KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 -- Disney princesses come in many forms; on food containers, pencil cases, as plastic dolls and even cakes. But have you ever met a Disney princess made out of bread, peanut butter, Nutella and green apple?

Food artist Samantha Lee started experimenting with kyaraben (Japanese bento art) in December 2008 when she was pregnant with her second child.

Her daughter Elizabeth was 19 months old then and Lee wanted her to learn how to eat on her own without being spoon-fed.

“My daughter is not a fussy eater but she tends to daydream when she eats. Sometimes, she also forgets how to chew her food. It was a habit of hers,” said the 37-year-old homemaker.

Lee soon realised that kyaraben has limited space and she didn’t like using the expensive tools and gadgets she had to buy online. Also, the “colouring” was just not palatable.

Samantha Lee uses only basic kitchen tools – she doesn’t need fancy cutters or gadgets (left). The entire bun is used for the face and body of the ninja. No wastage for Lee! (right) – Pictures by Choo Choy May

Initially relying on the Internet for ideas, Lee finally let her creative juices flow and soon she was sketching food art ideas in a notebook, coming up with delicious, beautiful-looking meals that she would make for her family.

Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and South Korean sensation Psy made of rice, nori and egg became lunch or dinner for the day! Yes, Lee puts a lot of thought into each creation.

“I make sure that it’s healthy. I’m adventurous with new food and I like to play with colours and go according to the seasons. For example, strawberries are no longer in season so I would use other fruits and vegetables that are. Colours and plating are very important too, and it also has to taste good,” said Lee.

She doodles ideas in her notebooks while taking a break from homemaker duties (left). The 37-year-old homemaker is a fan of Psy, the popular South Korean artiste (right)

Her daughters, aged four and six, regularly find Totoro, Wilma Flintstone, Hello Kitty and even the Minions from Despicable Me on their plates. But Lee does not prepare elaborate designs for every meal. During our interview, she made a simple breakfast of bread, Nutella, orange, apple and muesli in half an hour!

The result though was a cool-looking Ninja, brandishing a slice of apple as a sword. And all Lee used was a fruit knife. No fancy moulds, cutters or food art gadgets.

Every morsel of Samantha Lee’s food art is edible, healthy and delicious

When people started using Instagram, Lee jumped on the bandwagon taking photos of her food art with a camera phone. Although she did not use a studio for lighting nor does she edit her photos, her Instagram account became a hit. To date she has 288,500 followers on Instagram!

Photos of her food art went viral, attracting attention from foreign press such as Today.com, Huffington Post and Daily Mail UK. She has also been featured on TV and in other media from China, Japan, India, Philippines, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Lee never thought that her food art would be so popular. She gets an average of 20,000 likes on each Instagram post. But what really surprised her was when supermodel Tyra Banks and US celebrity Kris Jenner took notice of her food art!

"It’s actually very simple and easy,” assures Samantha Lee on her food art

“These are my own creations so I have to stick to it and make it better. I’m glad that all these (the fame) came now instead of earlier. I feel that right now I’m more ready for this (sudden attention),” said Lee.

It was both flattering and overwhelming so she decided to hire a manager who happens to be her friend. That way, she can focus on creating food art while he manages inquiries coming in. Currently, she does workshops in Singapore for people who want to learn food art.

Which is her favourite food art? “All of them!” she laughed. “But right now, I really like the Wilma Flintstone one,” said Lee.

Lee said that she has no prior culinary training before this. It was all an experiment. Personally, I think she’s just being modest. Experiments are successful because of talent and a stroke of luck.

Check out her amazing food art at www.instagram.com/leesamantha

This story was first published in Crave in the print edition of The Malay Mail on September 26, 2013.

Pictures by Samantha Lee