Curiosity

We live in a world obsessed with currency. We measure value in dollars, investments, profits, and performance. Yet one of the most valuable assets a person can possess rarely appears on a balance sheet.

Not creativity as a hobby. Not creativity as artistic expression alone. Creativity as a commodity.

The more I reflect on my career, the more convinced I become that creativity is one of the most valuable commodities we possess. In fact, I believe creativity is the new currency.

My relationship with creativity did not begin in a professional kitchen.

It began with curiosity.

As a child, I was fascinated by the world around me. I was constantly observing, imagining, and wondering what was possible. Looking back, I realize I was not learning art. I was learning to see. Creativity was never simply something I did. It was how I saw the world.

That creative lens has followed me throughout my life and career. It shaped how I approached challenges, how I connected people, and ultimately how I approached food.

For most of my life, I have been solution oriented. When something is not working, I do not spend much time dwelling on why it cannot be done. My mind immediately begins searching for possibilities. Creativity has always been the engine behind that mindset.

Creativity is not simply about making something beautiful. Creativity is problem solving. It is innovation. It is resilience. It is the ability to create possibility when circumstances suggest otherwise.

"Creativity was never simply something I did. It was how I saw the world."

As my culinary career evolved, I became increasingly interested in how creativity could elevate the guest experience. Wanting to expand my perspective, I intentionally pursued studies in two dimensional art, sculpture, and design. I wanted to better understand composition, balance, movement, texture, colour, and form.

More importantly, I was obsessed with translating those creative visions to the plate.

I wanted food to be more than nourishment. I wanted it to tell a story.

I wanted it to create an emotional connection. Most importantly, I wanted it to be intentional.

That philosophy has guided much of my work throughout my career and is why floral philosophy has become woven into so many of the menus, experiences, and stories I have created.

Flowers are not simply garnish. They bring symbolism, beauty, memory, and meaning to a plate. They help tell a story. They create a connection between nature, emotion, and experience.

Looking back, I realize I was not simply creating dishes. I was creating experiences inspired by colour, nature, flowers, people, and possibility.

At the time, I viewed these artistic studies as an extension of my culinary education.

Today, I see them differently. I was investing in creativity because creativity is a commodity.

As a creative person, I am also guilty of something many creative people do. I freely give away ideas. For years, I shared concepts, solutions, introductions, and creative thinking without ever considering that what I was offering had real value. Perhaps it is because creativity comes naturally to me. When something feels natural, it can be easy to underestimate its worth.

Yet the older I get, the more I recognize that ideas have value.

Creative thinking has value and vision has value — that is a commodity.

I am often reminded of this when I visit an art gallery. It is not uncommon to overhear someone standing in front of a painting saying, "My five year old could do that."

Perhaps they could. Or patrons at a table casually discussing how they could have easily thought of and made that combination of sauce at home.

But they did not.

What is being valued is not simply the paint on the canvas or a sauce on the plate. It is the artist's, the chef's vision. It is the years spent developing their craft. It is their ability to see something others do not see and translate it into something that creates emotion, conversation, and meaning.

The commodity is not the paint on the canvas or the plate.

The commodity is the vision that inspired it.

Commerce

One of the most important realizations I have had throughout my career is that people pay for creativity every day. They may not describe it that way, but creativity influences many of the purchasing decisions we make.

People attend concerts, theatre performances, galleries, festivals, and culinary events because they are seeking more than a product. They are seeking an experience. They are investing in imagination, storytelling, emotion, and connection.

The same is true in hospitality.

At the end of May, I had the privilege of helping bring Once Upon a Brunch to life as part of Terroir Symposium's 20th Anniversary celebrations. The event was a collaboration between chefs and the Calgary Opera, blending culinary arts and performing arts into a unique guest experience.

The event sold out in record time.

As I reflected on why it resonated so strongly with guests, I realized people were not simply purchasing a brunch ticket.

They were investing in creativity.

The collaboration between the amazing chefs and the Calgary Opera created magic and community together. 150 guests were drawn to the artistry, the storytelling, the imagination, and the opportunity to experience food and performance together. The chefs expressed their creativity through thoughtfully crafted bites while the Calgary Opera added another layer of artistic expression.

That is where creativity and commerce intersect.

The collaboration demonstrated something I have come to believe throughout my career: creativity creates value. It offered something unique, something guests could not experience elsewhere, food, performance, storytelling, and imagination combined into a single experience.

The demand was not created by the ingredients alone. It was not created by the venue. It was not created by the logistics.

It was created by the idea. Creativity was the differentiator. Creativity was the attraction.

Creativity was the commodity people were willing to invest in.

"People were not simply purchasing a brunch ticket. They were investing in creativity."

What fascinates me is that we often struggle to place a value on creativity until we experience its impact. We readily assign value to buildings, equipment, technology, and infrastructure because their worth feels tangible. Creativity is different. Its value often reveals itself only after it has inspired us, moved us, connected us, or transformed the way we think.

Perhaps that is why creativity is so often underestimated.

Yet when people choose a destination, attend a performance, purchase a piece of art, or reserve a seat at a sold out event, they are often responding to something far less tangible than the product itself. They are responding to vision.

And vision has value.

A spreadsheet can tell us where we are, but creativity helps us envision where we can go.

The value of creativity is rarely found in the tangible elements alone. It is not found solely in the ingredients, the flowers, the paint, or the performance itself. Its value lies in the vision, the intention, and the ability to transform those elements into something meaningful.

Whether in business, hospitality, the arts, or innovation, creativity remains one of the few resources capable of creating something entirely new from what already exists. It connects people to ideas, transforms ordinary experiences into memorable ones, and allows us to see familiar things through a different lens. While its impact may be difficult to quantify, its influence can be seen everywhere. Behind every successful event, every compelling brand, every memorable dining experience, and every breakthrough idea is a creative vision that inspired it.

Perhaps that is why creativity is so often underestimated. It does not fit neatly into a spreadsheet, yet it has the power to inspire, connect, and create value in ways that are both cultural and commercial.

The next time you take a bite of food, attend a performance, or stand in front of a painting, perhaps you will pause for a moment and consider the countless hours of creative thought, experimentation, and vision that made that experience possible. What may provide a few moments of pleasure for the consumer often represents years of observation, practice, imagination, and refinement for the creator.

The commodity is not the object itself.

It is the vision behind it.

Photo credits: Fishes, 2012 — Liana Robberecht | Little girl photo