Food Styling is the first serious book on the subject of food styling for specific media: editorial, advertorial, public relations, marketing, advertising, packaging, and television and film production. It focuses on the development of skills and the techniques and equipment required to help chefs improve presentations and simply better market a product.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments xi Introduction xv The Basics of Food Styling 1 Food Styling: An Overview 3 From Home Economist to Food Stylist: 1 History 4 The Smorgasbord of Food Styling 5 What is Food Styling? 7 Anatomy of 1 Food Styling Assignment 7 First Steps: Finding the Food and Props and Selecting Equipment 7 Preparing the Food 8 Arranging the Food 8 Keeping the Food Beautiful and Adding Final Touches 8 Is Food Styling For You? 8 The Attributes of 1 Good Food Stylist 9 Education, Formal and Informal 14 Work Experience: Versatility Helps 15 Business Ethics: to Enhance, Stretch, Or Cheat? 16 As the Photographer Sees It 17 Shooting Food We Don't Endorse, and Other Ethical Conflicts 17 2 the Medium is Everything Assignments For Public Relations Firms 24 Working For Marketing Firms 25 Working With Advertising Assignments 26 Food Styling For Product-packaging Photography 26 Food Styling For Catalogs 27 Opportunities Via the Internet 28 Food Opportunities In Television 28 Food At the Movies 30 3 Your Food Styling Teammates 31 Who Hires Food Stylists? 32 Who Will You Work With? 32 Television and Film Production Crews 33 The Job: From Getting the Call to Invoicing 4 You Got the Job! Now What? 37 Setting 1 Schedule and Keeping Records 38 Gathering Assignment Details 38 Bidding and Budgeting For the Job 41 Your Fees 42 Hiring Assistants 42 Food Expenses: Everything But the Kitchen Sink 42 5 Prepping the Assignment 45 Starting Off: the Job Folder 46 How to Read Recipes, Layouts, Storyboards, and Scripts 47 Decoding Recipes 47 Visualizing Layouts 50 Reading Storyboards 50 Breaking Down Scripts 51 Brainstorming At the Preproduction Meeting 51 Getting It Together: Gathering Food, Equipment, and Props 53 Shooting On Location: Hidden Details 57 Planning For Foreign Locations 58 6 At the Shoot 59 Arriving and Organizing 60 Choosing Props For the Shoot 62 Discussing the Shooting Schedule 63 Preparing the Food For the Shoot 63 Styling For Visual Appeal and Mouthwatering Factor 64 Making Food Visually Appealing 65 Making Food Mouthwatering 70 Working On the Set 72 The Shot: It’s Time to Shoot the Food 75 Back to the Office: Things to Do After the Shoot 76 7 About Photography 79 8 the Basics of Propping 89 The Prop Stylist In Action 90 Determining the Style: Getting the Right Look 92 One Recipe’s Journey 94 9 the Basics of TV and Film Production Work 99 Food Styling For Television 100 Commercials 100 Cooking Shows 100 Home Shopping Programs 100 Infomercials 101 Talk-Show Segments 101 Television Series 102 Satellite Media Tours 102 Food Styling For Fi Lm 102 Industrials 102 Movies 102 The Cast of Characters In Tv and Film Production 103 Shooting: Studio Versus Location 105 Money Issues: Food Budget and Your Fees 105 Shooting 1 Storyboard Out of Sequence 106 10 the Food Stylist’s Tools of the Trade 107 The Kit and the Set Tray 108 The Food Stylist’s Knife Roll 118 Other Basic Equipment: Everything 11 Working With the Food: Overcoming Challenges 147 Food Science: the Basics of How Food Works 149 Fruits and Vegetables: Finding the Perfect Produce 149 To Blanch, Steam, Sauté, Microwave, Grill, Or Roast? That is the Question 169 Transporting Produce For 1 Shoot 170 Seasonal Availability Chart: Finding Food At Its Peak 170 A Glossary of Herbs 173 Edible Flowers: What to Know Before Using 177 Dairy Products: From Cheese to Creams 178 Cheeses 178 Milk, Yogurt, Cream, and Nondairy Whipped Toppings 179 From Butter to Margarines: Styling As Pats, Spreads, Or Melts 182 Breakfast Foods: Troubleshooting Tips For the Food Stylist 184 Cereals 184 Toast, Muffins, Bagels, and Donuts 187 Pancakes and Waffles 188 Egg Dishes: How Do You Want ’Em? 193 Bacon and Sausages 196 Sandwiches: How to Build Layer By Layer 197 Your Typical (Or Not) Cold Cut Sandwiches 198 Building 1 Better Hamburger 201 Grilled Sandwiches: From 1 Grilled Cheese to 1 Panini 206 Peanut Butter Sandwiches 207 Soups: Types and Techniques 210 Working With What You’ve Got 210 Temperature 210 Serving Sizes 211 Garnishes 211 Meat, Poultry, Fish, and Shellfish: Styling the Main Course 214 Red Meats 214 White Meats: Pork and Veal 215 Hot Dogs 216 Poultry 217 Fish and Shellfish 225 Grilled Food: Simulating the Look In 1 Shot 227 How to Make Grill Marks 227 Foods Difficult to Grill 228 Kebabs 228 Starches: From Pasta to Potatoes 229 Pasta 229 Potatoes 230 Rice 232 Pizza: Timing is Everything 234 The Crust 234 The Sauce 234 The Cheese 235 The Toppings 235 The Cheese Pull 235 Sauces: From Thick to Thin, From Sweet to Savory 237 White Sauces, Cheese Sauces, and Hollandaise 237 Gravies, Pan Juices, and Au Jus 238 Tomato Sauces 238 Fresh Salsas 238 Mustard, Mayonnaise, and Ketchup 239 Salad Dressings 239 Smooth Vegetable and Fruit Sauces (Coulis) 239 Fruit Coatings 239 Dessert Sauces 240 Garnishes: the Many, the Colorful, and the Troublesome 240 The Sweet Side of Garnishes 241 Baked Goods: Some Basic Rules 241 Determining the Type of Shot 242 Controlling the Baking Process: the Path to Perfection 242 Volume Baking 243 Preparing Your Baking Pans 243 Baking Tools and Equipment 245 Cakes: the Pleasures and Pitfalls 247 Layer Cakes 248 Bundt Cakes 252 Cheesecakes 253 Angel Food Cakes 253 Pound Or Loaf Cakes 253 Cupcakes 253 Cakes That Are Hard to Slice Through 254 Pies: Making Them Picture Perfect 254 Fruit Pies 257 Lattice-Topped Pies 258 Tarts 260 Pumpkin Pies 261 Quiches 262 Pies With Graham Cracker Or Crumb Crusts 262 Cream Pies 263 Ice Cream Pies 263 Meringue-Topped Pies 265 Cookies: Aiming For Consistency 266 Drop Cookies 267 Decorated Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread Cookies 268 Other Baked Goods: Overcoming Unique Styling Obstacles 269 Bars and Brownies 269 Phyllo Pastry 270 Muffins 270 Purchased Baked Goods: Adding Pizzazz to Store-Bought Desserts 272 The Finishing Touches: From Dollops to Dustings 272 Photographing Ice Cream: the Differences Between Real and Artifi Cial 274 Real Ice Cream 274 Artificial Ice Cream: Faking the Real Thing 279 Chocolate: the Problem Child For the Food Stylist 284 Melting Chocolate 284 Chocolate Sauces 285 Chocolate Candies 286 Cold and Hot Beverages: Food Styling Techniques In the Presentation 286 Cold Beverages 101 287 The Major Cold Beverages: What They Volume Food: Shooting Family Style 300 Unattractive Food: How to Beautify It For 1 Shot 301 Pulling It All Together 12 the Business of Food Styling 305 The Entrepreneur: Beginning Your Food Styling Business 306 How to Be 1 Good Food Styling Assistant 307 How to Find Assisting Jobs: Look For Us In the Gutter 308 Testing: Its Many Values to the Food Stylist 310 Why Photographers Test 311 Why Food Stylists Test 312 The Process of Testing, From Start to Finish 313 Self-Promotion: the Five Ps of 1 Successful Business: Passion, Packaging, Persistence, Promotion, and Production 316 Passion: Food and Working With It Creatively 316 Packaging and Marketing Yourself 316 Persistence In Your Pursuit 319 Other Techniques For Self-Promotion 320 Production: Create Works That Sell You 321 Networking and Sharing: Helpful Organizations and Conferences For the Food Stylist 321 13 Beyond Food Styling: Expanding Your Options 323 Media Escort Or Spokesperson: Becoming 1 Food Emissary 327 Television Versus 1 Live Audience: How to Bring Food to the People 327 Food Demonstrations: Tips and Techniques 331 Product Development 334 Food Photography and Other Related Careers 334 14 Tips For Chefs, Caterers, and Others Who Want to Style Their Food 335 Tips For Small Businesses: Creating Visual Materials That Sell Your Food-Related Services 336 A Chef’s Guide to Preparing and Shooting Beautiful Food Photographs 338 Do Your Homework Before Taking the Shot 339 Trends: Food and Food Presentation 15 Reviewing the Last Fifty (Now Sixty) Years of Food Styling and Photography 345 The 1950s: Postwar Conformity, Casseroles, Elvis, and James Beard 347 The 1960s: Convenience, Domestic Engineers, Granola Crunchers, and Julia Child 348 The 1970s: Nouvelle Cuisine, the Feminist Revolution, Vegetarianism, and Alice Waters 349 The 1980s: Decadence, Take-Out Gourmet, and Celebrity Chefs 350 The 1990s: Return to Basics, Fat Reduction, Fusion Cuisine, and Martha Stewart 351 The 2000s: Time-Saving Meals, Adventuresome Eating, Green Concerns, and the Internet 352 Glossary: the Vocabulary of Food Styling 365 Resources 374 Index 389