In Phoenix, Arizona, Nick Yatsinko has figured out how to make a pizza you'd almost feel guilty eating... Almost. Using food coloring as his paint and a fresh layer of melted cheese as his canvas, he turns an ordinary slice into a portrait, a cartoon character, or a celebrity likeness. All edible, all served hot!
Painting Outside the Crust
Plenty of people have arranged pepperoni into smiley faces. Nick's technique is something else entirely.
Instead of building an image out of toppings, Nick paints directly onto the cheese with food coloring, treating the surface like a canvas rather than a mosaic.
That single change opens up everything toppings can't do: fine lines, shading, facial expressions, and detail that survives the trip from oven to table. Whatever a customer can describe, he can render... in cheese.
From Sketchbook to Pizza Box
Nick has always loved art. The pizzas came later.
Looking for a way to bring more customers through the door of his restaurant, he started painting the pies. Word got around, orders followed, and the experiment turned into a signature.
These days people come to him specifically for custom work: birthday portraits, pop-culture tributes, and one-of-a-kind commissions. He calls them "master-pizzas," and customers regularly report the same problem: they're almost too cool to eat.
See It in Wired Into Weird
Nick and his edible masterpieces are featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not! Wired Into Weird , our newest annual—packed with the strangest people, places, and animals we've tracked down over the past year.
It's available for pre-order now . Get your copy before it hits shelves this fall, and find out what else made the cut.