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Summary: For a healthy dose of giggles . . .
Review: Do you know someone in the hospital who would benefit from a dose of laughter? Without wasting a moment, take a copy of PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD (by Joost Elffers) to that person. It is guaranteed to cure a variety of ills. This is not snake oil but the most delicious bit of whimsy I've ever seen. Look at the pictures (reading not required) and your next trip to the grocery store will be a whole new experience.
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Summary: There's Always a New Way To Look At Cuisine
Review: Don't think for a moment that the insane food presentation ideas in this book are only meant to delight children; adults I've entertained become hysterical when served okra lizards or pigs carved from citrus fruits. Two caveats if you try any of these techniques: choose the right sized knife, and make sure it is sharp. Another good idea is to have spare food on hand; you'll ruin an attempt or two for sure as you slice your way up the learning curve.Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com
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Summary: Play with your food
Review: I gave this calander as a gift and couldn't help but go back and get one for myself. It is a very humorous and playful way to look at food. Very colorful!
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Summary: Who knew food could be so funny!!
Review: I gave this calander as a gift and couldn't help but go back and get one for myself. It is a very humorous and playful way to look at food. Very colorful!
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Summary: Play with your food
Review: I received this book as a gift and thought it was a gag gift. Needless to say I returned it. This book is page after page of pictures of creatures that were made using food. They may be interesting to some, but who in their right mind really has time or the desire to recreate what's in the book. I enjoy cooking and I guess the person who gave me this book thought I would enjoy Playing With My Food. If you are buying this book as a gift my advice is to spend your money on a book someone can get more out of.
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Summary: Gag gift?!?!?
Review: I was astounded to see this book get a 1-star review. (...) PWYF is wonderful! Sure, it's not very serious. But its cuteness and fascinating adorability cannot be denied (...). I saw it (...) and was like "OOH! This is even better than the postcard book! Must buy must buy must buy!" Indeed it is. This book is so terrific. You can even make some of these yourself. The expressions on the pumpkins are so creative and varied...there must be hundreds you can carve. I like the lemon pigs, cucumber lizard, pepper bunnies, gai choy pekeingese, and...well, all of them! These fruits and veggies really do look like animals and people! The leeks and onions look like they're talking. The spitting camel pepper is so funny! The painting in the beginning of the book that is a veggie bowl when upside-down is a man when turned the other direction...an awesome optical illusion that is somewhat scary! You have to get this book. It is not too expensive and is worth it. Those pictures are just so cool. And I love the color of the book underneath its book jacket...neon orange!! COOOOOOOOOOL! I love fruit and vegetables, period. They are tasty and cool-looking and animal-friendly. I have a fruit clock in my room and now I tell time in fruit units (it's about nectarine o'clock, or 3.) But fruits and veggies like these? Fahgettaboutit! Totally neat.
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Summary: Unbelievably Clever!
Review: If you have never had the pleasure of flipping through the pages of this book, then buy it today! At first glance, it is merely a whimsical, albeit beautiful, series of photos. However, upon closer inspection, the expressions on the faces really start to come across. And, yes, I'm talking about produce! This is a great book to put on your coffee table and share with your friends.
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Summary: Unbelievably Clever!
Review: If you have never had the pleasure of flipping through the pages of this book, then buy it today! At first glance, it is merely a whimsical, albeit beautiful, series of photos. However, upon closer inspection, the expressions on the faces really start to come across. And, yes, I'm talking about produce! This is a great book to put on your coffee table and share with your friends.
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Summary: brings a smile to your face, then you start making faces.
Review: If you wish to re-discover the sense of amazement you had when still in Kindergarten, if you want to share the -wow- with a child or friends, Joost Elffers is your guide. He takes you by the hand, while you create whimsical creatures out of bell peppers, garlic bulbs, bananas, leeks and more, without ruining food. Eat that dolphin-like banana, sautee a garlic swan, fill a stock-pot with some angry leeks and mousy yams. Joost Elffers lets you Play With Your Food without making you feel guilty.
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Summary: An absolute hoot and imaginative adventure
Review: Joost Elffers's terrific "Play with Your Food" is a wacky trip inside the imagination of someone who is equally obsessed with food and faces. Elffers, a Dutchman, has a typically European flair for the dramatic and shows it off to great effect with the fruits and vegetables he chooses to showcase in this marvelous book. Picture, if you will, a wee family of bears carved out of zucchini--or a pensive carrot couple glancing askance at each other--or a shy banana. Crazy as it sounds, these things are not only possible but positively enchanting. Elffers manages to give each little edible face some human expression so that the photographs seem to show us not something we might find on our salad plate (or in our fruit bowl) but something we might see across the breakfast table as we look at our spouse or children. Elffers's sense of humor and inventiveness is captivating. Highly recommended for anyone who dislikes eating their vegetables--they just might enjoy gazing at their vegetables instead, if Elffers is in charge!
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