Although it’s not as easy as it looks, and may put you off food for a while, but it was one of the best experiences i encountered.
Designing with all edible materials may sound challenging, and that’s the beauty of it! And its exasperation! Warning: Making those easy digital curves with whip cream may cause considerable damage to your motor and mental skills!
Stepping aside from the imac, where you are master of the tools, where you cut and paste as you wish and undo with a blink of an eye to a world where you are left under the mercy of the consistency of a cream, the temperature of chocolate and the thousands of stencils and hand made molds you have to create.
It’s true that we, as designers, should not allow our tools to control us, but in the kitchen the rules change. Shapes are determined, colors are acquired and erasing is not an option.
Okay now that I’ve scared you off, it’s time to share with you a few tricks to a satisfying edible set design:
- Sketch your idea on paper before starting.
- Identify your ingredients, specifying what each layer or component is made of.
- Use different textures to create the wow effect.
- Choose your colors wisely as edible coloring substances are very basic.
- Do not worry about combining sweet and savory products as you are aiming for a visual representation and not a tasty one.
- Think outside of the box when it comes to the message you want to convey.
- Be resourceful when it comes to shaping your own molds. Let’s just say that there are certain things that should not go into an oven!
- Keep your waste at minimum.
- Get a good photographer if you are not one. You want to document once and for all the countless hours of work before you throw it all away (yes the one inconvenience of food design).
- Enjoy it!And there you go! Food design is a very pleasant experience if you prepare it well and in advance. It comes to show us that there are plenty of ways to get creative playing around the kitchen.
Rebecca Mourani Associate Creative Director