The grafitti and scenes of San Paulo

When I travel away from Atlanta, I usually take my I phone and my Cannon Rebel.  When I see something interesting, whether it be food related or not, I use my I Phone to document what I see.  Other times, I will pull out my Cannon camera and snap the scene to my memory card.  I use the Cannon for pictures that I truly want to keep long-term.

Where do I received inspiration for a dish or a theme when I am cooking?   My answer is simple.  I find inspiration almost anywhere from a cloudy day to a leaf falling to the earth. It is always there you just have to stop and look for it.  I do not always need to be inspired directly from another food related item to create something new in the kitchen.   I can be inspired in the kitchen with a simple thing like hearing the giggle of little kids.

As a chef, I think its one thing that keeps me on my game and always expanding my mind and ability to view things in new and interesting ways. That is what I was reminded of on my recent trip to San Paulo.

Who says you can not find inspiration in a sunset or a wonderful spring aroma brought to you by the wind? Or while you are watching the waves break on the shore, or in the flicker of wood burning in the fire place.  I have learned that you can find inspiration in the most unlikely of places.  As I looked at all the graffiti pictures I took in San Paulo, I realized that they are actually very beautiful.  I found myself sort of looking at something that most people would cringe at and appreciating it for more than what you can perceive of it at a quick glance.

I thought about how can I look at a an ingredient that I would normally cringe looking at and appreciate it for more than it is at a quick glance?  A tomato perhaps?  A potato?  Maybe an onions?  Taking pictures of the graffiti started me thinking and connecting the things around me to the kitchen.

Being a chef is hard work especially when you are trying to look at the same ingredients from different angles?  Looking at a boring pitted potato is not that interesting until you begin to look at it from a different perspective.  Some people these pictures graffiti but regardless of how you refer to it, you can’t deny that these images have something to say and evoke  a response from us.   At first I was appalled but then I realized that there was something there in the midst of the hustle and bustle.  I was learning to look  beyond what I  have already defined.   For example:  Graffiti is ugly and dirty now became graffiti is an expression and creation of someone else; when I looked into the camera lens the graffiti became like art.   How can I apply that realization to my on kitchen?

I viewed the graffiti on the walls of buildings almost as paintings, like those that you would find in an art gallery. I hope you enjoy these pictures I took of the graffiti art.  Some of the pictures below are of scenes in San Paulo that I thought were gorgeous so I included them as well even though they do not contain graffiti.