Nir Adar is a New York based chef, food stylist and an artist. His greatest passion is food and he loves to play with it. He has given a new direction to food styling with his creative artistic vision and classic culinary training. A specialist in styling ice creams and frozen desserts, he has worked on some really interesting projects around the world.

"Many of his conceptual pieces have been featured in gallery shows, hung in restaurants, hotels and homes, placed on dozens of magazine covers and have been featured in articles for "Food Arts Magazine”, "The New York Times”, "New York Magazine” and various international publications," as his website describes. We contacted him for a small interview with us which he kindly accepted. Get tuned into his interview below:

I was born in Israel and moved to the US in 1990, I’m a trained chef and I've spent several years cooking and opening restaurants in Tel Aviv as well as New York city. Currently I divide my time between three areas of interest, food styling, creating art and my company CrispyCones.

My art work derives from my curiosity and passion for food, food not just as a matter of filling stomachs and satisfying hunger but food as a medium that can convey humor and erotica. The food balls series, for example, is a part of an on going exploration of my favorite theme, Playing with food. I believe in the importance of compositions before colors and a shape like a sphere is already a perfect composition. That allows me to use the empty space for a creation of piece made from the food I love, not on plate. There is an interesting dynamic as we explore the image, it first pleases the eye (similar to how we react when a plate of food is served), the second reaction is usually a smile. This is the important moment when we all realize we can actually play with our foods.

No, I’m a trained chef first, but I believe in a three stage “program”-Curiosity, passion and focus. If you have the curiosity and passion for anything you could easily focus your mind and succeed and excel in any profession you choose.

Moving to New York.

Both projects were completed in the same year and both were as challenging and as rewarding. “Heat as directed” was a multi media installation in Milan, Italy. The challenge was to create a giant video installation (120 feet long by 7 feet high) that will tie together three elements, Architecture/design, Food and fashion. I decided to use food to as the material. The final result was a mix media using still images, video capture of moving and flowing foods and sounds.

“'Deliciously Disgusting” was a very interesting project, I was chosen as one of 10 American artists to represent the US at the French Biennale, I chose to address the problem of obesity in the US by using our favorite fast food items such as the Big Mac and squish the items between two pieces of glass. The process was so simple, amazingly rewarding and gruesome to the eye, it was in fact Deliciously Disgusting.

Both.

Again, Curiosity, passion and focus. I simply love challenges and frozen deserts present a very challenging task for all photographers. Photographing ice cream (real ice cream) is very difficult. I developed ways to help maintain the ice cream for longer period of times allowing project to move faster with better results.

I don’t believe artists are necessary motivated by one reason (known to them at least). I don’t wake up in the morning motivated to succeed, or sell or have my work hanging on a gallery wall. I wake up looking for a reason to create a new work, looking for that seed to present it self and then let it flow till piece is done. What I love about food is that it is prevalent and that it presents it self every day. Just cut a red cabbage in half and look at the intricate amazing way the white and purple weave themselves. That is a magical moment that could inspire me (and others) to create.

I’ve been consumed by my invention of the edible bread cone for the last several years. It spend many days improving and developing my CrispyCones brand.

No matter where and when you were born, no matter how many times you were told “don’t play with your food” if you stick to the three stage “program” Curiosity, passion and focus you will be able to conquer your fears, discover new horizons and reach new heights.

Visit Nir's website at NirAdar.com.

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