Melbourne mum Laleh Mohmedi is reaching around the world - and winning fans including Jamie Oliver - with her creative food art.
The meals she designs, cooks and posts on are created for her son, Jacob, and take the form of cartoon characters and famous people.
Over the past 18 months, Mohmedi has turned her creations into a full-time business, working on food and wellness campaigns with major brands and teaching workshops to parents around the world.
“I did this purely to inspire other mothers, I know there are a lot of fussy eaters out there - and I did it just for a bit of fun too! I didn't expect it to turn into any of this,” she tells SBS.
The Instagram account has over 58,000 followers, and is still growing every day.
Jacob’s Food Diaries began after Mohmedi posted an early food creation to Facebook, and friends encouraged her to start an Instagram account. (You can find her on Facebook and instructions for some of her creations on her blog .)
From there, her son began to request different characters “that he had read in a book, seen on TV, or something that had caught his eye that day”.
Mohmedi and Jacob’s creations include Disney characters, sport stars, TV stars like Peppa Pig, and musicians like Prince and Michael Jackson.
Jacob is a big part of the process, and works side by side with Mohmedi on her creations.
“He cuts up vegetables and we talk about the ingredients that we use and I find that he's more receptive to eating them because he knows what's in it.”
Considering the intricate and unique designs of many of Mohmedi’s meals, you would be forgiven for assuming that she had a background in art or food.
“I loved art class back in high school, but that was about it!” she said.
In the past year, Mohmedi has transitioned from her job in medical recruitment to working with food full time.
She is passionate about helping parents find inspiration for healthy food and promoting wellness in family environments.
“For me, it's everything in moderation. All my food - except a little bit of chocolate now and then - is no refined sugar, no salt, healthy alternatives to making cakes or muffins,” she said.
The highest profile reaction to Laleh’s work has come from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who has given several of her creations a . She has also written a number of for his website.
“I was out for dinner one night with my husband, and I saw he started following my work - and then my Instagram blew up. That was the most amazing moment and surprise so far!”
So, who or what will be immortalised next on Jacob’s Food Diaries?
Mohmedi won’t give away any secrets. “You’ll just have to wait and see!” she laughs.
