I had the opportunity recently to meet with Food Networks Food Stylist Challenge winner Angela Yeung, a beautiful and successful food stylist living and working in the Dallas area.
Whats a food stylist you ask? Until I watched the Food Networks Food Stylist Challenge I kind of knew they existed but didn't know to what extent they functioned.
Your reading a magazine featuring a recipe of the month with an appetizing picture of creamy fettuccine alfredo, watching a commercial with a steamy bowl of soup, looking at a calendar with a beautiful Thanksgiving spread or passing a billboard with a sweet treat. Food is everywhere we look and everywhere we look it's appetizing and appealing, comforting and begging for us to buy, buy, buy. Who makes this food want to jump into our shopping carts or stop at a local restaurant and devour the delectable goods....food stylists. Using clever tricks they've learned like fake ice in soda and clear rocks in soup to keep garnish afloat, they make food look picture perfect.
Being a future culinarian, I've set out to do some personal job investigation to find out what's out there as far as food jobs. This is one that truly requires thinking on your feet, artistic and culinary skill along with a flare for knowing what a client wants even if they don't know what they want or, doing what a client asks and finding ways to complete the task at hand. Being on a set with models, photographers, designers, and a host of staff with thousands of dollars on the line can add pressure knowing that your product has to work and if it doesn't, it could affect your reputation and future work.
While their numbers are relatively small, its a very competitive field and hard to break into the business of making food look scrumptious. It's all about contacts, networking, knowing someone in the business and a lot of hard work. Some advice Angela gave me for building a repertoire of food styling techniques are various books, trade shows and if there not stingy about teaching their tricks of the trade, interning for a food stylist.
Creativity and culinary skill add to your success in this field so if your interested in making hamburgers look like picture perfect or pancakes that stand up and smile for the camera this is the job for you, but word from the wise and successful, it's not for everyone and it's very competitive and hard to break into. So if your patient and have the right contacts yours could be the next billboard we pass that make us crave an ice cold frothy libation.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
New Semester
I think I'll try to be better about updates this semester... I'm going into the advanced classes now which will be challenging and fun. Also found out my cost control class is alot of math and formulas (blech!) Hopefully I'll have a great "teacher" that will actually "teach" me since cost control is actually something that will be useful to me in an executive chef roll.
Here's something you probably never knew: An executive chef doesn't actually cook on a regular basis. Go figure.... They are responsible for cost control, menu planning and most likely hiring and fireing. They perform a "directive" role and delegate the task of running the kitchen to the sous chef who in turn, delegates production of day to day tasks to head chefs, ie.. the garde mange (cold foods) is responsible for getting out all of the cold food, the grill chef is in charge of all grilled items, the saucier is in charge of sauces, etc... Each head chef has a line of cooks that they manage.
All that to say, if you have a well managed kitchen it is thanks to the executive chef who sees talent and leadership in individuals, builds on it and thus a well managed kitchen!
Something I've learned over the years of being an employee: If your supervisor is not threatned or egotistical, they will teach you everything they know without fear and THEY will look better for doing so... Some people haven't figured this out yet.
Here's to a great semester. Hopefully easier than the summer schedule!
Here's something you probably never knew: An executive chef doesn't actually cook on a regular basis. Go figure.... They are responsible for cost control, menu planning and most likely hiring and fireing. They perform a "directive" role and delegate the task of running the kitchen to the sous chef who in turn, delegates production of day to day tasks to head chefs, ie.. the garde mange (cold foods) is responsible for getting out all of the cold food, the grill chef is in charge of all grilled items, the saucier is in charge of sauces, etc... Each head chef has a line of cooks that they manage.
All that to say, if you have a well managed kitchen it is thanks to the executive chef who sees talent and leadership in individuals, builds on it and thus a well managed kitchen!
Something I've learned over the years of being an employee: If your supervisor is not threatned or egotistical, they will teach you everything they know without fear and THEY will look better for doing so... Some people haven't figured this out yet.
Here's to a great semester. Hopefully easier than the summer schedule!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Julie & Julia
Saw it, loved it, cried...
Why, well because it brought back memories of me at 12 years old on Saturday completely mesmerized watching Julia Child and Jacques Pepin cook the most incredible food I had ever seen. I remembered baking and cooking when my mom would let me in the kitchen after watching them because I HAD to. It was like a force pulling me into the kitchen just to see if I could master the foods I saw them cook and her asking me where did I learn how to make what ever concoction I whipped up and responding with TV or PBS or Julia or Jacques. We were always on a first name basis, they were my Saturday TV buddies along with a host of others.
Seems odd now looking back that a child would be interested in watching cooking shows on a day off from school and chores, but that was me. I'm almost sad to think it's taken this long to figure out that cooking is what I want to do as a profession but I guess it's never too late and better late than never!
Why, well because it brought back memories of me at 12 years old on Saturday completely mesmerized watching Julia Child and Jacques Pepin cook the most incredible food I had ever seen. I remembered baking and cooking when my mom would let me in the kitchen after watching them because I HAD to. It was like a force pulling me into the kitchen just to see if I could master the foods I saw them cook and her asking me where did I learn how to make what ever concoction I whipped up and responding with TV or PBS or Julia or Jacques. We were always on a first name basis, they were my Saturday TV buddies along with a host of others.
Seems odd now looking back that a child would be interested in watching cooking shows on a day off from school and chores, but that was me. I'm almost sad to think it's taken this long to figure out that cooking is what I want to do as a profession but I guess it's never too late and better late than never!
First time...
Just finished my 2nd semester of culinary school! And with, for the first time in my life, straight A's. Not so easy to do in the summer when the semester goes by fast and homework is double what's normally assigned for the regular semester. And while taking a nutrition class that seemed like an anatomy and physiology or chemistry class and a baking teacher that gave enormous amounts of busy work defining terms and answering questions that were some what helpful.
Two successful semesters under my belt, 3 more to go!
I've learned quite a bit about baking, more than I probably need. I can say that after this summer session I now have the skills to make excellent flaky pie crusts and flute them very nicely, I have mastered puff pastry, pie fillings, biscuits and rolls. As for breads, I have the basic knowledge, I just need to make them more often to get some practice in. The more you bake the better you get!
As for my nutrition class, lots of information that was interesting but more than likely I WILL forget. and a VERY expensive book that lots of people mentioned they want to borrow but for fear they will never return it, it's going on ebay!
2 weeks off then back to the grind stone!
Two successful semesters under my belt, 3 more to go!
I've learned quite a bit about baking, more than I probably need. I can say that after this summer session I now have the skills to make excellent flaky pie crusts and flute them very nicely, I have mastered puff pastry, pie fillings, biscuits and rolls. As for breads, I have the basic knowledge, I just need to make them more often to get some practice in. The more you bake the better you get!
As for my nutrition class, lots of information that was interesting but more than likely I WILL forget. and a VERY expensive book that lots of people mentioned they want to borrow but for fear they will never return it, it's going on ebay!
2 weeks off then back to the grind stone!
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