By Kay Whatley
On YouTube, there are videos showing tiny versions of food being created. The mini-food trend isn’t just on YouTube, though, as a Baltimore, Maryland group called Small Foods Party offers a live event with miniature meals.
It’s less creation of a filling meal as it is an art form. Videos show human hands working in miniature kitchens, using special — often expensive — miniature utensils and scaled-down appliances. The hands work to create culinary masterpieces the size of quarters — or smaller. No narration is given, so all that is heard is cooking-related noises, or the hiss of the small flames used.
This cooking (edible art) trend began in Japan. It is referred to as kawaii (cute) cooking, as mentioned in a Time 2015 article.
Referred to as mini food, or pocket cooking, these online demonstration videos garner thousands or even millions of views — like this popular miniature pancake-making video from 2015. Creations range from tiny pancakes to shrimp tempura or faux fast food. Some video chefs go into great detail to show the diorama-like kitchens used. A quick search for a favorite meal and the keyword “mini” may find a surprisingly-satisfying-to-watch version of meal preparation.
To read more about the satisfaction and calm, see the article here.
Want to see mini food, or try it, in real life? The Small Foods Party organizers’ next event is at the American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway, Baltimore MD, on Saturday, March 3, 2018.
While hundreds of tickets are available each year, the event sells out. Check for available tickets here — $5 for competitors and $10 for non-competitors (plus ticketing fees). For 2018, it looks like it’s non-competitor tickets are gone, but competitor tickets are still available.
