This content originally appeared in the 2021 issue of Spooky Little Halloween—The Magazine. All photos are courtesy of Nikk Alcaraz.
Lydia Deetz gave us strange and unusual. Now, food artist and Halloween ambassador Nikk Alcaraz is giving us all things practical and peculiar.
If you haven’t run across his work just yet, prepared to be wowed. Nikk is one heck of a content creator with amazing attention to detail in his recipes and DIY projects.
The best part? He shows you every single step in his videos on Instagram and TikTok.
Get to know this killer creative in this special Q&A he did for the Spooky Little Halloween Magazine, then go follow him wherever you are on social media for magical inspiration all year long!
Divination cookies
HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP PRACTICAL PECULIARITIES?
Practical Peculiarities is a creative hub for the strange people of the world. Halloween lovers, magical folk, dreamers, and artists all come to my page as a form of escapism. It’s a world where it’s okay to cut doughnut dough with your grandmother’s fabric scissors.
Practical Peculiarities defies the norm and awakens creativity in all. My motto is “Magical Inspiration for a world of Magical Beings”
GIVE US THE ORIGIN STORY - HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
Practical Peculiarities started on Instagram in December 2019. It was nothing more than a place for me to share photos of my creepy food creations. At the time, I was stuck in a dead-end job hating every second of being locked down on somebody else’s time. I’ve always had a resistance to authority, so being told what to do every day of my life was a no-go.
In March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, my job sent everyone home for lockdown. Management got really crazy: they wanted to know where I was, what I was doing, why I wasn’t happy, etc. It felt as if they wanted to control me at work and at home. It was too much.
I finally bit the bullet and quit in July 2020. I’ve always been self-motivated, so I knew that I was going to be okay. I’ve often been told since a young age, and even in my adulthood, that I could have my own TV show one day. I decided to believe that with all my heart, but I wasn’t going to wait for the opportunity for some fancy network to discover me. Oh no. I knew I had the skills and drive to get to where I wanted to be on my own accord.
Nikk Alcaraz
I used the rest of 2020 to plan my branding, think of what message I wanted to put out into the world, and saved up my money. Soon, I invested in a good camera and lights and got to work. At the beginning of 2021 I took to TikTok. By luck, the third video that I posted (apple pie eye) on TikTok with my new equipment went mega viral. I was getting contacted by media agencies, brands, and Gordon Ramsay himself duetted the video. Since then, I have been loving every second of my work.
Eye pies
WHOA — GORDON RAMSAY DUETTED YOUR TIKTOK? WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE LIKE TO THAT?
Yes! Gordon has duetted my videos on TikTok a couple of times. It was such an incredible feeling. Even though his responses skew negative, I still see that he holds interest in my work.
In both of the videos, he mostly comments on the creepy aesthetic overall, which is expected for a famous chef with many Michelin stars. His persona says, “NO, NO!” but I can see through that. I don’t mind that he called me a donut. The thing about donuts is, everybody always wants one.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST SURPRISING THING ABOUT BEING A CONTENT CREATOR WITH A FOCUS ON MAGIC, SPOOKY THINGS AND HALLOWEEN?
The most surprising thing is the positivity and support that my followers give me. I love that most people don’t mind that I make spooky or weird things all year round. If there is someone who challenges me by saying, “Halloween is over!” I always reply by reminding them that dark and scary things happen all year round. That usually quiets the trolls.
Tarot cookies
WHAT HAVEN’T YOU CREATED YET THAT YOU’RE DYING TO TRY?
I’ve always had this idea in my idea bank and have never got around to it. Partially because it requires a lot of meat and also because my partner is a vegetarian. I’ve always wanted to make LIZARD LOAF! I envision it as a lizard shaped meatloaf. Gross? Yes. Cool? Still yes.
FINALLY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHY DO YOU LOVE HALLOWEEN?
I have been obsessed with Halloween since I was a kid. Most kids were playing with teddy bears while I was carrying a witch decoration and rocking the coolest black cape everywhere I went.
Ever since I was a kid, I have struggled with anxiety disorder. The only thing that would get me out of my panic attacks was when my grandmother would put on Halloween movies, bake Halloween goodies with me, and tell me stories of Halloweens past.
The smell of burning jack-o-lanterns and the feeling of mystery and haunted history make my devotion to Halloween feel divine.
Where to find Nikk online:
You can currently preorder Nikk’s first book, “Peculiar Baking: A Practical Guide to Strange Confections”, due out this fall.
