With his 50th anniversary in full swing, everyone's favorite blue robot cat from the future, Doraemon, is on the minds of many creators in Japan. One of them was culinary creator izuyo (izuyo0719), who specializes in something known as deco shokupan デコ食パン. Deco is short for "decorative" and shokupan is Japanese milk bread, so it's a form of culinary artistry expressed in the medium of bread.

Izuyo decided to pay homage to Doraemon on his birthday, September 3rd, by creating one of the most iconic elements associated with his character, the Anywhere Door.

What's so special about izuyo's creations is that she doesn't merely create beautiful decorations visible on a single slice of bread, she considers the entire loaf, crust and all, as her "canvas" to create wonderful surprises you can only discover once you slice the bread open:

Her creation elicited many plaudits in the comments, including:

  • "It's just like a magic trick!"
  • "Amazing"
  • "It's so cute I couldn't help squealing in delight!"

Doraemon isn't the only popular franchise izuyo draws inspiration from. For example, take a look at this Pokeball. Can you guess what the surprise will be when she slices it open?

The shape of this one is a huge hint, too:

On this load of bread, the 7/7 and the stars on the crust refers to the summer holiday festival of Tanabata, or Star Festival, which is held on July 7th every year in Japan. Here, izuyo displays her artistic skill, demonstrating that she can not only design detailed shapes but also subtle and beautiful color gradations as she does in this starry night sky loaf:

Although she's a wizard at deco shokupan, she can also create amazing icebox cookies. For example, look at these cookies based on a traditional Japanese decorative pattern (or, seen from a different perspective, a Q-Bert board):

To see more amazing and artistic baked creations, follow izuyo on Instagram or subscribe to her YouTube channel.

By - Ben K.