Sound engineer-turned-clay artist Shilpa Mitha happily shows off a plate bearing the exquisite dish that has accidently slipped between two cushions. “This is a dark chocolate delicacy with raspberry sorbet and pistachio,” she says as she pulls it out. It’s just over an inch long, and the pistachio scrapes, orange powder, and the trail of chocolate sauce on it are visible only if you hold it right under your nose.
The dish looks just like the original — created by Chef Daniel Wilson of Huxtaburger in an episode of MasterChef Australia Season 8 — but take a bite, and you would be chewing on a mix of air-dried clay, cold cream and acrylic paint.
“It’s an exact replica. I plan to send it to Australia to Daniel himself, who replied to my post on Instagram earlier last month.” Mitha watches every episode of the season, not for the love of food, but to spot the next dish that she could replicate. Her Instagram page, Sueño Souvenir, features Charlie Sartori’s chocolate sponge cake and Nigella Lawson’s tequila in lime chicken, among others. There is a constant notification buzz — a comment, ‘like’ or ‘share’ — on her phone. “I get almost 100 orders a month, and a lot more enquiries.” Ever since Mitha started her work modelled on the MasterChef series earlier this year, her visibility as a food miniature artist has peaked. The artist claims that hers is the only non-culinary-based profile that the official handle of MasterChef Australia (@masterchefau) follows.
International orders come in bulk: Mitha recently couriered a set of 50 mini tiffins (comprising dosa, five mini idlis, pongal, rava kesari, vada, chutney and sambar) to a restaurant in the U.S. And she’s reeling with exhaustion after making 10 boxes of macarons for a customer in Paris. A sample of these lie scattered on her sofa like carrom coins. A dosa is smaller than a one rupee coin; an idli is the size of a small bindi; and the French fries are as thin as eraser dust.
On a global scale, more people are now trying their hand at the art today, says Stephanie Kilgast, a France-based food miniature artist, a featured seller on Etsy, and author of Miniature Food Tutorial Book . “There’s been an increase in interest in dollhouse miniature, especially in the U.K. and the U.S.,” says Kilgast, who has over 80,000 followers on her Instagram page, PetitPlat. Kilgast makes clay sculptures for serious collectors. “On the Internet, it’s quite a phenomenon, like street art and popular art.”
Mitha says her clients accept no items that are over an inch long, in length. Every item should strictly follow the 1:12 rule, which means 12 units on the original should measure one unit on the model. In India, most artists follow the 1:6 rule; which is less challenging.
But Mitha and other food miniature artists are catering mostly to the local Indian crowd and focussing on dishes specific to Indian cuisine. Her works have matured from making simple samosas to a full-blown north Indian/south Indian thaali, fried fish and paneer tikka. This seems to be more challenging than rolling out a burger or bacon. “The toughest part about making an Indian thaali is the rice.”
Saranya Sridhar agrees. The MBA graduate decided to make a career out of her hobby of sculpting food miniatures after finishing her studies. “Each grain has to be rolled individually. I had 50 failed attempts, before I got it right,” says Sridhar. “You need to ensure that the colour and transparency looks like the original. And that’s tricky. While there are umpteen tutorials for English breakfast and patisserie, there is none for Indian dishes.” Sridhar’s company Sara Artisanat does miniatures of idiyappam, paneer roll, chicken biryani on magnets, business card holders, dashboard showpieces, mobile charms and more.
There’s a new trend evolving now: customising mini-clay sculptures into wearable art. “I wanted to turn them into something fun and usable, as I wasn’t sure how marketable they would be otherwise. Fridge magnets have been popular,” says New Zealand-based artist Louann Sidon whose Facebook page is called the Miniature Addiction Club.
Sidon’s works have been featured on the Mini Food Blog: a popular platform that curates works of such miniature artists. He has made tiny cookie brooches, earrings and studs, besides magnets. Sidon mentions the National Miniature Club in New Zealand that holds a fair once a year. This allows a community to build.
Unfortunately, there are no such events in India. “I am also not satisfied with the clay I get here, so I usually buy imported stuff online,” says Rupashree Adam, a food miniature hobbyist, whose love for the art grew after watching her mother knead the flour for chapatis, and playing with a ‘kitchen set’ as a child. She runs us through her set of tools: needles, exacto knives, ball tool, and a pasta machine to flatten out the clay evenly. She bought them either online, or during visits abroad, over the last three years. While the tools add to the perfection,
Adam can still roll out a realistic nachos set, a slice of cassata ice cream, or doughnuts using a tooth brush, blade, sandpaper and silver foil. It’s only a matter of time before she starts baking them for real. The Fine Arts graduate will soon be taking a patisserie course at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu University in New Zealand. Until then, her cakes will continue to be made with clay.
I get almost 100 orders a month, and a lot more enquiries. The toughest part about making an Indian thaali is the rice
Shilpa Mitha
Nachos and cassata ice cream can be made using a tooth brush, blade, silver foil and sandpaper
