Category: Food Modelling

In week 7, we went through a lesson where we learnt more about food models and how to make them. Through the lesson, we learnt the different methods to make food models and the history behind it.

• Origami folding
• Felt
• Paper mâche making
• Jumping Clay modelling
• Felt needling

History of food modelling in Japan

Back in the 1920s when eating out became popular, many people often went to department store cafeterias which offer a variety of dishes presenting both Japanese and Western cuisine to have their meals. During that time, waiters often ordered at the table, which became a problem when there were many customers at the restaurant as it would slow things down. As a result, there were always people waiting to get in to the restaurant. When the food came, customers complained that the food was not what they had expected and would change or cancel an order.

Trying to solve that issue, restaurants presented real food at the entrance as visual menus, but the food would change colour and attract a lot of insects, causing it to spoil easily and last no longer than a day. This caused restaurants to search for a solution to the problem. One evening in 1932, a man named Takizo Iwasaki was observing a candle when he picked off a piece of molten wax from the candle with his fingertip. He observed that his fingerprint was imprinted clearly on the hardened wax. After exploring more about the wax, he realised that the hardened wax took on the texture of whatever it was originally on. He was intrigued by the possibility of wax. When an acquaintance asked him if he could make model food samples, he decided to try and use wax to make the food samples. He founded a factory that made these food models. He also rented out them out to restaurants. As many cafeterias used these food models, they were adopted all over Japan, making the culture of plastic food sample originate.

During the food modelling cluster lesson, teachers recommended us some methods for our food models and also advised us on the types of brands were suitable for our prototypes. We also got a chance to have a hands-on session with some clay, felt, thread and string! We had so much fun testing out the materials!

We later decided to use clay as it was not only easy to use but also visually appealing. Here are some of our food models of Peranakan delicacies:

While making them, we made sure to take note of our budget, only buying extra clay when necessary. We also tried our best to keep to the time frame as we had to spare time for other tasks like our presentation video as well as our infographic board. We also tried our best to make the food models as detailed and accurate as the real food as possible so that the target audience would be able to identify it easily.

Summary
Through this food modelling module, we have learnt and discovered more about food cultures, the different methods on how to make food models and the materials needed for the various methods. We also learnt how to make our food models to the best that we could. It was an enjoyable experience learning about this!