Keepin' it Real

I've always had an interest in food styling – taking a plate of food and making it as aesthetically pleasing as possible. And to use a cliché, people are said to eat with their eyes first. So, it stands to reason that anyone writing a cookbook should have a good understanding of the topic. Let's fact it, if the meatloaf looks like a pile of poo, it really doesn't matter how great it tastes, now does it? It's just going to remain untouched until someone dumps it. That's why I've taken several courses on food styling (as well as taught a few), read pretty much every book I can find on the subject, and even written a 150-page senior thesis that dealt in major part with making food look pretty. Now, I'm not saying I'm a expert by any means, but I think I am reasonably well-informed about food styling.

With that said, I don't believe anyone can afford to quit learning about his or her chosen field of study. And that is why I am always on the lookout for new information about food styling. Recently, I came across a new photography textbook that contained a chapter devoted to styling and photographing food. In the interest of protecting the innocent, let's just call that book the Frankenfood Styling Book.

The chapter on food styling was about 25 pages long and went into great detail about how to make your photographed recipes look their best through the use of Krazy glue, spritzer bottles of soapy water, and a clothing steam-iron. Now, it was somewhere around the recipe for the styrofoam cake with cardboard filling that I thought – the author of this book needs some serious help. Who really thinks smearing iodine on a roasted turkey is a good idea? Sure it might help prevent a goiter, but is that really worth sacrificing the natural beauty and delicious taste of a well-roasted Thanksgiving turkey? I think not.

That is why I photographed all the recipes for my cookbook myself. I know, first hand, that absolutely no culinary tomfoolery has taken place. What you see, is what you get. And assuming that my publisher (whoever that may be) doesn't throw all my photos out and start over, the food shown in the pictures is the real thing. Sure, my recipe for cheesecake might not look as flawless as that shown in the Frankenfood Styling Book, but it's real. And it certainly tastes better without the recommended mayonnaise, cardboard, bamboo skewers, and Halloween costume blood drizzle.