Monday 16 / December / 2024
Colourful, crisp, delicious fresh fruit is one of my favourite things, but I must admit that I rarely admire the beauty of the produce itself. That's probably because I’m already accustomed to how an apple looks and to the lovely form of a slice of melon. So when I first laid eyes on an intricately carved fruit display, which looked too good to be eaten, I was instantly smitten.
Fruit carvers have become a recent obsession for me. These innovative artists can trace their inspiration to Thailand, as this art form finds its roots in Thai culinary culture.
These creations have taken Oman by storm, thanks to Omani fruit carver, Sulaiman Al Harrasi.
Sulaiman was born in 1985, and as far back as he can remember, food was his passion. He studied at the Oman Tourism College and then went on to work at the Ministry of Defence’s culinary school near the Yemen border in Dhofar.
There he started out as a sous chef, before climbing the ranks to become a chef instructor at the catering school.
Being a salad specialist, slicing, chopping, and dicing skills were essential to his daily duties, but what led him to become a professional fruit and vegetable carver, transforming fruits into artistic, edible treats, was a YouTube video.
“Working at the ministry offered me a lot of free time, so I consumed it in reading about art and poems,” he said, adding that he began watching videos of fruit carving and practising the techniques. “I’d put the knowledge of art in my fruit design.”
When his family and friends realised his potential in this craft, they offered their full support, and encouraged him to continue pursuing his culinary art. Sulaiman began carving fruit for events for his loved ones and close friends, and the requests continued to grow. He opened a small workshop in his father's place, and eventually rented his own space and invested in a professional carving kit as he established his brand as a carving expert.
What started out as a hobby evolved into a successful entrepreneurial enterprise, one which, at this point, enjoys no competition as Sulaiman is the only carver in Oman.
“There is a competition between me and myself,” he laughed. “Some customers pay OMR800 and ask for nothing, they say 'make whatever you want; we want you to surprise us', and this is a tough challenge in itself.”
Overlooking every single detail of a project, from selecting high quality fruit to understanding the theme and ambiance of the client’s event, Sulaiman continually strives for perfection. “I ask every detail when preparing an ornate melon for an event; so it can appear like a one-piece corner that blends in well with the other things in the event,” he explained.
“It started off with carving a piece of fruit, to carving a full basket, then developed and became a fruit basket accompanied by a chocolate fountain, now, it became a mix of many things that add artistic touch to the display, from candies, to marshmallows, to putting together a complete table decor setup that’s just beautiful to gaze at – a work of art,” he said. The most common carvings people order are of flowers or birds, but Sulaiman is confident he can carve anyone's concept or vision, adding super cool elements like internal lighting.
Sulaiman continues to take special orders, offer workshops on fruit carving in universities and colleges, as well as carve for charities. He has also begun exploring the more long-lasting art of glass etching, which he offers to special clients as memorable gifts.
Being a fruit carver is truly a wonderful talent as it allows us to see these ordinary, beautiful gifts from nature, transformed into celebratory works of artistic vision.
Try it yourself
What you need
• Apple
• Cutting board
• Small, sharp knife or toothpick
• A bowl filled with cold water with some lemon juice in it (to dunk the sliced apple to stop it from browning).
How it’s done:
• Start with a fairly wide apple wedge (you can move up to doing whole apples as you practice). Score the surface with your knife to make an evenly spaced checkerboard pattern.
• Then cut out and peel off alternating squares of apple skin with your knife or, if the checkerboard is very fine, the tip of a toothpick.
• Tidy up any rough edges with the knife, and dunk in lemon water to prevent browning.
Order a Fruit Sculpture
+968 9910 1300
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