Representation of aesthetic categories in cake decoration

The purpose of this work is to reveal the socio-cultural and aesthetic content of cake decorating, which reflects the aesthetic ideal of society at the current stage of its development. The research methodology is based on a systematic approach, which involved consideration of aesthetic categories in their relationship and implementation in the socio-cultural sphere, and the use of comparative, logical-semantic, descriptive methods and methods of decomposition and interdisciplinary synthesis. The scientific novelty of the work is the application of the categorical apparatus of aesthetic science for the systematic analysis of art and applied art on the example of cake decorating. Conclusions. Culinary culture has a dual nature, combining theoretical knowledge of cooking technologies and the empirical embodiment of this knowledge in specific culinary products. The decoration of cakes as a kind of arts and crafts is influenced by the following aesthetic categories: beauty, harmony, rhythm and proportion. They determine the visual embodiment of the creative idea of the confectioner. Harmony is defined as an immanent to the object of the material world organization, which is achieved statically through the symmetry of visual elements and dynamic through rhythm and is balanced by the observance of proportions. Aesthetic is a meta category of aesthetics, which implements both the objective and material properties of the world and the properties of the subject of social life. Aesthetic taste embodies the ability to adequately master the aesthetic qualities of reality, which is expressed in a system of direct emotional evaluations and intellectual and critical thinking. Cakes are considered one of the key varieties of culinary art, combining taste and a special artistic approach to decoration, due to the socio-cultural significance of this type of dessert in the ritual practices of social life. Making a holiday cake demonstrates the importance of combining technologically correct and balanced execution of its basis and subsequent decoration, embodying the antinomy of beautiful and practical