Light Chats
“Let me Cook!”
A South Korean Cooking Competition Dishes Up a Timely Reminder
I I was blown away by an episode of Culinary Class Wars, where chefs were challenged to create gourmet dishes using only convenience store products. Beyond being an entertaining competition, the show posed an intriguing question: Are we truly limited by confines?
During the show, one chef transformed off-the-shelf convenience store items into a one-of-a-kind tiramisu that astonished the judges. While cooking relies on tangible ingredients like meat and vegetables, lighting design plays with more abstract elements — light, shadow, and color.
Yet, the impact of creativity is the same. No matter how limiting the materials are or the constraints we face, the real challenge lies in thinking beyond conventional boundaries.
We often say, “See the light, not the fixture” or “Conceal lighting within architectural details.” These once bold design philosophies have become standard expectations, especially in the LED era, where technology enables limitless performance. But are we simply ‘assembling’ lighting schemes — like heating up a pre-packaged meal — without truly transforming the ingredient and engaging our creativity?
Back in the days, designers had a diverse palette of light sources — incandescent, fluorescent, HPS, metal halide, mercury vapor — before simulation software became widely available. Back then, we had to experiment, take risks, and truly ‘cook’ with light.
Today, lighting designers work with fewer light sources, but far more complex softwares in a highly competitive market. I feel fortunate to have experienced both eras, yet I remind myself: no matter how technology evolves, creativity is the key. Just like those chefs, who with nothing but convenience store ingredients, managed to create something extraordinary when they are left — to cook.
「盡情發揮吧！」
《黑白大廚：料理階級大戰》的啟發
大家肯定看過《黑白大廚：料理階級大戰》，還記得那集讓人叫絕的便利商店大挑戰吧！
當黑白湯匙廚師只能用架上的商品，來製作高級料理的挑戰，不僅超越娛樂性的實境秀，更提出耐人深思的問題：我們是否已經陷入既有的物質安逸，而無法發揮創造力？
那位跳脫既定思維的廚師，竟能把現成商品，轉換為讓評審驚訝不已的提拉米蘇。證明了，即使不用高檔食材，也可以造出高尚的口味。
烹飪，依賴肉類與蔬菜這些具體的食材；照明設計，則運用抽象的光、影與色彩。然而，挑戰卻是一樣：無論材料多麼受限、環境多麼嚴苛，真正要突破是既有框架，及超越傳統的思維。
常聽到：「看見光，而非燈具。」或是「將光隱藏在建築細節之中。」在傳統燈具時代，是大膽的設計理念，如今燈具尺寸縮小、技術成熟的後LED時代 (Post LEDism)，這只是基本的要求。
面臨任何燈光效果都可以達成的時代。身為燈光設計師的我們，是否只在組合型錄上的產品，就像身為廚師，只會把超商的食品，放入微波爐加熱就可上菜。
可惜呀！這不僅放棄可以改變既有材料的可能性，更錯失將燈光設計這個專業，提升至具有文化、創意層次的機會。
在LED及照明模擬軟體尚未普及的年代，設計師擁有豐富的調色盤及食材 — 白熾燈、螢光燈、高壓鈉燈、金屬鹵化物燈、水銀燈…等等。那時，燈光設計師必須親自試驗、用手計算畫效果、及冒險，也有足夠的時間來真正「烹調」光線。
如今，照明設計師的光源選擇少了很多，卻要面對更複雜的軟體，以及極端競爭的市場。本人十分慶幸經歷過這兩個時代，但必須不時自我警惕：“無論科技如何發達，創意才是關鍵”。正如那些廚師，即便手上只有便利商店產品，當他們大膽放手一博，創造出的佳餚，真的讓人驚豔，難忘不已。
