Food as Art

By: Amanda Paige

The air is thick with the scent of sugar. There are knives, paint brushes, stencils, and other art tools scattered around the studio. I can see the artist working intensely with an airbrush, putting the finishing touches on the piece of art. A copy of Picasso’s Dora Maar Seated is standing three feet high on the table. I would expect to find this work of art hanging in a museum or gallery; however, this piece is in the middle of a baker’s studio. An employee from Edible Art is just finishing a specialty cake for a customer. She is a local artist who works mainly with food as her medium, using frosting as paint and batter as clay.

Food as art has become very popular in the Triangle over the past decade. We have seen a rise in the number of specialty food shops such as cupcake, cake and gelato shops. Two specialty shops in Raleigh, Edible Art and The Cupcake Shoppe, have made their main priority to provide eye and stomach appealing deserts. Local grocery stores such as Whole Foods have also joined in on the new phenomenon. They are rivaling with the specialty shops on a mass production level, allowing gourmet food to be more affordable.

So, what’s the big deal about food as art? Why are people so interested in creating it and eating it, you ask? I spent a few hours with a local baker at Whole Foods, Joe Pierce, and he explained why he chose food as his artistic outlet. In the beginning, he thought it was just a regular job. However, Whole Foods was allowing him to be as creative and experimental as he wanted. Joe states, “This was the first time in my life where a job actually encouraged me to be me and incorporate it into my work.” He started out with small experiments, mostly with different color frostings and adding adornments to the tops of cakes and cupcakes. When I asked if color and texture were his tools for expression, he laughed a bit and stated, “NO.” Joe went on to tell me that the most important outcome for him is taste. Sometimes when appearance is the focus, adding ingredients such as fondant or artificial flavor or color are not always complimentary. He feels that the outward appearance should be important; however, it is the taste of the finished product that is his main focus.

After watching Joe go through the preliminary baking steps, adding ingredients, mixing and pouring into molds, he slides the pans into the oven and sets the timer. Perfect! I have the next 27 minutes to ask Joe more questions about his craft.

First, I ask, “Are there any limitations when using food to create food art?”

“Sure there are. Where do I begin? Um, shape. Building vertical pieces. Making fondant, great for sculpture but lacking in taste, actually serve more than an aesthetic purpose” Joe states.

Joe walks over to the oven, opens the door just a crack and peers in. “The best way to tell if the product is finished is to stick a tooth-pick in it; just like your mom did.” He performs the procedure and closes the oven door, “10 more minutes.”

I can smell the baking cupcakes and it reminds me to keep asking questions. I ask, “What aspects of our culture influence your food art?”

Joe stops and thinks for a minute, “Gluttony. American culture is all about food. It seems to be the most important thing to them; well that and vanity.”

The statement actually makes sense to me. I can see his point. Americans are all about a pretty finished product. Moving on.

“After spending hours working on a piece of food-art, what are your feels about the fact that it will be gone within 24 hours?” I ask.

“I feel great. I am rewarded by knowing or watching people enjoy my work” he states. “It doesn’t bother me at all that my work only lasts a few hours. That is why I do it; to make people happy.”

The timer goes off, Joe pulls out his cupcakes. He allows them to cool to room temperature. I watch him carefully as he starts decorating them into ladybugs. He pipes one line at a time, making sure to carefully lay the frosting lines side by side. At first, it looks like a mess. Then I see the wings take shape, getting little spots on them, just as real ladybugs have. I start to think that Joe has a deeper connection with his food art than he is actually letting on.

At a smaller shop,Sarah, an employee at The Cupcake Shoppe, has a sincere passion for food art. Her ideas of food art are displayed throughout the small, independent store. The environment is much different from the large corporate bakery of Whole Foods. When you walk into the shop, you are surrounded by images invoking the most delectable treats you can image. The front window is decorated with a massive five- tier wedding cake covered with fluffy, white frosting; each tier is covered with flowers made of frosting. The counter is decorated with a vintage cash register straight from the 20’s. On both sides of the register, there are displays of the flavor of the week cupcake. Underneath the counter is a display case full of different flavored cupcakes. There are strawberry cake topped with fresh strawberry frosting, banana pancake with maple frosting, vanilla with coconut frosting and so many more flavors of cupcakes. I felt as if I was sitting in a scene straight out of Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. Even the wall-paper reminded me of cake.

The Cupcake Shoppe was packed with individuals ready to have their cupcakes. An expanding line was permitting me from interviewing Sarah. I had hoped to get access to the bakery area to photograph the beginning stages of cupcake making. However, due to legal liabilities, non-employees are not allowed in the back. However, an employee working the front counter told me to make myself at home and to take photos of the bakery through the Plexiglass viewing window. How wonderful!

The bakery was so different from the Whole foods bakery. There were four employees smiling and working hard. One woman was baking cupcakes, another frosting an outgoing order and two others mixing batter on large industrial mixers. Buckets of different colored and flavored frosting were scattered across the main baking table. I really wanted to slip into the bakery area and just taste test each bucket of frosting. Oh, the torture!

As I was photographing the production process through the window, I realized how happy these people were. Their hard work really shines through the finished product. It was obvious creativity is a must and is always welcomed here. As far as little mom and pop shops are concerned, it is what they build their companies from. I watched as one girl finished up an order, placing a decorative candy carrot on top of each cupcake. She closes the box and seals it with a little pink cupcake sticker. It seems that the little things are what set this shop apart from the corporate bakeries.

Throughout the Triangle, at The Cupcake Shoppe or at Whole Foods, food art is on display for your visual and edible pleasure. Specialty shops are now decorating the city landscape, showcasing their products. One can expect to see a similar scenario between a cake shop and an art gallery. The area boasts about its artistic atmosphere and gourmet food. Now, the two are combined to create an ultimate dessert. Local bakeries are employing people as artists; their food becomes a masterpiece. The public is hungry and ready to eat it up. It seems that food art is here to stay.