This meal looks too good to be real - and it is

This meal looks too good to be real - and it is

A perfectly plugged bite spaghetti literally hovers in the air on a fork. In addition, there are a bowl Ramen -freshly roasted eggs with pork cheeky-straight from the pan. Highly stacked plates show colorful sashimi and unusual parfaits. It is a feast for the eyes - but only for the eyes.

What are Shokuhin Sampuru?

These attractions are known as "Shokuhin Sampuru" - extremely realistic food education, which are often exhibited in front of restaurants in Japan to attract customers. In London a large number of these replicas can now be seen, in an exhibition, which according to Simon Wright, the curator and program manager of Japan House London , the first of its kind.

The exhibition "Looks Delicious!"

The exhibition " Looks delicious! "presented Replicas made by the Iwasaki Group, the first company that is dedicated to the production of these artificial food and is now the largest manufacturer in Japan. (According to Wright, the company has to create a replica every 40 minutes on average to survive.) The founder, Takizo Iwasaki, was supposedly inspired as he saw as a child Wax fell into a puddle and turned into the shape of a flower.

The beginnings of food education

A version of Iwasaki's first replica - modeled according to an omelet that his wife has prepared - can be seen in the exhibition under the name "Kinen Omu", ie Pälmelett. Over time, Iwasaki developed a production method using wax and agar gel forms, although today the company mainly uses PVC.

The history of origin of food education is, according to Nathan Hopson, professor of Japanese at the University of Bergen, a “mess”. In a video call with CNN, Hopson explained that there are numerous theories about how these replicas were introduced into Japanese culture.

The goal behind the replicas

a widespread explanation, according to Japan House states that these replicas have been created in order to familiarize western dishes to a "curious but cautious" Japanese audience, which otherwise does not know what it could expect when ordering. In addition to a variety of traditional Japanese dishes, the exhibition also presents extremely realistic representations of bacon, eggs and grilled cheese.

The heart of the exhibition

The heart of the exhibition is a map of Japan, which consists of food education that each represent the 47 prefectures of the country. Each replica was specially commissioned and manufactured by the Iwasaki Group, which for the first time reproduced some dishes.

The selection of a court per prefecture was not easy for Wright's team. They began with a list created by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing, and also contacted people from the regions. "You quickly discover that many people have many opinions," said Wright.

The challenge of realistic closeness

An exception was made for the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, which is represented by two dishes: "Kaisen-Don", a bowl of rice with seafood, and "Ohaw", a soup of the indigenous Ainu community. The Iwasaki Group had never made a replica of Ohaw before, so that the exhibition team had to ask the community around the court, which was sent to Osaka overnight, photographed and produced the next day as a replica.

One of the most difficult techniques in replica is the generation of the impression of realistic liquids. Correctly implemented, the impression arises that soup bowls and wine glasses could tip over the table if a curious visitor treats them improperly.

The importance of replicas

According to Wright, these foods have a "hyperrealism" that aims to awaken the memory and imagination of potential customers - and hopefully to catch their eyes. "They should put on people in no time," he said. "To get them to eat there at noon or evening."

It is important that people trust that the dishes shown on the display correspond to the dishes that they can expect in reality, with Hopson referring to them as "promise". "I can go to every place in Japan, to every city and know exactly what I will get," he added.

But the replicas are more than just appealing marketing. They also fulfill a practical purpose that goes back to the introduction by Shirokiya, a large department store, after a devastating earthquake on the main island of Japan in 1923.

The department store was one of the first places that opened in Tokyo after the earthquake and offered a service to the many people who could no longer cook for themselves. Instead of orders that had to be met in the cafeteria of the department store, a new system was developed: shop windows present the customer while waiting for food.

The evolution of food education

"It is really about this management aspect, the rationalization on the offer side, which has a lot to do with the creation of a new modern, capitalist success story," said Hopson, who added that in the 1970s, the so-called "year zero" Japans for Fast Food, correctly opened.

Although you are still an everyday sight in the restaurant windows in Japan, the replicas also develop in their function. The exhibition shows how food education for quality controls in agriculture, food production and for nutritional purposes can be used by displaying the ideal diet for diabetic.

The exhibition also offers visitors the opportunity to arrange their own bentobox with the post -education specialties. Who said you shouldn't play with your food?

"Looks Delicious!" runs until February 15th. Take a look at the other pictures of the exhibition.