Fake food

Fake food is made from various types of plastics, resins and materials to replicate the appearance of real foods.

There are various names for fake food including: pretend food, wax foods, artificial food, faux food, replica food, imitation food, food replicas, false foods, food fakes and simulated food.

History

Fake food dates back to the time of the Pharaohs of Egypt and perhaps before. When a King or Pharaoh died, they would be buried with all that they needed for their journey to the next world. Foods were preserved and laid to rest with them in their tomb.

Fake food became greater used in modern times. After Japan’s surrender during World War II, Americans and Europeans traveled to Japan to help with the rebuilding efforts. After arriving in Japan, it was difficult for these foreign travelers to read Japanese menus. As an example of the difficulty they had in reading Japenese, the English version of the popular dish Kung Pao is translated in Japanese as クンパオチキン.

Japanese artisans and candle makers quickly developed delicious looking plates of fake wax foods. This made it easy for the foreigners to feast with their eyes and order something that looked good. Many of Japan’s restaurants still use fake foods to display their popular dishes in their windows to attract customers.

Modern Use

In today’s times, fake food is created with innovative technologies. Today’s manufacturing technologies and high quality plastic materials provide the industry with the most realistic fake food replicas in modern times.

Approximately 95% of all fake food is still handcrafted. Artisans and highly trained craftsmen carefully hand make realistic fake food from the highest quality materials and carefully hand paint them to create a truly realistic look and feel.

Today, fake foods are used in many ways, such as props for backgrounds in movies, television shows, theatrical plays, television commercials, print ads and trade shows. Fake foods are also used to display lifelike replicas of real foods for restaurants, grocery chains, museums, banquet halls, casino buffets, cruise ships and many other areas where real foods can not be displayed.

Manufacturing Process

Fake food is normally molded from real foods. When a food is not available or it would disintegrate or melt in the mold while the mold is setting up, a clay model must be sculpted.

Documentaries

The Cable television show, Unwrapped [http://www.foodnetwork.com/unwrapped/outside-the-snack-box/index.html] , on the Food Network [http://www.foodnetwork.com/] , recently filmed a documentary showing how fake food is made. The documentary demonstrates the methods used in preparing fake food for public use. The segment is filmed on location at the Fake Foods Company plant in Tucson, Arizona and is hosted by the show’s host, Marc Summers.

The Cable television show, The Secret Life of … [http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-secret-life-of/index.html] , on the Food Network [http://www.foodnetwork.com/] , recently filmed a documentary also showing how fake food is made. The segment is filmed on location at Chez Cherie [http://www.chezcherie.com/home.html] , La Canada, California, which offers cooking classes and is a frequent location for filming segments for television shows. Michael Estes, President and founder of Fake-Foods.com [http://www.fake-foods.com/index.html] , along with the show’s host, Jim O’Conner, demonstrate the methods used in manufacturing fake foods.

Notes-----------------------------------------------------1. Fake Foods Company, [http://www.fake-foods.com Fake-Foods.com] 3472 Research Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80919 © 2008 Estes Management Corporation, dba Fake-Foods.com. All rights reserved.

2. Unwrapped, [http://www.foodnetwork.com/unwrapped/outside-the-snack-box/index.html Unwrapped Food Network TV Show] © 2008 Scripps Networks, LLC. All rights reserved

3. The Food Network, [http://www.foodnetwork.com/ The Food Network] © 2008 Scripps Networks, LLC. All rights reserved

4. The Secret Life of … [http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-secret-life-of/index.html The Secret Life of ... TV Show] © 2008 Scripps Networks, LLC. All rights reserved

5. The Food Network, [http://www.foodnetwork.com/ The Food Network] © 2008 Scripps Networks, LLC. All rights reserved

6. Chez Cherie [http://www.chezcherie.com/home.html Chez Cherie Culinary School] Chez Cherie1401 Foothill Blvd. La Canada, Calif. 91011. Copyright 2000-2008 Chez Cherie Los Angeles Cooking Classes and Culinary Team Building. All rights reserved.