Illusionists don’t always wear capes, or pull rabbits out of a hat. Some wear an apron, like Chef Ben Churchill does. He considers himself a food illusionist, and wait until you see what he’s conjured up. He’s taken social media by storm with his realistic-looking desserts, which look like anything but desserts. These culinary works of art have fooled countless people. And now, anyone can recreate these dishes thanks to his new book. Yes! Churchill isn’t just a food illusionist. He’s also an author of the book Food Illusions, Vol. 1. In it, readers will be guided step-by-step so they can recreate some of his most popular dishes. Here are some of his best masterpieces.At first glance, it looks like a raw egg yolk trapped in a cage of chocolate. It’s so tempting to want to grab a fork and try to poke that dome to see what’s inside. Whatever it is, it’s probably something quite delicious.
This masterpiece takes a sponge cake to a whole new level. It’s made with olive oil, contains mint crumb, sweet milk foam, and a baked apple puree. And it’s so realistic, you might accidentally wash your dishes with it.
For those of you who are too squeamish to eat the real thing, Churchill offers this ganache-filled cookie, which he shaped to look like a tiny heart. It’s kind of gross, but it’s also too tempting to simply pass up.
Look at that glaze! It’s so realistic! Chef Churchill often achieves the right shape for his desserts using silicone molds. After that, it’s just a matter of using his artistic touch to make one of his dishes look like a huge black cherry on top of dirt.
This dish is totally cute from an artistic point of view. But the only problem is, that some of Chef Churchill’s dishes might not look so appetizing to everyone. For example, that long, pink stick looks like a crab stick. So your brain might immediately say no before you even grab a fork.
The Force was clearly with Churchill when he created this Millennium Falcon dessert. It might look delicious, but most sci-fi fans might lose their minds and try to take that ship out for a pretend spin around the galaxy.
Admit it! You’d probably douse this with some salt and pepper and scarf it all down in a second. It might look like egg on toast bread, but it’s just a sweet treat. Kudos to Chef Churchill for bringing breakfast and dessert together again.
As impressive as this looks, it’s not real. The fried chicken pieces, the crispy fries, and even the BBQ sauce are made with sugary ingredients. But we totally get why people would be utterly confused by looking at these.
It’s actually a Granny Smith pannacotta made with custard filling, lemon balm, and granola. It looks so beautiful and mouthwatering. It’s without a doubt a work of art. Honestly, this totally puts an apple pie to shame.
Chef Churchill pulled a nice trick. He really had his followers convinced that this was an ashtray full of cigarette butts. But most people would probably pass on this dessert.
The soil is made out of chocolate, and you won’t have to worry about getting hurt. The broken shards of glass surrounding the ice cream are actually sugar glass, which is edible. The whole dish is so innovative that it makes you fight your instincts telling you not to eat it.
It even has edible rocks, chocolate soil, and a chocolate plant pot. The leaves on the carrot are made with lavender poached mint. It takes a lot of skills and patience to pull a design like this off, which must add to the enjoyment of eating them.
