Culinary art means cooking up fakes for South Coast Repertory’s scenes

“I’ve done strange projects, but this one is definitely one of the weirdest,” says Jeff Rockey as he pulls a plastic container from a refrigerator.

He’s holding a block of sashimi, made from his concoction of gelatin mixed with extra-thick rice flour.

As properties artisan at South Coast Repertory, Rockey’s role is to make accessories and whip up batches of entrees and vegetables or whatever else to make sets look and feel as authentic as possible.

It’s up to him to make an edible replica of sushi for the theater’s upcoming production, “tokyo fish story,” which runs Sunday through March 29. (The title is written all in lowercase.)

It’s a requirement for the plot, since the characters in the play will need to be able to cut the feigned raw fish into thin pieces.

“This has the perfect amount of jiggle,” Rockey says proudly.

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Pretend it’s delicious

The story is about Koji, a sushi master with an undying love for his art. His restaurant, though, is declining, and the hip sushi joint down the street is on the rise. Playwright Kimber Lee examines the art of sushi as master chefs and next-generation chefs collide over tradition in a commerce-centered world.

The process to make the fake food began when Rockey first read the script. He and his team learned that characters had to eat pieces of the fish during acts. After writing down a list of the food he had to make, he had to find out what the actors were allergic to and if they had any special dietary needs.

They all could eat gelatin.

The consistency has to be a perfect medium, since the fake food has to be cut on stage. He first tried Arrowroot powder to thicken the mixture, but the added ingredient didn’t work too well. Rockey had to develop a list of materials that were easy to work with and could mimic a number of foods.

Some ingredients, he says, resulted in the fake fish being too thick or too flimsy.

After he successfully made the right amount of rubber, Rockey took it to the actors for them to try.

But after a bite, they pleaded with him, asking him add to add flavor to the colorless and tasteless substance.

He added apple juice.

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‘A lot of guesswork’

A block of fake sushi, he says, can be used for two shows. He can’t make too many batches ahead of schedule because the gelatin will dry out in the refrigerator.

“I didn’t want to make anything disgusting,” Rockey says. “This just takes a lot of guesswork.”

Prop artisans make edible fake food for a variety of reasons — one being cost.

Characters on stage may have to consume hundreds of dollars of a dish in a single scene, and certain foods may be time-consuming or complicated to make before a show.

For South Coast Repertory, the raw fish route wasn’t a safe or smart idea with over 20 performances.

“We didn’t want real fish under the hot stage lights causing bacteria,” Rockey says. “That’s why we needed to make something that looks like sushi, that can be cut, eaten and thrown away.”

It’s the same method, he says, he had to use for the other vegetables that will be used, like the cucumber he’s currently working on. The acting chefs will need to prepare cucumber columns by stripping cucumbers with a knife. To enhance the cutting sounds, Rockey added Velcro.

And for the restaurant’s Mochi ice cream, a Japanese confection made from pounded sticky rice with an ice cream filling, Rockey molded shapes out of Crayola Model Magic clay.

Not all things he makes are edible, like the seared tuna he’s making for the restaurant.

He does have the perfect recipe, though — upholstery foam covered in latex and mixed in metallic paint for its skin.

“It’s like any other job,” he says. “Some days it’s fun and sometimes it’s not, but right now, it’s fun.”

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Work up an appetite

“Thanks, guys, but let’s try that again,” says Bart DeLorenzo, the play’s director, to the actors during a rehearsal on a Wednesday afternoon.

Koji, played by Sab Shimono who has appeared on television shows “Seinfeld,” “Mad Men” and “E.R.,” is picking up chopsticks to try his restaurant’s different sauces. His protege, Takashi, cuts him a piece of Rockey’s fake delicacy of fresh fish.

He nods his head yes.

And cut.

“Great job guys,” DeLorenzo says. “Take your dinner and be back at 7.”

It’ll be real food.

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IF YOU GO

What: “tokyo fish story”

When: March 8 to March 29; 7:45 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 7:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

Cost: Tickets start at $22

Information: (714) 708-5555 or visit scr.org