How real is the delicious food seen in movies? Know the whole truth behind food scenes

How Real is Food shown in Movies: Whenever we watch a movie in theatres, on TV or on the screen of our mobile, we come across some scenes which whet our appetite. The actor and actress are sitting in a luxurious restaurant and delicious, hot, smoking food, soup, pizza and ice cream are seen kept on their table. The close-up shot of the camera presents every detail of that food in such a wonderful way that the mouth waters. But have you ever wondered how real the food you eat while watching movies actually is? Do the artists present on the set really eat that food?

Let us tell you that the reality behind the technical world of cinema will surprise you. In fact, most of the food seen in films and TV ads is fake, half-cooked or decorated with chemicals. This is not a cheat, but a great technique for film making. If the director serves real food on the set, he will never be able to complete the shooting of the film. There is a whole science behind keeping food fresh and delicious for hours in front of the camera, which is called ‘food styling’. Let us understand this in detail in today’s explainer.

Why is this visual illusion of food important in films?

It is quite natural for a common person to have this question that when makers can spend crores of rupees on films, then why can’t they order real food? The biggest practical reason behind this is the time taken in shooting a film. As easy as it may look to watch a small scene of eating in front of the camera, it takes a lot of time to shoot. To make the same scene perfect, the director has to take shots from many different angles. First a wide shot is taken which shows the entire table and the surrounding environment, then a close-up shot is taken in which only the actor’s face and his hand are visible, and later an over-the-shoulder shot is taken. Only one scene is performed during this entire process. If real food is placed on the table, it will start looking cold, stale and useless within the first half hour. For this reason, special tricks and jugaads are used to obtain food.

Retake cycle and compulsion to fill the stomach

Imagine that in a scene the actor has to speak a dialogue while chewing a bite of a big burger. He ate the burger in the first take, but due to some reason the shot got spoiled. If real burgers are being used, then for the second take the actor will have to eat the burger again. If fifteen or twenty retakes are done in order to get the perfect shot, then the actor will have to chew the burger fifteen-twenty times. The actor’s stomach will be filled with this much food. Due to which it will be difficult to act. Additionally, the heat from the extremely heavy and hot lights inside the studio can cause the actual food to spoil very quickly. Therefore, such food is prepared on the set which can be shown fresh in front of the camera throughout the day.

The real work of a ‘food stylist’ is

There is a profession in films and advertising which is called ‘Food Stylist’. Whatever the job of these people is in eating food, it is to show the most delicious food of the world in front of the camera lens. These professional people use such tricks and chemicals to keep the food beautiful, you will be stunned to know about it. For example, in movies, when you see smoke coming out of a bowl of soup or a mug of coffee, you think that it is boiling. But in reality he is absolutely cool. For this, food stylists use ‘dry ice’ or keep wet cotton in the oven after heating it very fast. Due to this, smoke keeps coming out of the cup and it looks absolutely real on the visual camera.

How to make raw chicken look real?

In the scene of non-veg food, the game of food styling becomes even more cruel and tricky. In movies, when you see roasted Türkiye or chicken on the table, you think that it is real. But the reality is that it is rarely cooked from the outside. If it is cooked completely, then the meat shrinks, it starts becoming loose from above and the size also becomes smaller which does not look good on the camera. That’s why food stylists don’t cook it completely. ‘Brown shoe polish’ or dark colored paint is sprayed on the chicken. This makes his skin appear ripe. From inside that chicken is completely raw, smelly and useless. Similarly, ‘hair spray’ or ‘shoe shiner’ is always applied on fruit baskets to keep them looking good. If a real burger is to be shown in a scene, then ‘toothpick’ and cardboard are used to make its tikki, tomato and salad fit in place, so that the burger appears clearly on the screen.

Why is it necessary to have this lie on screen?

Seeing these visuals seen in films or advertisements, you might think that film makers fool people, but in the language of cinema, this is called ‘Visual Realism’ i.e. the reality of the scene. The purpose of films is to keep people engaged in their story. If what is seen on the screen looks useless or the food seems stale, then people’s focus will be diverted from the story and the acting of the artist. It is through this food styling that such a visual is created on the screen. So that people feel that the way the story of the film is being shown is absolutely real. These food stylists stay behind the scenes and with the help of chemicals, toys, cardboard and their creativity, create an illusion which increases the value of the scene without saying anything. However, the next time you see a character happily eating pizza or cutting a cake on the theater or TV screen, remember that behind it is the magic trick of shaving cream, fevicol and toothpick, for which food stylists work day and night to make good films.

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