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"\u201CDon\u2019t inhale it like you\u2019re doing cocaine\u2014your nose can get fatigued,\u201D the scent expert &lt;a href=\"http://www.chandlerburr.com/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chandler Burr&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; instructed last night, gingerly waving a perfume blotter under his nose in the candlelit dining room of the recently reopened &lt;a href=\"http://www.thegrittipalace.com/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Hotel Gritti Palace&lt;/a&gt; in Venice, Italy.\r\n\r\nThe table in the baroque hall was set for 30-plus, an international coterie of guests who had assembled for a preview of a new interactive dinner from executive chef &lt;strong&gt;Daniele Turco&lt;/strong&gt;, to be emceed by Burr when it is officially offered at the property next week.\r\n\r\n\"Does anyone know what it is?\" Burr, the former &lt;i&gt;New York Times&lt;/i&gt; perfume critic, asked of the earthy, nutty aroma in question, surveying the room as suggestions started trickling in\u2014timidly at first, then with gusto.\r\n\r\n\u201CCardamom!\u201D one voice shouted.\r\n\r\n\u201COlive!\u201D said another.\r\n\r\n\u201CAnyone else?\u201D Burr prodded, encouraging participation while visibly restraining his overwhelming urge to drop some knowledge on the audience. Finally, he revealed the answer: \u201CTruffle.\u201D\r\n\r\nThree more blotters followed, one dipped in &lt;i&gt;sucane absolut&lt;/i&gt;\u2014\u201Crum,\u201D Burr clarified\u2014and another in an essence of white ginger; the final scent strip provided a whiff of the individual notes in their completed fragrance form: &lt;strong&gt;Tom Ford&lt;/strong&gt;\u2019s best-selling chypre-oriental, &lt;a href=\"http://www.sephora.com/black-orchid-P183301\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Black Orchid&lt;/a&gt;. \u201CYou've had my Black Orchid,\u201D Burr subsequently declared, motioning to an army of attendants in white tuxedo jackets to dispense with a macerated beef tartare plated with a shot of rum and individual heaps of ginger, shaved truffle, and Parmesan. \u201CNow, you'll try his\u201D\u2014chef\u00A0Turco's.\r\n\r\nAnd so began the latest installment of Burr\u2019s illustrious \u201Cscent dinner\u201D concept, an event he has devised to celebrate\u2014and elevate\u2014the oft-decried gourmand fragrance category, which showcases aromas of the edible variety. \u00A0\u201CIt just struck me that these [perfumes] use amazing raw materials\u2014food raw materials&lt;i&gt;,\u201D &lt;/i&gt;he explained, elaborating on his idea to \u201Ctranslate the invisible dinner from the sense of smell, to the sense of taste.\u201D\r\n\r\nFor his latest olfactory art exhibit, Burr has partnered with fashion designer Tom Ford\u2019s beauty arm to showcase its collection of standout gourmands. Yes, you read that right; perfume as olfactory art is an idea that Burr defends relentlessly.\r\n\r\nFragrance, he insisted, \u201Cis the equal of paint, clay, words that are in literature.\u201D Burr waxes less lyrical when it comes to, well, food.\r\n\r\n\u201CFood is not art,\u201D he asserted, making similar claims about wine\u2014fighting words in many parts of America, not to mention Italy. \u201CArt, as far as I'm concerned, is artificial; it must be created by a person who wants to manipulate you into perceiving the world in a different way,\u201D he reasoned aloud\u2014somewhat paradoxically, considering the decidedly mind-altering menu.\r\n\r\nTurco\u2019s five-course meal\u2014which he will prepare at the Gritti for ticket holders on November 6, followed by a cooking class at the hotel\u2019s remodeled Gritti Epicurean School on the 7th (the same experience will also be offered at the nearby &lt;a href=\"http://www.danielihotelvenice.com/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Hotel Daniele&lt;/a&gt; courtesy of executive chef &lt;strong&gt;Gian Nicola Colucci&lt;/strong&gt; on November 8th)\u2014revolves around five of Ford\u2019s best-selling scents. In addition to the Black Orchid tartare, there is: another &lt;i&gt;amuse bouche&lt;/i&gt; of Sicilian lemon, Italian bergamot, and rosemary-infused ricotta ravioli, created in homage to the same essences that brighten up Ford\u2019s ultra-fresh &lt;a href=\"http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/tom-ford-private-blend-neroli-portofino-eau-de-parfum/3145626\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Neroli Portofino eau&lt;/a&gt;; an &lt;i&gt;intermezzo&lt;/i&gt; of sage and cardamom sorbet served with a sauce of caramel and passionfruit, Turco\u2019s interpretation of Ford\u2019s Jasmin Rouge; a veal filet topped with a sweet almond-flour disc, accompanied by vanilla-spiked vegetables on a drizzle of honey coulis, a shout-out to the honeyed beeswax in Ford\u2019s fan-favorite Tobacco Vanille; and a dessert of rum-soaked &lt;i&gt;baba,&lt;/i&gt; brioche popovers that Turco displayed alongside a ramekin of warm, vanilla-tinged milk and the same swirls of peach and mandarin that color Ford\u2019s next fragrance, due out in fall 2014.\r\n\r\nAsked whether he considered food art, Turco was humble. \u201CI don\u2019t consider myself an artist\u2014you should never think about your ego,\u201D the chef said. \u201CBut I\u2019d like to [offer] something on the plate that\u2019s taste and presentation\u2014something that you could call \u2018minor art.'\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;i&gt;For more information or to book a scent dinner,\u00A0 visit\u00A0&lt;a href=\"http://www.epicureandinners.com\"&gt;epicureandinners.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/i&gt; Dinner at the ornate Hotel Gritti Palace, Venice. Scent blotters. Beef tartare with a shot of rum and heaps of\u00A0ginger, shaved truffle, and Parmesan. In chef Daniele Turco's kitchen. Veal filet topped with a sweet almond-flour disc, accompanied by vanilla-spiked vegetables on a drizzle of honey coulis, a shout-out to the honeyed beeswax in Tom Ford\u2019s Tobacco Vanille scent. Host Chandler Burr, the former perfume critic for the New York Times."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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