The Art of Fake Food

Before I explain how to make certain kinds of fake food, I would like to address the decision making process that should be involved before you start to create it. This will help you pinpoint the design  and produce the most realistic prop with the materials that you have.

1. Evaluate Your Priorities: Should this food be made cheaply, quickly or perfectly? Sometimes it's necessary to have food look as real as possible when it is the focus of a scene. Othertimes, it is an item placed in a basket or cart as extra set dressing. How is this fake food being used?

2. Think about Style. Should it be realistic or cartoonish etc? Who is your audience and what is the client or set designer's goal?

3. Research Geography. See what kinds of foods were available within the setting of the action. Was this food grown locally or could it have been an import?

4. Consider Historic Context. How has it been since this food was harvested? Is it fresh or not? Has it been washed or cooked? Were these vegetables/or fruits available to these characters at this season? How did people of that era store these foods?

5. Research the Actual Obect: when researching food there are some specific things to note when looking at the pictures you find including: Scale, texture, weight, color and taste. Obviously fake food is not to be literally tasted, but it is important to ask yourself whilst making the food-is this appealing? What is it that makes this food appear tasty?

Collecting Supplies for your Project.

Here are a list of common supplies which may be utilized as fake food and what to expect from them.

Craft Foam: Craft foam comes in a variety of colors which contributes to it's usefulness. It may be painted with accylic paints to tone down the bright colors. In the photos below the ham, pepperoni and salami were made from craft foam. Notice how the texture and thickness of craft foam serves well for flat meats.

L-200: This flexible and thin rolled foam can be used as a white cheese. It can also be used to cover surfaces such as cake fondent. Paintable with acrylic. Slightly thicker than craft foam

Upholstery Foam: Easy to carve into shapes with a turkey knife. Often times yellow or green in color. The texture is spongy which makes it great for cakes or bread. This cake below was painted with accrylic paint.  Toughen its texture by using sculpt or coat, but note the porous texture is difficult to hide if it is not appropriate.

Rock Hard Water Puddy: The Cake Above has a center layer of icing made of  water Puddy. Having a naturally pinkish hue, Puddy may be painted over with craft paint or have paint mixed into it during the hardening process to tint. The cake above has a touch of red glitter glued onto it to give it a strawberry sheen.

Spakling: Premixed Spakling can take a few minutes longer to cure than water additived mixes. This makes premixed Spakling a prime choice for loading it into cake decorating bags to create decorative frosting.

Beads and Woodsies: Small craft supplies such as beads and woodsies serve as small delicatables well when painted and altered as a stage prop. Beads make great seeds, candies and berries. Woodsies make wonderful vegetables such as tiny tomatoes or a variety of legumes.  

White Cone Craft Foam: is a type of floral foam. It is also commonly manufactured in an egg shale. Accepts sculpt or coat and may be painted. Good for carving and creating small fruits or veggies suh as mushrooms or peppers etc. 

Beaded Foam: Beaded foam can be easily carved into a number of shapes with a saw, rasp or sharp steak knife. However, I do warn those considering this material to be aware of its beaded texture. Sculpt or Coat may be painted on top of the foam to smooth it out a little. However, it will always have a grainy texture. That's why I would reccomend bead foam for chunky cheese or baked goods which have a surface which is jagged. Otherwise beaded foam may be covered with cheese cloth or other fabrics and serve as a good base product for the fake food.

Hot Glue: Hot glue is a props artisans go to adhesive. However, it may also be used in a variety of ways in the application of fake food. Drizzle hot glue on top of a project to create frosting, syrup or jam. The hot product may be squirted into a mold to make fake candy such as the gum drops on the Christmas cake above. 

FEV: French Enamel Varnish: is a combination of leather dye, alcohol and shellac. May be painted on with a brush or applied with a pre Val spray container. Great for creating colored sheens or adding color to dried glaze. Often used to color glass to represent liquids.

Poly Accrylic Spray Frost: great for indicating clear or cool liquids in glasses. 

Model Magic: 

Model magic has a nice soft texture but will semi harden with air exposure. It has a smooth surface which accepts craft paint. This is wonderful for portraying chewy foods such as cookies or candy bars, but also can be painted as baked goods as soft as muffins Etc. 

Air Dry Clay: Has an off white or gray coloration. It has a very hard consistency when dried. It accepts most water based paints as it is slightly porous and can be coated with shellac for a final shine. Good for chocolates and other candies. 

Oil Based Clays: come in a variety of colors but are often to soft for stage use. 

Earth Clays: are to dirty to accept paint and do Not make a good food product material. 

Tissue: tissue may be applied into bead foam or mâché to add a wrinkled texture to the product. Great for creating a texture for dry cheese or providing leaves to foam lettuce heads below. Accepts spray paint best or misted accrylic.