Bill Wurtzel

Who doesn’t like to play with food? Bill Wurtzel, a jazz guitarist, is turning a hobby into a new art form that also delivers a social message.

Mr. Wurtzel, a retired advertising man who lives on the Upper West Side, was featured in Thursday’s Experience Necessary column in The Times for his guitar chops (he plays with, among others, the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band).

On weekends, he makes creative breakfast dishes for his wife and photographs them. He is seeking a publisher for a children’s book, “Breakfast for Claire.” The goal is to discourage obesity by inspiring children — and adults — to improve their eating habits by creating meals that are not only nutritious, but fun. He likens his edible improvisations to a jazz solo.

Clearly, these are not your mother’s smiley-face sandwiches. Mr. Wurtzel has already created 400 breakfast dishes, including “Chuck Berry,” “Eggsercise,” “Simple Salmon” and others featured on his Web site.

He also has been conducting workshops for children at Public School 188 on the Lower East Side, teaching them to use their imaginations to improve their health “rather than just putting lettuce and vegetables on their trays.”

“Your breakfasts don’t have to look like they’ll hang in the Louvre,” Mr. Wurtzel said. “It’s the gesture that counts.”