HYDERABAD: If you’re somebody that keeps a tab on, or are aware of, the food trends going around in the city, especially on social media, then you probably would have noticed that miniature food art is something Hyderabadis are showing a specific interest in of late. CE speaks with a few miniature food artists in the city, who share more about this trend.
“Instagram has gone a long way in popularizing this art form, thanks to people who love to follow and look at aesthetic pictures. Miniature food art brings that similar kind of satisfaction when people pause to look at it,” shares Shibani Pandya, a miniature artist whose business House Of Miiiniiii is doing increasingly well.
She, who studied in Hyderabad as a kid and worked for over half a decade here, understands exactly what her customers from the city want of her. “I have customers throughout India but have the highest demand in Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. The Southern belt seems to have a special interest in miniature food art. This could probably be because of their love for cute decor during festivals like Sankranti. It’s safe to say that the audience here has an eye for detail and loves to have a good collection of these. Hyderabadis specifically enjoy customised and personalised food art. They are pretty appreciative and accepting of the art form and ever-ready to explore novelty,” Shibani shares with CE.
Another home baker and cake artist from the city, Swaksha Athelli, has her heart for miniature food art. “I love it for the precision this form of food art demands. People ask for it for various reasons. They usually have theme cakes and want miniature food art to serve as topping on them. For example, if it’s a congratulatory party for an engineer, they ask for things related to that field to be part of the cake toppings,” shares Swaksha, the founder of Sweetness Indulge Hyderabad.
While Shibani uses clay, wood and plastic as raw materials for her food art, Swaksha uses sugar icing and vibrant colours. Her art, unlike Shibani’s, is edible. Both the artists received no formal training. “Google and YouTube have been my biggest learning platforms,” shares Swaksha, while Shibani is probably the only and first Indian to have been selected by the Miniature Artists of America Foundation, USA for a scholarship of a 10-day course on miniature art. “I will be leaving for the course in June. People from across the globe have been selected, I’ve been chosen from India,” shares Shibani.
The House of Miiiniii founder shares some of the challenges her art form brings. “Many have a misconception that miniature food art is nothing but toys for kids. That’s far from the truth. It’s hyper-realistic art, not for play, and not meant for children below 15 years.” On why the city has been seeing a growing interest in this, they say, “Anything too small or too big for the human eye is attention-grabbing, which evokes surprise and fascination.”
With the growing popularity comes a variety of problems, points Shibani. “People have asked me why I charge ‘so much’ for such tiny things. It has been quite a task to educate them that the smaller the piece is, the more precision, effort, attention to detail and time it needs. But it’s nice to see that the mindset is changing today. Another challenge, initially, was the non-availability of proper raw materials such as good polymer clay, colour and other elements in the country. But slowly, that’s getting better too.”
Though miniature food has been more nuanced and popular in the West and even in countries such as Singapore, Japan and Malaysia, the Indian market is relatively new to the concept. It hasn’t been older than a decade or so, they say. While a small basic miniature piece of food art sells for Rs 80, a scenery or collective could over Rs 4,000.