Since Tokyo-based Star Wars fan Jessie Co first posted a BB-8 hotpot to her Instagram account in 2017, she’s made a variety of detailed Star Wars character food designs from Obi-Wan Kenobi to Bib Fortuna to The Bad Batch using sushi, cream puffs, dumplings and even pizza.
While Jessie’s love for the saga goes back to the original trilogy, it wasn’t until she watched Star Wars Rebels that she was really hooked. “Growing up watching old Japanese animation, I felt a sense of nostalgia and familiarity with the story and characters of Rebels, and I couldn't wait for the next episode every time,” Jessie tells StarWars.com. “Until then, I didn't have any friends to talk about Star Wars with. But my son also started to like Rebels, and I was very happy to have someone to watch it with.”
With her interest in Star Wars reignited, Jessie created her first character food design as a unique celebration of her son’s birthday: a BB-8 hotpot. “I wanted to do something special for my son's birthday, so I tried to make an interesting dinner for the first time in a while,” Jessie says. “I've always cooked for my family. In Japan, many people are particular about the presentation of food (such as character bento) and I put a lot of effort into it when my children were small. But as they grew up, there were no more opportunities to do so.”
That’s when she discovered the culinary world of Star Wars character creations.
The Process
For Jessie, the process of making new character foods is fun and really allows her to get creative. “I'm fascinated by the shapes of the aliens and creatures that appear in Star Wars,” Jessie says. “I wonder if they were designed based on natural objects or food? I get excited when I find ingredients that go well with the characters.”
And just like any creative process, there are some snags here and there. “It's difficult to [deconstruct] human characters,” she says. “I have a hard time every time. Many of my works end up being shelved because I fail.”
But as Yoda says to Luke in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, “The greatest teacher, failure is.” Despite the challenges, Jessie wasn’t deterred. The inspiration for a new design can come from anywhere, including a quick glance at an ingredient. “Sometimes I start by thinking that I want to create a certain character, but more often than not, inspiration strikes me,” Jessie says. “When I'm looking at food, the face of a character suddenly pops into my mind. I pick up a pineapple, [and think] ‘Oh! It's Bossk!’” she says. “I made Gungi because the pork filet cutlet on my dinner plate suddenly looked like Gungi.” In that case, she stopped eating to make the culinary art, which took about 30 minutes.
The Star Wars Influence
Since beginning her journey with galactic cuisine, Star Wars and food have become intertwined for Jessie. “Star Wars characters and food have become more and more connected in my mind,” she says. “The foods I use to make character food are not particularly unusual. They are just things that are eaten in everyday Japanese homes. Sometimes when I'm buying ingredients at the store, an idea for a character suddenly pops into my head. And it's really fun to make it while imagining the faces of my family and friends who will be happy.”
That connection between everyday food can be seen in Jessie’s more recent designs, such as sushi she made based on The Bad Batch — one a faithful recreation of animated sushi from the series and the other focused on the faces of Clone Force 99. “I love the animation so I wanted to make character food, but human faces are difficult,” Jessie says. “Just before the final season, I had the idea of lining up the five of them as sushi.” For each character, she chose ingredients that fit the clone’s personality, not just the color or shape of their design. “For example, I used spicy chili peppers for the sharp-tongued Crosshair,” Jessie adds. “For Hunter's hair, I used shiitake mushrooms sweetly boiled with soy sauce and sugar. I'm particular about making things so that you can feel the character even when you eat them.”
And she was so inspired by Neel in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, she made two dishes based on the alien boy.
Even though it’s still a few months away, Jessie already has plans for Star Wars Celebration Japan; it will be her first time attending the Star Wars fan event. “In Japan, there is a culture of ’hanami’ where you admire the cherry blossoms in early spring,” Jessie says, with many people making a day of the excursion with a picnic lunch with friends. “Since Celebration will be held in April, which is the season for cherry blossoms, I would like to make a cute bento with Star Wars characters that is suitable for that occasion. I can't wait to meet my overseas Star Wars fan friends that I've connected with on social media!”
The StarWars.com Fan Spotlight Q&A
StarWars.com: What’s your favorite Star Wars memory?
Jessie Co: Winning Best Original Concept and Best Food Presentation at the Star Wars Fan Awards 2018! Since receiving these awards, I've made a lot of Star Wars friends. I'm very grateful.
StarWars.com: If you could have a meal in one Star Wars location, which location would you choose?
Jessie Co: Dex’s Diner. This restaurant has to have the best food in Star Wars! I'd love to sit at the counter with a bunch of aliens in this stylish restaurant and listen to FLO's nagging.
StarWars.com: What three Star Wars characters would you love to have as dinner guests?
Jessie Co: Wrecker because he'll happily eat anything, saying it's delicious! I want to feed him lots of things he's never tried before. Chewbacca because I wonder what his favorite food is. Maybe he eats healthy meals because he's so long-lived? I'd like to secretly ask him what the roasted porg tasted like. And Peli Motto because she's the type who will tease the other guests and complain about the food, but she might tell us some funny stories from the past!
StarWars.com: If you could have any job in the Star Wars galaxy, what would it be?
Jessie Co: I would like to open a small cafe near the Anzellan droidsmith's workshop in the town of Nevarro, where Sheriff IG-11 is, and sell Nevarro souvenir mugs, tote bags, stuffed animals, etc. to tourists.
