Brazilian Professional Fruit Carver Edson Oliveira with one of his watermelon portraits

I’ve recently been publishing some photos of watermelon portraits and pizza portraits and today, I’m sharing some photos of watermelon carvings of people by professional fruit carver Edson Oliveira of Brazil.

Since I am not familiar with Brazilian culture and current events, I cannot tell you if these carved watermelon portraits are of celebrities or if they are of ordinary people. Ultimately, I suppose it does not really matter. Besides showing off Edsons carving skills, the point of this article is to share with you some more images of watermelon portraits to give you some ideas of your own. You can see how Edson carved watermelon portraits with people with glasses and men with beards. You’ll see some with couples. Carved watermelon with images of couples can make great buffet table centerpieces for weddings.

Carving watermelon portraits is a fun hobby that can also be profitable. Caterers who learn to carve watermelon portraits (or have their staff continue reading…

Carved watermelon rose topped cake taught in Nita’s Watermelon Cakes video instructions.

For diabetics, vegans, people with gluten allergies and for others who simply want a clean healthy alternative to regular cake, cakes made from watermelons are great.  They are pretty, colorful and pleasing to the eye. From a health perspective, watermelon cakes are a  much better choice because they have none of the artery clogging fat, and none of the highly refined white flour and sugar found in regular cakes. Compared to commercially available cakes and cake mixes, watermelon cakes have no artificial colors, flavors, additives or preservatives. Cakes made from watermelons contain only fresh fruit.

Even for people with no dietary restrictions, cakes made from watermelons are an eye-catching unexpected surprise that will delight your guests. continue reading…

Jana Phung carves one of her first watermelon roses

Have you ever wanted to carve watermelon roses?

To a newcomer, fruit carving can seem daunting. Especially when you see lots of photos of carvings by experts and pros.

Carving watermelon roses can be easier than it looks when you get good instructions.

Today, I’ll be showing you watermelons carved with roses by students . In many cases these are their first or second attempts at carving the rose design. Some have carved their rose patterns into watermelons and some have carved cantaloupe, honeydew and other melons. All of these students have learned to carve watermelon roses from my video lessons.

You can see from the first continue reading…

Nita with her watermelon face carving

A couple of weeks ago I played around a bit with carving watermelon faces. I wanted to see how well techniques for carving 3D faces in pumpkins would work for carving faces in watermelon. Here is my result.

I was aiming to make friendly looking guy.  Because I was using my own face in the mirror as a guide, my melon man ended up looking a little bit like my dad. One side of the face turned out a bit better than the other. And my proportions weren’t exactly perfect. I think the eyes are too close together making my melon man look a bit like a gorilla. But, I had fun making it. continue reading…

August 3rd is National Watermelon Day in the United States

Did you know that that August 3rd is National Watermelon Day here in the United States? This delicious fruit is so well loved that it has been given its own national day! Watermelon is the perfect thirst quencher on hot summer days and although it is usually thought of as a sweet snack, watermelon can be used in savory recipes as well. Of course, if you are a fruit carver, you’ll know that watermelon is a popular fruit to work with because of its soft texture and beautiful contrasting colors.

My blog is full of watermelon carving ideas. But, given all the great qualities of watermelon, it seems fitting to mention National Watermelon Day on today’s post and share with you some fun and delicious ways to enjoy this versatile fruit! continue reading…

Patriotic Eagle Watermelon Carving by Robert Reynolds

After the recent July 4th celebrations here in the United States, several readers sent me photos of their patriotic watermelon carvings. It’s great to see that so many people are using their creativity with fruit carving to celebrate special events like July the 4th. In fact, vegetable and fruit carvings are a great addition to any special occasion and always get “ooohs” and “aaahs” from guests.

Today, I’d like to share photos of patriotic watermelon carvings by readers and students of my blog and carving lessons. All of their ideas are unique and I hope you pick up some new inspiration from seeing their work. continue reading…

Jim Morgan's 4th of July watermelon eagle carving

I recently featured a 4th of July carved watermelon eagle by Chef Jim Morgan in a previous post. After this, I was delighted to receive even more photos from readers with creative food ideas from their Independence Day celebrations.

The bald eagle is the official bird of America, so it’s really fun to see different interpretations of this bird by different food artists. Take a look at some of the food carving photos that were sent to me after this year’s 4th of July festivities! continue reading…

An example of a watermelon cake taught in Nita's video lessons

Today, I want to show you how my readers have gotten creative with their watermelon cakes. I have received many photos and messages sent to me by readers and students telling me how much they enjoyed my free watermelon cake lesson and my Watermelon Cakes #1 and #2 DVD lessons.

 I love all the different variations and twists that students and readers have added to the watermelon cakes to make it their own. The cakes are beautiful and colorful and are a healthy alternative to the sugar and fat loaded real cakes.  I thought you might like to see these photos to get ideas for your own edible creations. continue reading…

Ruben Olano's fruit carvings for Mother's Day at Disneyland Resorts

I met Ruben Olano through my fruit and vegetable carving website. This was one of his first emails that he sent to me.

“I work for DINEYLAND RESORTS HOTELS and I used to do, all the fruit decoracion, for thanksgiving Mother’s Day, Easter and Christmas Buffet, and Sculptures for displays in Banquets. but Watching all the work that you have done from your, pictures, MY RESPECT….you are truly an AMAZING ARTIST”

I thanked Ruben for his kind words and told him that  coming form a Disney Resort chef I considered that high praise indeed. I asked to see some of his carving photos. continue reading…

Today, I want to give you an early look at some of the food art competitions and events coming up later this year. Food carving competitions are a great way to showcase the beautiful art of vegetable and fruit carving, and are an opportunity for like minded culinary enthusiasts to share and learn from each other.

Besides fruit carving, food art competitions and events can include cooking, ice carving, cake decorating and chocolate carving. Oh, and let’s not forget about a watermelon eating contest and watermelon face painting. Find out more about these fun and wacky fruit activities and how they are actually supporting a great cause! continue reading…

Thai fruit carvings were a part of the Songkran Festival that I attended

Earlier this month, I attended a Songkran Festival celebration held here in California. Also known as the Water Festival, the Songkran Festival celebrates Thailand’s New Year and is usually a time for self reflection and spiritual homage. The Songkran Festival takes place in Thailand every year between April 13th and 15th, but the fun festivities, which include friendly street water fights, can last for several weeks!

Although I haven’t had the chance to go to continue reading…

Announcing an upcoming fruit and vegetable carving competition in Plain City, Ohio. Whether you’re a competitor or a spectator, attending a fruit and vegetable carving competition is a great way to meet like-minded people and get inspired!

2012 will be Plain City’s third annual Heritage Days Festival, which celebrates the history of the city with local food and craftsmanship. The fruit and vegetable carving competition, sponsored by the World Food Sculptor’s Association, is a big part of the Heritage Days Festival.

This Year’s Heritage Days Fruit and Vegetable Carving Competition will take place on Saturday, May 19, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Plain City, Ohio at Der Dutchman Restaurant continue reading…

Watermelon carvings on The Bachelor?

OK. I hate to admit it but I watched The Bachelor TV show last night. It’s kind of like watching a train wreck. I don’t really want to look but I can’t take my eyes off of it.

It’s like eating junk food. I know it’s not good for me but I sometimes eat it anyway.

At the end of last night’s show they showed a clip of what is coming in next week’s show. The Bachelor and one of the bachelorettes were bathing in a big tub of liquid chocolate. And they had whip cream to play with, too.

Hmmm, now that’s an idea you can recreate at home for your Valentine’s Celebration…. continue reading…

I participated in a fun watermelon carving competition with my fruit carving class mates at the Thai Temple. I continue to learn and practice almost every week with these ladies. Once a year, we do a friendly competition.

You will enjoy seeing all of the idea inspiring photos from the watermelon carving competition in this article and in the photo gallery below. continue reading…

I’m working on my video of the month carving lessons. I’ll be starting with some easy beginner lessons and moving into more intermediate. As intricate as these carved melons look, they are not difficult to do if you are shown how….which is exactly what I’ll be doing in my upcoming lessons.

Which of these melon carving patterns would you be most interested in learning how to do? Please indicate with your vote below each of the photos that you would most like to learn. You can vote for as many as you like.

continue reading…