By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CHELSEA — Film buffs who think their favorite movie stars look good enough to eat are in luck this Oscar season.
Specialty dessert purveyor Eleni's, located in Chelsea Market, is offering 16-cookie packages decked out in royal icing designed in the images of awards contenders like Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, Colin Firth and James Franco.
So far, sales of the cookies bearing the faces of female Oscar nominees seem to be outpacing those carrying the men's mugs, according to Eleni's sales representative James Slattery. But that all could change, he cautioned, after Valentine's Day fades away and Oscar excitement picks up.
The cookies, which sell for $58.50 per pack, are made using an edible imaging technology, Slattery said. A very thin sheet of transparent sugar paper is printed out with designs made of edible food dye.
"We just slap it on when the royal icing is still soft," Slattery said, "and it just dissolves it."
Hand-iced Best Picture cookies — a boxing glove represents "The Fighter," a sperm donor symbol for "The Kids Are All Right," etc. — are also available. Because the preparation process for these is more involved, they go for $68.50 a pack.
With a lead-time of one day, movie buffs can also order Oscar cupcakes in vanilla and chocolate flavors, for delivery within Manhattan, via the company's website. A twelve-pack goes for $48.
