April Fool’s! The Real Story Behind Those Awesome Cookies

Cookie long plate

In February of 2013, Jason Langer outed himself to the world as having mastered the art of baking aquatic animal cookies. Using a combination of skills involving color theory, metal works and generations of kitchen recipes, Jason literally baked himself into notoriety. No marine fish was off limits: exact copies of Peppermint Angels, Harlequin Tusks and Yasha Hasha gobies, all in edible cookie form. Fast forward to March of 2014, ORA reached out to Jason to see what he could create using our fish as a template. He didn’t disappoint.

Thirty nine different clownfish came back in cookie form, their colorful frosting still glistening. Using a different method than he typically uses for making such edible art, Jason skipped the copper cookie cutters he is known for and went free hand with a little help from Photoshop.

Jason explained –

“I took the ORA photo and traced the outline in Photoshop… I cut the shape from the paper to create a template. I then just used a sharp craft knife to cut the shape in the cookie dough.”

Doing this allowed him to match his cookies to the exact shape of the clownfish product photographs from our website. Then using trial and error, he formulated each color, mixing various icings until he created an approximate color match.

Jason added –

“By the time I was finished, I probably used about 20 different colors.”

He credits his deft ability in using colored icing to a Color Theory class he took in college. Dismissing it at the time as ridiculous, he would later appreciate the impact it has had on his later hobbies and creations.

For a very in depth look at how he creates each cookie he bakes, take a scroll through this detailed Reef Central thread
Also be sure to check out the posts over on the AquaNerd Blog here and here.

ORA would like to thank Jason for his beautiful work and generous efforts in turning our fish into edible art and the great pictures he took of them. They look amazing but they certainly aren’t suited for long term captivity.