Looking Good Enough to Eat

Last week, I finished my master classes at LSP with Food and Product.  Split into two distinct sections with separate instructors, we spent Monday and Tuesday photographing food (and getting very hungry in the process!).  We all took turns playing the different roles you would find on set during a food shoot, the client and creative director working together to come up with a vision, the photographer and his/her assistants working with a food stylist to execute that vision.  By far, the hardest task (in my opinion at least) is that of the food stylist.  Finding the best tomatoes, taking the perfect "bite" out of a cupcake, arranging edamame beans and placing chop sticks just so. Rather than bore you with the details (it can take hours to get one shot just right), I will just share the images we produced, bon appetit!

Our first task was to shoot an image for a magazine cover, you can see the negative space at the top for the masthead, I was the food stylist, picking the "best" tomatoes and arranging them just so.  Fun fact, blue tack is a food stylists best friend. 

This was a page for a cookbook, I was the client and decided on the square format and over all look.  And yes, we got to eat the cupcakes after the shot.  And yes, they were delicious. 

Our "double page spread" for a cooking magazine, I was the creative director (thankfully, not the food stylist!)

   

This was our  "blog post" and is designed to tell a story or walk the reader through the recipe.  I was the photographer on this one.  Photographing fish is fun (and I'm not just saying that because I like alliteration...).

While it is a bit painstaking, I really, really enjoyed my tiny dip into the pool of food photography.  I am lucky to have many talented cooks in my circle of friends and family and I look forward to many opportunities to keep practicing!

Sadly though, right after this class, this was the only food around me to practice photographing:

No, I didn't run out of funds, rather I seem to have fallen victim to a stomach virus (I swear I didn't eat the sushi after the photo was taken!) and am slowly (very slowly) becoming reacquainted with food.

Before I know it I will be packing my suitcases (already?) and saying farewell to my little Finborough Rd flat and saying Bonjour to an apartment in Paris, where I will spend September.  No shortage of food to photograph there!

Swinton Park

After several days of touring Edinburgh and St. Andrews, it was time to wave goodbye to Scotland and head back south.  We decided to break up the journey back to London with a stop over at Swinton Park - a beautiful old castle near Ripon that was refurbished and opened as a hotel about ten years ago.

My mom's friend Lynne had visited Swinton Park recently with her husband and recommended it to my mom when she learned of her impromptu trip.  When my mom sent me the link, I (being an admitted Downton Abbey fan) was giddy and practically insisted that we work it in to our adventure - and I am so glad that we did!

A spot of tea before we went exploring

Croquet anyone?

After a bit of exploring, it was time for dinner.  Swinton Park is a bit of a foodie's paradise, priding themselves on their fine dining restaurant Samuels.  Before being seated in the dining room, we enjoyed canapes and a bit of bubbly in the drawing room.

Pre-dinner bubbly in the Drawing Room

Both our dinner and breakfast the next morning were delicious.  For our dinners, mom enjoyed a smoked trout starter, guinea fowl and a dessert of poached pears and praline.  I was delighted with my rabbit rillettes starter, fresh halibut entree and a wonderful white chocolate mousse with salted caramel ice cream.  We both somehow found room the next morning for some of the very best eggs benedict I've ever tasted.

After breakfast, we explored the beautiful walled garden and the aviary, where they keep a number of falcons and owls (separately of course!) and continued to explore the grounds and house on a beautiful day.

    

The beautiful walled garden, where they grow lovely flowers as well as much of the produce used on site

There was a bit of news happening in London while we were away

Swinton Park is simply lovely.  The house, the rooms, the grounds and the food were all wonderful.  I am only sorry we were not there a bit longer to take advantage of the activities they offer, especially their cookery school!  Perhaps another visit will be in my future...

A Capital Citizenne Fourth!

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays.  Not because I embraced living in the nation's capital and enjoyed all of the spectacular fireworks and concerts, no, rather it's because Winston and I usually boarded a flight to Sanibel for "Betty's Annual 4th of July Party."  The house I call home happens to have one of the best views of the Sanibel Island fireworks display, and as a result we have had friends and family over to the house to celebrate Independence Day for as long as I can remember. This year, hopping on a flight to Sanibel simply was not an option, but I was determined to make the most of it.  I am not one of those tourists who immediately looks for signs of home, in fact I actually avoid them at all costs (after all, I have chosen to come live in a different culture!).  But on the 4th, I wanted Americana, I needed it!  Mind you, I wasn't so homesick/desperate that I headed for the Golden Arches, but I will openly admit, without shame, that I stood in line (I can't call it queueing in reference to the 4th of July) for half and hour to enjoy the delicacy that is a Five Guys cheeseburger, fries and a Bud heavy.  In a stroke of good marketing, both Five Guys and Shake Shack opened their first UK outposts on the 4th (just a few blocks from each other in Covent Garden) - being a DC-based gal, I obviously chose Five Guys.

It was actually quite fun to stand in line with both American Five Guys veterans determined to get a taste of home (including a VERY pregnant Chicagoan living in London for the past four years) and total newbies who were concerned they may have chosen wrong ("should we have gone to Shake Shack instead?  will the Little burger be big enough? how many fries do we need" my answers: NO!, yes absolutely, um you can probably share one small order between the three of you...we have portion control issues in the US!)

I have to say, that burger, fries and Bud were exactly what the Dr. ordered (no, not Dr. Who), but the icing on the cake was meeting up with my friend Scott in Borough for an impromptu Independence Day pub crawl.   Scott and I went to college together, studied abroad in London on the same program, albeit one year apart, and have both been in DC for many years, but sadly didn't really get to know one another until recently (thank you Jenn!).  I still think it is some sort of divine intervention that we both moved to London this summer.

We started at The Globe (aka home to Bridget Jones, she made her blue soup upstairs), then headed towards Borough Market where our "Happy 4th of July" overtures received a decidedly mixed reception...

After a visit to Scott's adorable "local" (where everyone was convinced he was Mitchell from Modern Family) we ended the evening sitting on his amazing deck, where we could hear, if not see, fireworks, toasting to being two Americans, trying our best (again) at life in London.

(PS, everyone should be so lucky to have Scott for a friend, foreign country or not.)

Strolling Along the South Bank

After getting sucked into the black hole that is watching Wimbledon for the past few days, my camera and I headed to the other side of the Thames for a day of people watching, photographing and eating on the South Bank. First stop of the day was Borough Market.  I've always enjoyed visiting London's many wonderful and eclectic markets, from Portobello Road to Camden Town, but had never made the trip to Borough.  My dear friend and fellow recent-Londoner Scott alerted me to the area as he is going to be calling it home very soon, and a classmate of mine in photography school -- who happens to be a very clever food blogger  -- gave me the great and helpful tip to visit the market on Thursday to beat (some of) the crowds.

While the markets I mentioned earlier are an eclectic mix of antiques, handcrafts, arts and food, Borough Market is primarily about the food.  Stall after glorious stall of food, featuring everything from English cheeses and charcuterie to more varieties of mushrooms than I have ever seen, cases of savory pies, and loads of fresh breads, seafood, produce and the most incredible looking meringues!

    

 

I smartly decided to eschew the leftovers in my fridge in favor of a market lunch, and after a few laps, I decided on a duck confit sandwich, topped off with a very dainty "scoop" of salted caramel goat's milk ice cream.  Not really a fan of goat cheese myself (cue the shocked cries of "but goat cheese is sooo good, I love it" - I've tried it a million times, you can have all of mine) I was offered a sample, and it.was.good.  So good!

After the market, I made my way back to the Tate Modern.  The TM is a pretty divisive museum, much like modern art itself, you either like it or you don't.  After an Art History class that focused on the art of the 1960s, that put the artistic movements in the historical and political context of the times, I became something of a fan, and especially a fan of the Tate Modern.  The space is a converted industrial park and showcases works by the likes of Mondrian, Flavin, Ellsworth Kelly and a fantastic collection of William Eggleston photographs.  I also get a kick out of eavesdropping on other visitors, hearing a lot of "why is this art, I could do that" or just giggles of bewilderment.

a felt sculpture by Robert Morris

One of the biggest luxuries I have afforded myself this trip is time; I don't have to do the whole museum in one visit, because I can come back (did I mention they are free, thanks London!). So after spending an hour wandering the fourth floor, I called it a day (to be honest, the museum was also quickly filling up with school children and getting very crowded!).

Rather than cross the river via Millenium Bridge or Blackfriars, I chose to walk the Thames Path down to Westminster, taking in the sights and sounds of the South Bank along the way.  It's a vibrant river front with loads of street performers and people everywhere you look.

 

And just as it started to drizzle I was back over the river and on my way home.

© 2013, Capital Citizenne

Tasting London

For quite a long time, London's food scene got a bad rap, but times have certainly changed.  London -- not unlike D.C. -- is buzzing with fabulous restaurants popping up all over the city.  Today, I ventured to Regent's Park to sample offerings from 40 of the city's best restaurants, in addition to a number of specialty food producers, at the annual Taste of London. Not knowing exactly where to start, I started at the most logical of locations, the "world of beer" where I purchased a pint of ale and studied the program and map, plotting my course.  Of course, I changed my mind a million times once I was actually face to face with the food, settling on a delicious risotto, a trio of seafood sliders and a spicy ox cheek doughnut.  As you can see, I also used the day to practice some of the photography techniques and lessons I learned last week -- taking photos in manual mode takes some patience and some getting used to, but I am enjoying it!

Acquerello risotto with 8 year-aged organic parmesan from Babbo

A trio of seafood sliders from The Angler

Spicy ox cheek doughnut with apricot jam from the Duck and Waffle

Everything I tried was delicious, and I would have eaten more but I ran out of "Crowns" (the currency of Taste) at the same time I ran out of room in my stomach, though I also sampled a bite of black pudding as well as some delicious English cheeses that made their way back to my flat!

Tomorrow, I am planning to set my alarm clock for the wee hours of the morning in hopes of joining fellow tennis fans in The Queue at Wimbledon (wish me luck, apparently all of tomorrow's show court tickets have already been accounted for by fans camping out since early this morning!)