Handpicked weeds are transformed into colorful salads. Hand lotion and conditioner make perfect drizzles, and shaving cream combined with colored sand, chalk and bath salt makes for a tasty-looking pie filling or smoothie.
Rose Sheldon, 12, and Anna Bunn, 11, have spent the past few years perfecting techniques and developing ideas for their Nature Bakery and Restaurant, an artistic endeavour that re-creates miniature food dishes out of inedible elements.
They are presenting “Kid’s Cuisine Reigns Supreme 2” for children interested in the art of making fake food. The workshop, designed for children ages 5 to 12, will be held Feb. 1 at the Spalding House in Makiki.
“We started making stuff when I was 8,” said Sheldon. “At first we just used colored sand and shaving cream. We make new things every day.”
Bunn and Sheldon maintain a website that includes an array of photos, and they plan to start an online store selling bags, shirts and pajamas with their company logo on Feb. 1.
The girls regularly collect berries, weeds, grass and seeds for future projects. Cabinets at their houses dedicated to Nature Bakery hold leftover sunscreen, shampoo and lotions.
Kid’s Cuisine Reigns Supreme 2 An art class for ages 5 to 12:
>> When: 10:30 a.m. Feb. 1 >> Where: Spalding House, 2411 Makiki Heights Drive >> Cost: $15, $10 Academy of Art members >> Call: 532-8700 >> Online: www.honoluluacademy.org/events and scroll to “Expression Session KIDS”
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At a recent crafting session at Sheldon’s Manoa home, Bunn cooked a miniature bread stick on a coffee burner to accompany a mixed green salad, while Sheldon worked on a faux salmon patty with tomato and goat cheese.
The salmon dish was made using sawdust and foot lotion and garnished with dried berries, flowers and leaves.
Fae Yamaguchi, Sheldon’s mother, is a teacher and an artist but accepts no credit. “The girls came up with this idea all on their own,“ she said. “I never know what they are going to do, so I started taking pictures of their creations.”
The girls are always seeking new items to use as molds. “We use lots of small toys for molds, even a chair from the Littlest Pet Shop (toy set),” Bunn said. “We use lots of bottle caps, too.”
Dishes for plating their food are made from coasters, mustard and soy sauce dishes and tea sets. Obviously, presentation is of the utmost importance.
Sheldon says she watches the Food Network for ideas, including her favorite show, “Ace of Cakes,” which was canceled last year.
Each dish is garnished appropriately to make the faux food appear all the more realistic. Bar soap is shaved meticulously to double as shredded cheese. A basic flour dough is cooked to create crackers or pita. And tiny seeds pose as chocolate chips.
Neither girl has an interest in cooking real food or becoming a chef. Though their fledgling business could one day earn them a positions as food stylists.
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Visit the Nature Bakery website at naturebakery.wordpress.com or the Nature Bakery store at www.cafepress.com/naturebakery.