Interesting, yet somehow it diminishes the piece a little in my mind, as obviously they composited the final image, whereas I imagined standing over the piece as if it were on display.

This. There is something akin to cheating, when each block can be carefully cut, arranged and photographed (potentially multiple times to get a perfect image) and then photoshopped into a final image, as oppossed to getting them all cut and arrangd and taking a photo before the inevitable drooping and leaking.

It is still an incredible image and a brilliant idea.

It actually increases my interest. I spent some time looking for other images that might be from the same cube, and concluded that there may also be duplicates in the red cabbage, two of the white button mushroom images, red grapefruit, the broccoflower (adjacent, even!), carrot, Napa cabbage, lime, apple, pear, red onion, watermelon (rind), yellow squash, and several of the meats.

It reminds me very much of something that might have appeared on a GAMES Magazine cover.

And the fish is what tipped you off?