“Don’t play with your food!” we were told growing up. Fortunately, other cultures weren’t so uptight. Mukimono, the traditional Japanese art of fruit and vegetable carving, spread throughout Southeast Asia centuries ago. The extravagant and exquisite edible sculptures exemplified the importance of culinary presentation and (more importantly) allowed chefs to show off their knife skills. Several modern masters now practise their art in Toronto, turning a melon, a daikon radish and a humble carrot into something spectacular.

The crane, a traditional symbol of honour, has become the trademark of Masaki Hashimoto, owner-chef of Hashimoto (6435 Dixie Rd., Mississauga, 905-670-5559). He first honed his knife skills in his native Japan. It takes him a mere three minutes to transform this daikon radish.

Donald Duong, proprietor of Dessert Trends (154 Harbord St., 416-916-8155), grew up in a culinary family in Vietnam and was cooking by age 10. He studied sculpture at college; his medium is now fruit and sugar. How long to turn a melon into a peony? About 20 minutes.

Since arriving from Hong Kong 11 years ago, Chris Yong has worked at 30 restaurants and is now head sushi chef at EDO (484 Eglinton Ave. W., 416-322-3033). Sometimes his creations are eaten; more often they’re carefully wrapped and taken home. This bouquet took him an hour.