February 10, 2015
Here’s how Chef Lachnish uses the dragon tattoo to enliven a dessert plate.
Here’s how Chef Lachnish uses the dragon tattoo to enliven a dessert plate.

First tattoos became standard attire in professional kitchens on the arms, wrists and necks of professional chefs. Now an Israeli temporary-tattoo company is hoping culinary culture will adapt its designs for plating.

One look at Chef Alexander Lachnish’s food presentations and you’ll be surprised the idea for soy-based temporary tattoos took this long to hit the table.

The Almost Sexy  outfit, conceived by the Allenby Concept House advertising and content agency, has been selling temporary skin tattoos by Israeli and international artists. The idea of expanding into food-art tattoos comes in the wake of the popularity of “food porn” on television and social media.

Lachnish, famous for his molecular cuisine designs that he posts to Instagram, hooked up with AlmostSexy to add extra pizzazz to his already dazzling dishes.

Fruit never looked this appealing.
Fruit never looked this appealing.

The tattoos can be stuck on plates with a bit of water, just like temporary tattoos, and can be removed easily with a bit of scrubbing in the sink.

Lachish says the plating tattoos allow the chef (or home cook) to choose a design based on what they’re cooking and what story they want to tell through their food.

Another Israeli chef, Moshe Segev, has begun serving his gourmet dishes on plastic slides printed with photographs of food, creating an optical illusion on the plate.

The art of plating just got more attractive.