Four creative chefs from the surrounding areas have attempted to submit their recipes for the public to enjoy at the Salon Bistro. However, the establishment continues to reject the new chefs' submissions year after year.
So, the chefs, Monsieurs Courbet, Manet, Monet and Cezanne, decide to create their own cook-off to show the people that another type of chili can exist. And the feelings that the new chili conveys are sensual and mouth watering, even if they are only composed of simple ingredients.
Monsieur Courbet was a chef who created recipes with what he knew. From first glance, his chili appeared fairly ordinary. The edges around the pot he cooked in were often overcooked and rough appearing, but this only added to the taste. His variety of earthy spices, natural beans and meat left a sensual taste on the tongue. Unfortunately, his addition of alcohol to the chili increased quite excessively as his cooking progressed. Matthew Collings reported that critics of Courbet's chili expressed, "the audience at the time thought it was terrible and obscure, and just a bloated homage to himself. But to history, it's like a sign saying 'This Way, Moderns".
Monsieur Manet brought color in as the main focus of his chili. He knew that this time in Paris during the Industrial Revolution was one of consumerism, and that the people who were to try his chili wanted to be entertained. Although the colors of his creation were appealing and took center stage, some of his ingredients looked deliberately disconnected. Not to mention, Manet's main consumers were prostitutes and he wasn't shy about letting people know that these business woman were big fans of his cooking. The public had a difficult time swallowing his food, because, as Collings said, "...you don't mention prostitution, you cover it up with prudity".
And then there was Monsieur Monet, who began by created a more formal chili for the people. His aesthetically pleasing, artistic chili concoctions had classic ingredients, but sometimes surprised people with a pop of color, often from poppy flowers. "Formal in art context doesn't mean being polite or wearing smart clothes. It means visual power, visual noticability", reports Collings. The final product was more watery than his fellow chefs, but the way he captured light on the reflection of the soupy chili could definitely catch your eye. He did all of his cooking almost exclusively outdoors, inspired by nature, as well as Monsieurs Corbet and Manet. Sadly, the French did not immediately care for Monet's meals. Ironically, it was the American audience that first found Monet's chili so appealing. So much so, that they requested several vats be created just for certain American billionaires. Monet was lucky to be very well paid for his light and fluid chili creations.
Finally, Monsieur Cezanne created submissions for the big Chili Cook-Off. He was a shy fellow with a difficult personality. Cezanne's chili conveyed a unique taste because of it's carefully ordered contents. With his tomatoes and his spices, he was able to show that chili could be both a solid meal and a fluid soup of a starter. However, some recipients of his chili complained because the chili was always served on angled plates, distorting the view of the food and creating thick contours to the chili. Luckily the impressions his chili left "liberated him from his own inner storms. In art, he could control his emotions - in life, he couldn't", states Collings.
All of the chefs took big risks with their 'impressionist' chili creations. And although the flavors didn't catch on right away, the chili that these four 'artists' created inspired many others, and is, perhaps, the most recognizable style of cooking chili in these modern times. Of course, people took their time in fully appreciating what the chili had to offer. At first, the spoonfuls may create some digestive upset. But in the end, the vision created leaves one feeling warm and fulfilled.
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