food art toronto

Someone in Toronto is recreating the most outrageous food from local restaurants

A Toronto designer is making illustrations of some of the most decadent-looking comfort foods found in the city, and they look real enough to eat. 

For the past several months, artist José Rivas has been illustrating gooey, cheesy, and chocolatey eats on Photoshop.

At first glance, they look edible.

He has captured the glazed wonder that is a donut from Dipped, and the drippy mess of the vegan burger from Gladiator is on point. 

The stack of chicken sandwiches from Cabano's are tempting. So are the Korean rice dogs from Chung Chun. Oh, and theres the mini pancakes-covered pizza from Lamanna's — okay, we're hungry.

Rivas, who is a senior art director at the creative agency Anomaly, says he has been drawing food for a long time, but his business-centric illustrations started during the pandemic. 

"I was running low on inspiration and mentally checked out this year - like so many of us - but one thing that always lifted my spirits was eating, so I thought it would be interesting to combine my love for food with my passion for art," says Rivas. 

"It sort of clicked after that, I wanted to do my part in creating some sort of spotlight for small businesses in my neighborhood that were doing their part in serving awesome food." 

It was also a great way for him to pass the time during quarantine. 

Rivas spends two weeks or more on each illustration, depending on the amount of detail involved in the food. He particularly likes drawing burgers.

"They're like edible collages between two buns," he says.

Be right back, about to order some chicken and waffles from The Heartbreak Chef

Lead photo by

Courtesy of José Rivas.


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in Eat & Drink

Here's what the food at the new Zellers store in Toronto is like

Toronto cafe slapped with 11 infractions by health inspectors

Toronto's Michelin recognized restaurants are finally receiving their plaques

Canada's first Paris Baguette opens in Toronto and here's what it looks like

Shake Shack has announced the opening of their first Canadian location in Toronto

Toronto is getting a Sailor Moon-themed pop-up cafe next month

Bassist from Bauhaus surprises staff at Toronto diner and shouts it out as his favourite

These are the restaurants where The Boys cast likes to eat when they're in Toronto