Presentation is very important in serving of any and every dish. Japanese have perfected the art of making their food cute, or “kawaii”. This kind of food presentation is ideal for kids’ parties, like birthday celebrations, or even just for a regular dinner for your child. By making the food they don’t like looking like that, you will increase the chance they’ll at least try it. Find everything you need for it on Jiji!
Any food can be made into a cute looking dish, just follow these simple instructions:
- Use bright colors, but try to match different colors, if you’re going to use more than one of them
- Make faces with happy expressions
- Use cute shapes, like stars, flowers and hearts
- Make animal designs or use already animal shaped foods, like chocolate, cookies etc. Don’t forget about small details, like whiskers and fur for the cat
- Some tech designs can be cute too – for example, robots
- Try making famous cartoon characters – they are definitively proven to be cute
- You can make small landscapes with tiny trees and houses. Make it look like something familiar, like your backyard or your kid’s school
- Use your fantasy – everything can be cute, from dragons to smiling poop emoji
- Make small portions with small shapes. A lot of Japanese kawaii food designs are made in bento – lunch boxes
- Make sure different elements of your design match in size
Now let’s talk about the ways of achieving the cuteness in your dishes:
- Use the food, that keeps it shape and is easily cut, like fruits and vegetables
- Use the food you can mold into desired shape. Japanese often use sticky rice as a main element of their dishes, but it can be anything else.
- Make sure, that the knives you use are sharp, as it will help you to make more distinct and precise shapes
- Use small foods for small details, like olives, seaweed, peas, sprinkle etc.
- You can also use small pieces of food. Japanese chefs often use eggs, tofu and fish for different small details.
- Find a cute plate to serve your dish. Make sure, that the themes of plate and meal don’t contradict each other and won’t distract too much attention one from another
- Sweets are the easiest things to make cute. Consider making them, if you’re trying this for the first time. Cookies, cakes and sweets are very easy to decorate and there are a lot of small sweet staff for details
So, if you want your child to eat something – make it cute! Moreover, it would be really fun for you and for them to take some part in the cooking process.
