Honey, I shrunk the chef
Julie Mautner reports.
| More 'Front Burner' articles in this issue |
| Let them sew cake! |
| Princely piggy goes to market |
| Don't eat the food! |
| Splatter free |
| Branching out |
| Pint and shoot |
Forest Park, Illinois—Rocket U.S.A. has released a five-inch windup toy called Food Flippin' Mario. Based, of course, on the well-known New York City restaurateur and Food Network chef Mario Batali, the plastic-and-tin figure tosses a pan of spaghetti and meatballs in one hand while shaking a bottle of his secret sauce in the other. "I'm a big fan of silly toys," says Rocket founder and president Michael Perry, "and I've wanted to do something with Mario for several years. His personality is so infectious and fun."
To create the mini Mario, Perry found an antique tin toy made in Japan around 1960 and reproduced it; he then approached Batali about converting it to feature his likeness. "Turning anyone into a toy is a funny process," Perry says. "If the toy is too real, it gets wax museum creepy. Too cartoony, and it stops feeling like the person. So we set out to capture Mario's humor and personality but make it more of a caricature. He has so much joy and passion for what he does, and now he gets to be a toy."
"It's definitely a little strange," says Batali, who will tally a total of 11 restaurants (including two in Los Angeles and two in Las Vegas) by the end of the year. "I opened a box of 48 of them yesterday, and the feeling was similar to Buzz Lightyear's realization in Toy Story that he isn't unique. My kids love it, and I can't wait to send it to all the journalists who seem to despise me!"
Food Flippin' Mario ($16) is available in gift stores, through mail-order catalogs and online. To order directly from Rocket U.S.A.: (888) 987-6268; www.rocketusa.com.
