Monday, March 14, 2016

Fake Food Art in Japan



A peek behind the scenes at the artists who make the realistic-looking fake food for display in Japanese restaurants. (Link to YouTube)

Image from Amusing Planet
According to Amusing Planet:
"Making plastic food is an art in itself, and the manufacturers fiercely guard their trade secrets. The process typically starts with the actual food which are brought to the factory from the restaurant or client to serve as the model. Pictures are taken, sketches are made and a mould is prepared. Liquid vinyl chloride is poured into the mould and once hardened, the mould is taken apart and out comes the model. These are then hand painted by talented craftsmen who examine every detail of the actual food and applies oil-based paints to the plastic using fine brushes. The replicas reproduce every detail of the real food, from browning on bacon and eggs, to grill marks on chicken, or the difference between steaks cooked rare or medium. Almost all food replicas are handcrafted to order, as the same dishes can differ in their shape, color or presentation at different restaurants."

6 comments:

James Pailly said...

I never thought I could get so hungry looking at plastic. These people are very good at what they do.

Lou said...

Thanks for passing this along James. I traveled to Japan on business a couple times a year for 11 years and I was always curious about that plastic food. Now with new knowledge a couple things come to mind. First, many of the tiny mom-and-pop restaurants have a window full of plastic food. It must have taken a considerable portion of their operating budget. Or, now that I read there was a place to buy pre-made plates I've gotta believe their menu might have based on what plastic food they could pick up cheap.
Second, if I'd known there WAS a place to buy plastic food I'd have a cupboard in the kitchen devoted to it and my dinner table would always be set! Now of course I see you can order it online.

Rich said...

They really manage a good job!, hopefully not the next one to be economized away:
This time by 3dprinters:-(

Krystal said...

impressive...

mirana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mirana said...

Aah, I loved seeing these in Tokyo! I wish we had them here! :)