There are different ways to make fake desserts for display. One way is to use store-bought cake or frosting, and then to add decorations like fake fruit or edible flowers. Another way is to make your own cake or frosting, and then to add decorations like fake fruit or edible flowers.
Today, more and more catering companies are interested in “inedible food”. This is not spoiled food, and not dishes that are poorly cooked. On the contrary, they are made so skillfully that they cannot be distinguished from the real thing. A similar idea originated with the Asians. When the talents were using all sorts of Styrofoam props for creative activities, the Japanese were busy introducing wax moults of food into the restaurant business. It’s very practical: you don’t have to create the same composition every time and spend money on fresh food.
Mostly, moulages of food and products are used as:
- Props for scenes in movies and plays;
- as objects for productions in art schools;
- demonstration dishes in progressive cafes and restaurants;
- props for culinary and advertising photo shoots.
Decent fake food costs a lot of money, so it is a very profitable business. But in Ukraine there are still few specialists in this field.
Materials for making dummies
Soviet charges were made mainly from papier-mache or dense foam covered with wax. Then painted it with water-emulsion, oil paint or even gouache. The first Japanese product moulages were made of bleached natural wax and aniline pigments. Surface coloring was also done with aniline colors. This technology has been retained by many Japanese craftsmen to this day. But wax moulages are easier to damage and slightly melt at high temperatures, so they have been replaced by plastic ones. Mostly polyvinyl chloride is used, or to be more precise, its dispersion mixture with a plasticizer – plastisol. Plastic is pigmented with special pigments, and painted with acrylic paints.
Technology for making moulages
1. Casting
Formwork is made of boards or plastic. Its walls must fit together tightly, so there was not the slightest gap. A freshly cooked dish or product is placed in it and poured with silicone. After a day, the formwork is dismantled, the food is thrown away, and its impression is kept for the manufacture of dummies. Before pouring the plastisol, the form is heated up a little. And then, in order to harden the plastic well, it is subjected to heat treatment. These measures are not taken in wax casting. All that remains is to rid the moulage of casting defects and paint it to match the real look of the product.
2. Molding in Water
If you have ever molded molten wax figures on water, this process of making a moulage will be very familiar to you. Melted wax (white or tinted), which hardens quickly in water, is used to shape artificial products. Therefore, you have to work lightning fast. Naturally, the first attempts to repeat the Japanese masters will not be successful, but the more persistent you are, the more likely you will achieve a good result. This method is suitable for making leafy vegetables, vermicelli, batter, and other fine and delicate boutiques. There is also plastic that hardens in water, but it will be harder to get for production.
3. Molding
Moulding can rarely be done with polycaprolactone thermoplastic. The pellets are poured with warm water, kneaded, and you can sculpt anything. This is most suitable for making vermicelli and other dough creations, vegetables and fruits, and non-detailed products. The parts can be tweaked with a soldering iron and troweled with a hair dryer. To make vermicelli, you need to squeeze the mashed thermoplastic through a garlic press in cold water. The same technique is used to make moulage spaghetti for softened wax. To colorize thermoplastic, special dyes must be used. Surface coloring is done with acrylics.
Nuances of coloring
When making moulages for some types of products, it is easier to color plastic at once, and then do the surface detailing with paints. This method is suitable for creating artificial sausage, meat, whole berries, fruits. In the arsenal of the artist who will be engaged in their painting should be:
- Brushes;
- Airbrush;
- Sponge;
- Tools for carving;
- Acrylic paints.
For convenience, before making an impression of a dish, a photo of it from different angles is taken so that the artist can recreate it in color. If necessary, similar pictures are found on the Internet.