In case you ever doubted it, here’s another proof that London is rich in unique things to do that don’t cost a penny. I recently posted about a seasonal event in Canary Wharf, the Winter Lights. Today, I’m taking you to an interesting exhibition in Japan House in Kensington, London. Called ‘Looks Delicious’, the exhibition showcases meticulously crafted food replicas portraying traditional Japanese dishes. It’s incredible how realistic they are! The event is free to visit and will stay around until February 16th, so you still have a little over 2 weeks to check it out, if you’re in London.
Looks Delicious Food Replica Exhibition
The exhibition is hosted by Japan House, located in Kensington in West London. Japan House, located on Kensington High Street, describes itself as a Japanese hub for Europe. It has a restaurant, a shop, an art gallery, and more. It hosts various cultural events and has a small cafe serving Japanese drinks. I had a matcha latte there, and it was delicious.
I first heard about the food replica exhibition back in November, from a friend. It instantly intrigued me, but my schedule before Christmas was already filled with other pre-booked festive attractions and Christmas shopping, so I decided to leave it for the new year.
It seems like my memory isn’t working so well in 2025, because since I got back to London at the start of January, I went through a few cycles of remembering about the food replica exhibition and then completely forgetting about it. And then, last Saturday, I remembered about it again – simply because I walked past Japan House while I was on a walk. What are the odds!
There seemed to be quite a lot of people inside Japan House, and I knew that pre-booking a free ticket for the exhibition is usually recommended, but I crossed my fingers and went in to check if they were accepting walk-ins. Luckily, they did, and I was in!
The room with the display wasn’t huge, but there was a large number of exhibits. The first one that I saw may have actually been the most impressive of all. It was a stack of onions – the most ordinary food item I can think of – but they looked 100% real. I genuinely couldn’t – and still can’t – believe that these are fake. The layers and textures are hyper-realistic. Trust me, there was a label on that table ensuring the reader that the onions are in fact inedible replicas. Wow!
On the next table, I could learn about the process of making realistic food replicas. From casting moulds to hand-painting the details and assembling all the elements on a plate, I could see how a fake steak with veggies were made from scratch. To be honest, there were only a few steps involved and it seemed simple, but imagine the incredible painting skills you need to be able to perfectly portray the different textures of a charred, juicy steak.
Some of the exhibits weren’t exactly realistic. For example, all ingredients of this absurdly tall burger looked perfectly real, but imagine assembling a sandwich like that without making a huge mess! This burger would be great for advertising photos though, and I’m sure a lot adverts do use hyper-realistic food replicas (unless it’s illegal – some countries require using real products in adverts).
Not only the food items themselves were extremely realistic, but some of the exhibits also perfectly portrayed a dynamic moment in time. The stringy, melted cheese and a runny yolk oozing onto the pan looked so real!
Not everything needs to be realistic, though. A little bit of fun doesn’t hurt. The crab and the beverage looked real, but I’m yet to see a real crab drink out of a glass!
The main point of the exhibition was to showcase the variety of dishes in different regions of Japan. Each replica of a meal was labelled with a description and the name of the region it’s popular in. None of the items were real food, but looking at them, I was starving! There was something for everyone – from seafood to noodles, dumplings and fruit. Some of the replicas included liquid elements, and I’m curious how those were made. Interestingly, making fake soy sauce isn’t as easy as mixing water with brown dye. You also want to achieve the look of a little bit of grease floating on the surface!
Admittedly, some of the dishes looked a little bit too perfect – try cooking a multi-ingredient meal without getting a single charred or overcooked piece, and no random crumbs – but honestly, if you didn’t know it was a food replica exhibition and were starving, you could totally think these are real.
You could even learn new recipes at the exhibition. For example, there was a display showcasing the process of making gyoza dumplings.
If you had any doubts about whether the exhibits were in fact fake, look at these plates standing at an angle. The broth in the soup not only isn’t real, but it’s not even liquid!
There were also some scrumptious desserts included in the exhibition, which made me crave a huge serving of ice cream with lots of toppings.
Closing thoughts
I absolutely loved the Looks Delicious exhibition at Japan House, London. The food replicas were stunning, with most of them looking super realistic. I can’t even imagine how much time, work and skills was required to create those pieces of art. I was starving for a delicious meal when I left the exhibition!
If you’re in London, you have until February 16th 2025 to visit the food replica exhibition. Whilst they usually accept walk-ins, it’s highly advisable to book a free ticket online, on the official website: https://www.japanhouselondon.uk/whats-on/looks-delicious-exploring-japans-food-replica-culture/. If you have a chance, I definitely recommend visiting the exhibition.
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