Food model

Food models, also known as fake foods, food figurines or "food samples" (Japanese: 食品サンプル, romanized: shokuhin sampuru), are scale models or replicas of a food item or dish made from plastic, wax, resin, or a similar inedible material. They are commonly used as mockups in restaurant display windows and shelves in Japan, although other countries like South Korea and China also use such models for similar purposes in restaurants, food boothes, and food carts.

Using food models allow food vendors to advertise to consumers a three-dimensional image of their products, while avoiding the need to put real food on display unattended for prolonged periods of time, which can get contaminated, spoiled, or attract unpleasant pests like flies, cockroaches and ants.