Once while scrolling through Instagram, looking for some perfect Onam pictures, I came across the most scrumptious-looking spread. On an emerald-green plantain leaf, glistening in the light, lay the sixteen delicious dishes of Onam, everything from pappadam to pineapple pachadi. My Mallu and Tamil folks know what I’m talking about! But as appetising as the sight was, it wasn’t edible (sigh). It’s a fridge magnet made by self-styled food miniaturist from Chennai Shilpa Mitha. A former sound engineer, Shilpa creates intricately detailed replicas of food items in miniature size and displays them on her Instagram page Sueño Souvenir. And if you aren’t paying attention, like me, you’d end up mistaking her clay creations for the real deal. From the glossy syrup-like texture on gulab jamuns to the flaky, crisp skin of KFC chicken, she gets even the last details right. Here are some of her best miniature food artworks

So what prompted this engineer to explore her creative side? She tells LatestLY that her love for miniatures was influenced by the kolu festival, where Tamil households display dolls and figures during Dussehra. Her favourite figures were the kalyana sapadu (wedding feast) and Kumbhakaran sets because they both included food.

Mouth-watering idli and dosas

“The hobby started off as a profession from day one,” says Shilpa, “because my friends bought off what I made! That initial support definitely shaped my career into what it is today.” But she admits that her foray was purely accidental. “Or maybe it’s just divine intervention,” she quips.

Why food we ask. “It’s the variety! There’s so much to explore,” she answers. She reveals that Sueño Souvenirs wasn’t initially all about food. “Food is something that brings some nostalgia; it’s an emotion for a lot of us,” she reveals. Today, most of her creations featured on Instagram are centred on food. For Shilpa, every meal is an inspiration. “Sometimes it’s the interesting textures, sometimes it’s the colours and sometimes, it’s the plating,” she says. Best Places in Mumbai for Authentic Kerala Feast

Scrumptious-looking chicken satay

The pieces are tiny, but they require a lot of detail, from colour to the texture. Her most popular piece, the sadhya, also happens to the most complicated one due to the sheer number of dishes on the leaf.

A scrumptious sadhya! (Photo Credits: suenosouvenir)

To make them look life-like, she admits to rolling out every grain for rice dishes she creates. “The life-like ones are a little time-consuming. I do have to read a lot about them and see a lot of images before I try to make them. Sometimes, I’ll have to try more than once. I need to work at every step thinking of the end result,” she says.

An English breakfast

 

All day breakfast at Sueño Souvenir's kitchen! Will be creating a few similar pieces for the next sale. The pretty textured background is from @madras_prop_store ! (The Colors are slightly more warm in the pic than in real..no access to a system right now to make the correction but sharing this cause I have no patience with all this)! And update on Chennai orders : They will all be shipped on Tuesday. If you guys haven't sent me your address yet, please inbox away!! Will update the sale date in the next few days. #saturday #food #english #englishbreakfast #London #UK #India #alldaybreakfast #bacon #hashbrowns #potato #bullseye #eggs #beans #toast #mushrooms #fakefood #sausage #zcbysuenosouvenir #miniatures #clay #fridgemagnets

A post shared by Shilpa (@suenosouvenir) on

So does the artist with a soft spot for food have a flair for all things culinary? We were surprised by her answer: “I am yet to make my presence felt in the kitchen. Whatever I do, I like to give it my best. So I am saving it for another day!”

It’s easy to get lost in the maze of her Instagram page, with each artwork so intricately done and so life-like that you’d rub your eyes. And if you want to lay your hands on one of these amazing creations, every once a month, Shilpa holds a sale, and her creations are priced between Rs 500 and Rs 2000.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2018 04:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).