food

Lockdown has meant that more people have been trying out elaborate recipes over the past year. With restaurants closed, folk are having to turn to their own kitchens for fancy dinners, using the internet for inspiration. But as it turns out, some are a lot more successful in the culinary department than others. These pictures of people's expectations vs. reality, cooking edition prove that sometimes, even when you try to channel your inner Gordon Ramsey, you will not succeed. They take Hell's Kitchen to a whole new level!

2020 needs to effing end already. Staying at home all day has made every household task feel even more laborious than it ever was—especially cooking. That exciting phase of everyone making sourdough bread has long since lost its appeal, and now cooking has been reduced to *cook, eat, wash up, repeat*. I, for one, am over it. These relatable tweets about the cooking burnout we're all experiencing in 2020 hit the spot a little too well.

Back in the not-so-distant-past when movie theatres were open, there was nothing better than going to your local cinema with your gal pals on a Saturday night, armed with snacks to watch the latest rom-com. A big bucket of sweet and salty popcorn and two hours of Matthew McConaughey? Yes, please! But one thing that never failed to enhance our cinematic experience was the thrill of sneaking real food into the movie theatre and getting away with it. Whether it was a slice of pizza in our purse or a burrito up our sleeve, everything tasted better when we knew we'd snuck it past security. Twitter user @LocalSoundwave asked people to share the foods they've snuck into movie theatres, and the responses reveal just how daring people are. Oh, the guilty thrills of doing something wrong!

I think it's safe to say that the concept of beauty pageants is somewhat outdated, at least in their original format of judging and ranking contestants' physical attributes only. But nestled among the beauty pageants of old are the lesser-known vintage food-themed contests, which saw women's beauty celebrated alongside various produce. From Miss Idaho Potato, 1935 to Donut Queen, 1951, here is the only beauty pageant I will endorse. Mixing food with fashion is something I will always support, and celebrating food, in general, is a worthy endeavor. So scroll through these bizarre pictures of the food industry's beauty queens and be as baffled but amazed as I am at their splendor.

Whoever says that food isn't art, have never seen these insane geometric pies, created by self-taught baker Lauren Ko. Her famous colorful pies each have their own unique pattern, which are so accurately intricate, they look like they're made of plastic. Lauren has just brought out her first cookbook called Pieometry, which shows you how to recreate your own pie masterpieces. I know what I'll be serving for the holiday season this year!

The world is divided into two types of people: those who cook and those who don't. Those who don't get takeout or buy microwave meals, and those who do, take pride in their work (mostly). They all have their secret tips and trips to make recipes easier and tastier, which they've discovered along the way or learned from their mom or grandma. Discovering cooking hacks happens to be a passion of mine, and I'm always eager to find new ways to improve my recipes. People reveal their "weird, but life-changing" cooking hacks in this Reddit thread, uncovering some real gems. Please scroll down to read them and get yourself one step closer to being a (somewhat) professional chef.

I love all things food. I love eating (Italian mainly - specifical pasta), but I also love cooking. I put a lot of love and energy into my food prep, so it honestly makes me die a little inside when I see images like these. And if you're somewhat of a chef or foodie, then these awful food fail pics will probably have the same effect on you. Instagram account @totallygourmet is full of pictures that, according to their homepage is "Totally crème de la crème", but in my opinion, they're more "Totally crime de la crème".

There's nothing like being hungover (or even still drunk) and ordering McDonald's. As you sit there and stuff your face with greasy fast food, you wonder if anything ever tasted so delicious. Not that I know what this feels, like, I'm speaking for a friend. Cough cough. But what would make it even better is if you could save a couple of bucks as you were doing it. So here's a list of handy hacks to make your next McDonald's order that bit cheaper, so you can use all the money you save over time to buy... another happy meal! We're lovin it!

If you're anything like me, you've had times where you've eaten so much that you've put yourself into a food coma. I mean, is there anything better than curling up on the couch after overeating on pasta and slipping into a beautiful, carb-filled dream? Nope, didn't think so. The only thing I can think of to make that nap any better would be to fall asleep on a giant food pillow. Whether it's a massive chicken wing, a wonton, or a donut, these pillows look good enough to eat and will elevate any food coma to new levels of deliciousness.

Some kids will eat anything and everything. And by some, I mean basically none. Any parent will attest to the fact that kids can be a nightmare when it comes to eating; most are incredibly picky and limit themselves to one or two things — usually chicken nuggets and chips, and nothing with any nutritional value. Mealtimes become a battle, usually ending up with kids going on hunger strikes and parents inevitably giving in and admitting defeat. One Japenese mom decided to combat this issue by turning her picky daughter's food into animated works of art to get her to eat healthily. Whether it's eggs in the shape of Winnie the Pooh or sushi snowmen, we're sure her daughter scoffs her mother's food down pretty quickly. Check out her incredible talent below.

Instagram is full of influencers who claim to be fashionistas. However, it's hard to stand out and sell your style in a unique way when there are so many others doing the same thing as you. But one mom has figured out a creative way to encourage hers and her daughter's love for fashion. Painter Alya Chaglar sculpts food into the shape of dresses and holds them up against her young daughter Stefani, making it seem like she is wearing the food clothes. From pizza to broccoli, her fabulous food fashion looks so fun to make. Stefanie certainly looks like she enjoys the poses, and it's clear that a young, budding fashionista is in the works!

Makeup artists these days are coming up with incredible ways to showcase their talent, proving how much makeup can transform a person's face. Canadian based makeup artist Mimi Choi is taking her creativity one step further, and producing incredibly realistic images of food on different parts of her body that blend seamlessly into the background. Her painting skills create a 3D illusion effect, making it look like she has real food placed onto her body. Mimi's unique artistic style makes for mesmerizing pictures and videos, the best of which we've compiled for you below.

Did you ever wish you could wear your favorite food on your head? Yeah, me neither, but now that I've discovered the work of Phil Ferguson, I'm rethinking my stance on the matter. The Australian artist, best known as Chili Philly boasts over 130k Instagram followers and proudly shows off the incredibly detailed culinary-themed hats that he crochets himself. He started the Instagram page to make friends when he moved to Melbourne, and make friends he did. And then some! 130k to be exact! Check out his crazy crocheting skills below! 

Food is meant to be enjoyed, whether it's expensive Michelin-star standard or fast-food from McDonald's. Of course, the more expensive the food, the higher the cooking quality, standard, and presentation but sometimes fine dining restaurants take it a little too far. These pictures show what some Michelin star restaurants are doing when it comes to serving their food, and they prove that imagination doesn't have limitations. They say presentation is everything, but I'm not sure how appetizing some of these dishes look, even if they are ridiculously expensive. What do you think?

If you've been following us for a while, you know that I love some good cake art. We've had beaded cakes, dreamy buttercream creations, and even someone who puts Drake lyrics on the top of her cakes. Because why not? Our latest cake feature will have you dreaming of exotic vacations and faraway destinations because these cakes look like real paradise islands. Yes, the tropical blues and the dreamy greens will make you want to dive straight into these cakes. Literally!

Many people compete in 'ManVsFood' challenges, which involves eating insane amounts of food in one sitting. Normally, the people who compete are bodybuilders or at least hugely sized people who can handle consuming so many thousands of calories in one sitting. But Kate Ovens, a petite British 26-year-old girl who demolishes 4000-calorie meals in under 30 minutes, doesn't exactly fall into that category. Althoguh we want to cry at the thought of how intensely she has to work out in order to maintain her figure while consuming such large portion sizes, the pictures of her food look pretty impressive. Check out this impressive foodie below.