What Gordon Ramsay Taught Me About Data Visualization
Lessons from the culinary world
If you are an avid fan of reality cooking shows such as MasterChef or enjoy cooking yourself, then you likely know how much effort (and, seemingly, chaos) takes place in the kitchen to prepare the food and how much creativity and attention to detail is required to plate the meal.
You also know that, in the world of fine dining, presentation is equally as important as taste.
I am a MasterChef fan who tries to apply what I learn from these shows into my day-to-day and special occasion cooking. The same is true of data visualization — I am in awe of data viz specialists who share their mastery with the community. Food and data visualization are two of my favourite things, so it was only natural that I started seeing the similarities!
While many parallels can be drawn between culinary arts and data visualization, it is the food plating technique and its importance to the dining experience that has fascinated me. I have been inspired by celebrity chefs and those in restaurants who are able to express their creativity through their cuisine. The question is, what can we, as data visualization practitioners, learn from these chefs?
