, charred and caramelized leeks, fish broth, saffron, pomelo citrus and cilantro and pomelo-zest infused olive oil.

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(Here's our video of Chef AlBanna preparing this dish.)

• Winter beets, slow-roasted winter beets with pomegranate au jus dressing on a bed of onion labneh and hazelnut seeds, coriander, hazelnuts and seed dukkah.

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"We choose perfect size beets we peel and marinate in juice cocktail made from grapefruit orange blossom and aromatics," he began.

"We slow roast them. That's going to infuse that citrus flavor and caramelize the beets. We add pomegranates to the roasting jus to make the dressing. Then, we finish it with pickled yellow beets, onion labneh and jameed - dry yogurt cheese from goats' milk."

• Gulf domestic shrimp with garlic saffron sauce and dry-rubbed Moroccan spices.

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"We saute the shrimp with onion and chili, then finish it with garlic saffron sauce and lemon. The shrimp has a dry rub of blend of Middle Eastern and Moroccan spices that would taste like barbecue shrimp," he said. "It is based on lots of experiences and inspirations."

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Chef Joe Milenkovic, Easy Bistro & Bar

• Garden of radicchio salad, with four types of radicchio, bagna cauda, 10-year balsamic, 24-month parmigiano reggiano, Alabama pecans, golden nugget mandarins.

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"We use a small batch of all organic four varieties of radicchio: Castelrossa, Rosalba, Lucrezia and Tardivo," said Joe.

"We add parmigiano reggiano and balsamic vinegar, Alabama pecans, a dressing with anchovies, garlic and miso with golden nugget mandarins and Alabama pecans.

"These are badass radicchio varieties. I love bitter. We're getting super high quality - some of the best radicchio in the country."

• Golden beets and thumbelina carrots, mandarinquats, sunflower sprouts, with a green goddess dressing.

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"We toss the beets with a preserved kumquat citronette, carefully placing the mandarinquats on top of the beets and carrots.

"We lightly fry sunflower seeds and add sunflower sprouts," he said.

Executive sous chef Ben Wilt created this dish.

• Tortelloni, ricotta and 24-month parmigiano reggiano filling, wild watercress and spring garlic pesto.

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"These are big tortelloni filled with ricotta and parmigiano sourced from a creamery in New Haven, Connecticut, called Liuzzi," said Joe. "All cow's milk."

"I added a bunch of parmigiano reggiano, whole nutmeg, black pepper, a whole egg and a touch of lemon zest. I got the watercress from a local forager.

"I made a pesto with pine nuts and some spring garlic from California."

That dish made the Easy menu for one-night only.

Was it art? Or something else?

"I say craftsmanship," said Joe.

By calling himself a craftsman-chef and not an artist, Joe - down-to-earth and direct in the best of ways - avoids all sorts of pretension, putting emphasis where it belongs: on the dish, not the chef.

His definition of chef-work is both genius and precise: "knowing what to do at the right time."

Nearby, an original piece of Genesis the Greykid art hung from the Easy walls.

Underneath it, Joe had placed his dishes for us.

How is one art, but not the other?

Joe turned the question back on us.

"Is the wood mason who makes this table an artist or craftsman?" he said.

Soon, we began slipping into Philosophy 101, a discussion on relativism and art - "Is the Caesar Salad being served down the street art?" - that would rabbit-hole-twist and turn until one of us cried 'Pollock.'

Joe got back to basics. ("It's a fucking radicchio salad.")

"I prefer food built on the fundamentals of seasonality, flavor, sourcing and tradition," he said. "I think there's room to play, but if you don't understand the rules, you probably don't know how to break them."

A dish may look beautiful, but, if it's built on presentation, and not deep taste, then it's ultimately a sell-out, a look-at-me attempt by chefs to turn attention back to the kitchen, instead of the guest.

"We need less artists with micro-greens and more skilled craftsman." (He suggested a title for us: I Don't Care About Your Microgreens.)

Joe - easily one of the most prolifically skilled, funniest and generously kind chefs in the industry - kept his eyes on one goal.

"I want to make something that's going to make you feel really good," he said. "You can be an artist all you want ... but I believe it's most important to strive for an understanding of when ingredients are at their peak, how to capture them and ultimately, treat them with love and care."

Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com

This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.

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