There have been many a tale of people seeing significant signs in unusual places. One of the more noteworthy ones is seeing the Virgin Mary in a piece of slightly burnt toast. Some call this a miracle, others call it face pareidolia, the ability to see faces in things that are decidedly not faces. Then there’s taking the time, energy, and resources to actually craft a face out of bread. In this particular case though, it’s not just a face being created, but an entire body. And to add another “bread” twist to it, it’s the body of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in carbonite.
This sculpture is a recreation of Han Solo after being frozen in carbonite at the climax of “Star Wars: Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back.” What has been dubbed as “Pan Solo” is the creation of mother and daughter bakers Catherine Pervan and Hannalee Pervan.
The duo own One House Bakery in Benicia, California and have been working on this project in the after hours of the business. Hannalee trained at the famed French Laundry for 12 years.
Pan Solo has been a labor of love and weeks. And thanks to a special kind of dough that has no yeast and high sugar, they’ve been able to craft this replica without it falling apart. Why go to the trouble of creating such a confection, you ask? Because not only are they fans of “Star Wars,” but it’s also the entry the Pervans are submitting to the local Scarecrow Contest. We can’t really say how effective a bread based sculpture would be at scaring away crows, but it seems the artistry is more important than the utility in this case.
If you’re in the area, Pan Solo is currently set-up outside the bakery for display. If you’re wondering how long it will last, we couldn’t find a definitive answer, but longer than a normal bread would. The 6-foot-tall sculpture has been shellacked to protect it from wildlife. So in that sense, it probably could be a good scarecrow; what bird wants to eat shellacked bread?
Eventually Pan Solo won’t be given to Boba Fett to be delivered to Jabba the Hutt and will instead be composted. So if you get the chance to make a kessel run to see him, get on it while you can. Now we just need a pasta sculpture, Boba Fettuccini. There’s always next year.
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