What would you say the best way to introduce food stuffs into manipulation would be, is it best to start with smaller items such as crackers and work up to larger ones? Cookies have the benefit of being reasonably flat which would aid in the techniques involved, whereas an item such as a papaya would be much more challenging, on a technical level. It would however offer much more of a sense of gravitas, on a theatrical level. What are your thoughts?

Most important is the items are recognizable so that the audience will be able to realte to them and fill in details since they are familiar. Then technique is established from that point.

Ever tried a banana?