Samantha is a mother and a food artist who creates storytelling food artwork for her two beautiful daughters. Since this year, Samantha’s passion has become her career, giving her great opportunities to work with top agencies and brands. She is also a big foodie who would love to come to America one day!
YQ: When and how did your passion for creating food art start?
Samantha: When I started a family, I realised that cooking for my family at home was better than eating outside, as I could control the ingredients and adjust the flavours according to my family’s specific taste. Besides that, I wanted to encourage my daughters to eat healthy and independently so I started making Food Art at the end of 2008, when I was heavily pregnant with my second child, and started posting it on Instagram in 2011.
YQ: How did the kids react the first time you served them one of your amazing, creative meals?
Samantha: The first food art I made was a Hello Kitty food art, which made my daughter very happy, and she was staring at it, amazed, for quite a few minutes before she started eating the face first.
YQ: How long does it take for you to create a piece of art on a plate?
Samantha: Actually, it doesn’t take that long to create these food art pieces. To create a full meal for the family, from scratch, would take about an hour, depending on the intricacy of the food.
YQ: Where do you find inspiration for the next edible design?
Samantha: My main inspiration comes from my kids, but also from social media, from children’s books, fairytales, movies, fine art, my traveling experiences and anything I see on a daily basis. The more I sketch, the more ideas pour in!
YQ: What are the most common ingredients you use?
Samantha: I love to work with fresh ingredients such as rice, vegetables, fruits and poultry. These ingredients provide the best colours! There’s no need for food colouring!
YQ: Can you describe the process of making a food creation?
- I sketch my ideas before I make them into food. This is to stay organised and to prevent food wastage.
- I will also try to execute it with different types of ingredients. I personally feel that food art has to taste as good as it looks and it has to be practical too!
- Then, the fun part – Cooking and Creating! It takes about 1 to 1.5 hour of cooking from scratch to finish (depending on the recipe and complication of the food art). I usually shape the food while cooking and make sure everything is done at the same time.
YQ: How difficult are your food masterpieces to create? Can any mother make one at home?
Samantha: I keep things simple by using tools you can already find in your kitchen such as scissors, knife, toothpicks and cling film. My advice is that you don’t need to do this everyday but do it when you want to introduce new types of food to your child, as children are generally more resistant to unfamiliar ingredients, but when introduced in a fun and cute way, they will be more open to it.
YQ: Do you find it easier to get the kids to eat healthy food by making cute and fun food creations? Is food art a good strategy for getting them to enjoy foods they would otherwise refuse to eat?
Samantha: I would love to encourage parents to try to make some food art for their kids or with their kids at home. It’s always a great idea to get fussy eaters involved! Not only does it motivate the kids to be more adventurous with new food, it also allows parents and kids to be more creative and it’s a great way to learn more about food.
We hope Samantha will come to America soon and cross that from her bucket list!
You can follow this amazing foodie artist on her Instagram and Facebook page.
And if you want to know more about Samantha and keep up with her, make sure you check her website .
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