Last week I was in Phoenix, Arizona to do demo carving for the “Food Fanatics Live” event put on by US. Foods. It was a fun event. Here are photos of the vegetable and fruit carvings that I made.
Nita Gill with her vegetable and fruit carving display at US. Foods’ Food Fanatics Live event in Phoenix, Arizona.
US. Foods is a leading distributor of food items, ranging from fresh meats and produce to prepared and frozen foods. Their goal in hiring me was to bring attention to all of the produce that they have to offer. They provide restaurants, healthcare and hospitality entities, government and educational institutions with all kinds of food service related products. They are reported to be the 10th largest privately owned companies in the United States.
The current ad campaign of US. Foods features one of their trailer trucks blasting off like a rocket with the slogan, “We’re just taking off”. So, they requested that I carve their truck “blasting off”. They loved the pumpkin version carved by Patrick O’Brien at their Florida Food Fanatics Live event.
Here’s their ad.
Here is US. Foods ad with their truck blasting off.
Here is my version of it carved into watermelons.
Here is my rendition of their ad carved into watermelons with cauliflower “smoke”.
Here is a closer look at the US. Foods truck carved on watermelons. My Pattern Transfer Fabric made it easy to transfer and carve the truck pattern.
Watermelons and pumpkins carved with the slogan of US. Foods, the name of the event and one of their main produce supplier partners, Cross Valley Farms. You can learn to carve logos like these in my video lessons, Carving Letters and Words.
I carved the logo pumpkins and watermelons in advance. The garnishes, melon carvings and a few pother carvings were done during the event as entertainment for the attendees of the event. I heard a lot of ooohs, aaahhs and wows from the chefs, cooks and restaurant owners that were there. Most of the onlookers that came by the booth took their cameras out and took photos.
People in the United States are not used to seeing displays of carved fruits and vegetables. When you learn to carve, you will get the same kinds of ooohs and aaahs when people see your carvings. You’ll see.
This goose that I assembled required very little carving. The beak was carved from a carrot. The neck, head and part of the body was a goose neck gourd. The back of the body was a watermelon with Napa cabbage leaves attached as wings. This was simple to make and got of lot of exclamations of delight. It was a happy accident that it developed a spot right where the eye should be.
I found the gooseneck gourd in a bin at Trader Joe’s in early September. I bought it just because I loved the shape. By the date of the Food Fanatics Live event on November 10th, a spot developed right where the eye should be. It was a fortunate co-incidence, perfect for making a goose.
Here’s a look at some of the other carvings and garnished that decorated the table. Most all of these carvings are taught in my video lessons.
This honeydew was carved with roses. You can learn to carve roses on melons in my video lessons, Carving Watermelons – Roses, Buds and Leaves. This lesson is included in my Vegetable and Fruit Carving 101 Course for Beginners.
You can learn to carve these easy purple onion flowers in my free video lesson
A couple of the US. Foods produce salesmen challenged me to carve something with this dragon fruit. One requested a face. This is my quick version of the Davy Jones character in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
When I was challenged to carve a dragon fruit, I thought, but they are so pretty to begin with. When one of the salesmen asked for a face, the character of Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series immediately came to mind. It took only a couple of minutes to make and got some laughs. I was pleasantly surprised when attendees coming by my table recognized my dragon fruit as Davy Jones. :))
I carved this cantaloupe during the show. You can learn a very similar pattern in my video lessons, Melon Flowers – Smooth and Jagged Petals. The edges of the watermelon that you see in the top right of this photo are the “jagged petals” taught in the same lesson.
My husband, who went with me to the event, asked for something to do. So I showed him how to make the simple radish flowers shown behind the goose’s neck. He arranged in a small pumpkin. This was his FIRST CARVING EVER. Lots of people that came to the table full of carvings oohed and aahed over his simple radishes. You can learn how to make these radish flowers by signing up for the free lesson on this page.
One of the US. Foods produce guys handed me a portobello mushroom and asked me to carve something. I’ve never paid any attention to mushrooms for carving before. I discovered that brown skin and the white inside make a nice contrast when carving.
A closer look at the Food Fanatics Live watermelon. The pepper flowers are taught in my Vegetable and Fruit Carving 101 Course for Beginners. The letter carving is taught in my Carving Letters and Words video lessons. The radish flowers are taught in my free lesson that you can get by signing up for the free lesson on this page. Or sign up here for 3 free lessons.
I hope that these photos inspire you to make carvings for your own events. All of the premium video lessons mentioned in this article can be found in my 17 Lesson Collection.
I want to know about fruit carving online competition online for 2017.
When I discover competition dates, I will publish in the competition section of my website at //www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/events-competitions/upcoming/.