Issue 60

Food Designer, Nick Vipittichak Pitthayanont, proves that even without formal training, a determination to pursue a hobby can lead to success on the global stage.

Can you tell us about your job as a Food Designer?
It’s wonderful to be able to integrate visual arts into food-related knowledge and create a masterpiece. Apart from designing food on a plate, food designers can do other things like creating menus, developing restaurant concepts, [acting as a] F&B consultant, and providing advice related to food presentation. I advise clients on how to wow their customers the minute they step inside a restaurant because in today’s F&B industry, it’s important how the food looks as customers tend to use their eyes to eat before their mouths.

How can you create designs that reflect your ideas and also embrace customers’ hearts?
I call myself a ‘food designer’ or ‘food plating artist’ because to me a plate is like a canvas that can be painted with different colours of food. While taste is a key element of gastronomy, designing the plate and presenting the food in an artful manner also enhances the pleasure the diner derives from enjoying the dish.

What was the inspiration for your job?
From the beginning, cooking has been one of my favourite pastimes and together with my interest in art, I also gained an art degree in graphic design. When I cooked at home, I would decorate the different dishes and post them on social media. Instagram proved a great platform to make my works of art visible to a wide audience. Foreign chefs started following me on Instagram. As a result, I was constantly being contacted to recreate this kind of work.

What is your proudest experience as a Food Designer?
My work was featured on the front cover of Four Magazine, which is considered the UK’s leading magazine for the food industry. They contacted me when they saw my work on Instagram and asked me to design a plate for their cover. I decided to choose a dish of sticky rice with mango to represent Thainess. Another time was being interviewed by CNN, who complimented me on my determination and being self-taught. They even called me the Thai Gordon Ramsay. I felt very honoured.

Do you have any tips for those starting out upon this career?
To be a food designer, you have to possess a passion for the subject, practice your craft and be willing to improve yourself.

What are your future plans?
I planned to have a food styling workshop for those who want to learn the art of food plating, but it seems a bit difficult now, as I have to fly back and forth from Thailand to support restaurants in many countries, such as the Alto Sky Lounge at Hatten Hotel Melaka, the Zahr El-Laymoun in Dubai, Riva Arun, Bangkok and the Dom Café and Bistro, Bangkok.