Full English breakfast cast in wax for Maggie Yang's hyperrealistic food candles
London-based designer Maggie Yang has created a collection of wax candles replicating different foods, including a Ploughman's pie, a wheel of brie and an entire breakfast plate with beans and brown sauce.
The collection, titled Pantler's Rations, is made by casting silicone onto real food items to create moulds that "pick up as much texture as possible", Yang explained.
The final candles are cast into these moulds and later sculpted, painted and glazed by hand to achieve their realistic appearance as varying food items.
"From loaves, cakes to pies, every bakery item I've 'candlised' started as a real baked piece," Yang told Dezeen. "I'd create multiple specimens before selecting one to mould and reproduce in wax."
"No two pieces are ever identical and I often hand-sculpt certain forms, like cheese, to refine their shape and texture," she added.
Yang then experiments with burning the candles, adjusting wick sizes and placements to ensure the pieces are actually usable.
The designer describes her choice to make the wax models into candles as "incredibly performative".
"The act of burning the candle/wax objects pushes them beyond being static objects," she said. "I would love for people to burn them, as after all, isn't there something poetic about them being meticulously created to be destroyed?"
The project began by bringing together Yang's "passion for crafting representational objects with research into culinary history".
When selecting foods to replicate, she gravitates toward dishes that speak to the culture and craftsmanship of food.
"I replicate foods that I'm visually and conceptually drawn to, quite often ones that reflect the artistry and cultural significance of food crafts," she said.
"I suppose I'm always looking to replicate items on the more unusual side, almost like a cabinet of curiosity for food objects."
Specific foods that candles have been modelled on include various jellies, Ploughman's and pithivier pies, Turkish delights and cornichon pickles.
Yang also recently produced her first candle of an entire meal, replicating a full English breakfast in wax.
The name Pantler's Rations also reflects this craft-centred approach, with "pantler" being an archaic term for the servant in charge of a great house's pantry and bread.
"My encounter with the word 'pantler' came from a research project I worked on in 2022, exploring archaic British trades and professions in the context of rural heritage," Yang explained.
"'Rations' represents a sentiment to savour and cherish, a sense of slowness that bridges craftsmanship and culinary arts."
Maggie Yang is based and works in London, and is looking to explore further concepts within Pantler's Rations.
"This might even mean stepping outside of the pantry and venturing into new realms of objects in certain new projects," she said. "I'd like to lean more into miniature model crafts, folk toys and incorporating motion into candle designs."
Other unusual candle designs featured on Dezeen include Yield's candles designed to smell like architects and the Interchangeable Candle by RE-OR.
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