We've always thought it would be cool to get a tattoo, but we've never thought of the perfect image. Why not food? Some pretty vegetables, perhaps? Or maybe a nice cupcake? (Now if only we could get over our fear of needles.)
Food tattoos are gaining popularity and range from meat and cutlery to colorful desserts and beloved products. So we want to know: Would you get one? What would it be? Or maybe you already have one?
Tell us in the comments.
- NY Times food tattoo photo gallery (including a portrait of Alice Waters!)
- Eating in Cleveland: Food Tattoos - 53 of the Best
Related: Food Art: Tropical Food Stamps at the USPS
(Images: The Rozillis! and Amy Adoyzie, used with special permission)
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Comments (20)
I know a guy with the USDA Grade A Beef stamp on his butt... does that count?
This seems like the thing for chefs to do these days.
Not for me.
I'll stick with the Tasmanian Devil on my shoulder. (I'm just kidding, I don't have any tattoos.)
Funny though, I just read about a restaurant that opened in Chicago whose overall design is based on tattoos.
I have a cupcake tattoo ♥
http://flickr.com/photos/misscupcakeface/2789194193/
I would love to get an artichoke tattoo. Not only are they one of my favorite foods, but they are beautiful as well. As long as the tatt doesn't come out looking like a lotus flower.
I have a friend who also has a cupcake tattoo, with a whisk and rubber spatula crossed underneath. (Hi Tina!)
One of the best food tattoos I ever saw was a giant head of garlic, rendered perfectly in old-fashioned botanical-plate style, on the arm of a barista in Minnesota. Totally gorgeous.
I have lots of tattoos already, and have seriously considered getting a HUGE back piece of an illustration from a Native American children's book, of a SUPER CUTE squirrel standing over a giant cornucopia of colorful fruits and veggies, with his paw extended like he's 'presenting' it to you or inviting you to it, like the Price is Right girls. It's an amazing illustration and very large, and so colorful, I think it would be a beautiful tattoo. Some day!
i've got a lot of tattoos, too, but no food tattoos! i LOVE the cupcake tattoos ladies - but (gasp) i don't really like cupcakes. maybe a kitchenaid mixer with wings in memory of my grandma?? i inherited that kitchenaid when she died! ahahah. sorry. bad taste. bahah.
if I got one, I'd probably do a little strawberry on my left leg. I had a small strawberry birthmark there that eventually faded, and I remember being about 6 or 7 years old and crying because I realized I couldn't see it any more. and I always love eating strawberries.
the rachel ray tattoo on the eating in cleveland page is terrifying.
I love my food tattoo--a pair of pea pods with "petit pois" written below. It's located on my lower back. Not many people see it, but knowing that it's there gives me joy.
Favorite food tattoo I've seen...one of the fellows who works at Bouchon has a tattoo of the chopsticks instructions on his inner arm. Hilarious!
Not big on tattoos and deathly afraid of needles, but the artichoke thing sounds neat.
I grew up around a lot of men with tattoos and I don't find them appealing at all. The art is always overly simplistic (even when it's relatively detailed or sophisticated by tattoo standards) and I've noticed that you rarely (or never) see people happily showing off their tattoos when they're older and their skin has changed.
I wouldn't get a tattoo, and I'd be even less inclined to get a food tattoo as I'm not so sure it'd offer a message I'd want permanently attached to my body (like food is what I prioritize or value most in life).
As an aside, if you ever want to work in Japan or visit the onsen, never get a tattoo! The Japanese associate them with gangsters (yakuza) and most onsen ban people with tattoos from using the facilities.
It's very serious and you can be refused a job if you have a visible tattoo.
A good friend of mine who owns Yield</A> in San Francisco has two awesome food tattoos - an avocado on one bicep, and a bunch of brussel sprouts on the other.
I'm happy with the three tattoos I already have, but I wouldn't be opposed to a food-inspired tattoo just because it was a food-inspired tattoo.
A few weeks ago, a friend sent this link to me: http://www.flickr.com/groups/foodtatts/
It depends on how you define it (strictly food or not), but guess I've got a foodie tattoo; a bunny that says "vegan" on my wrist. You can see it in the second picture of my ice cream entry: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/best-lick-2008/roasted-apricot-ice-cream-with-almond-praline-ripple-best-lick-2008-ice-cream-contest-entry-1-059463
I have a food tattoo- a friend of mine drew up a "sacred garlic clove", much like the sacred heart. It's on my foot, and I am trying to think of something similar for my other foot.
I want my first tattoo to be a red onion. I think they are gorgeous, and my favorite of all the alliums.
I have also seen many cool food tattoos: pomegranate, asparagus, etc...
not really food, but i do have a queen anne's lace tattoo... also known wild carrot flowers, so i guess it counts a little...
hopefully more to come :)
Yes! I want one around my wrist, a very delicate circle of thyme, my favorite herb.
i have a cupcake tattoo. and i loveee it. i mean among 20 other ones but they arent food related haha except for some cherries haha