Food Art: Taste and Light, a food photography exhibition by Rob Stewart

Published by Thursday, February 28, 2013 Permalink 0

Artichokes

Picture 1 of 24

Bio

I have been passionate about food for a long, long time now. The creative door was pushed wide open for me in the 1970’s – working as a young commis chef at the Carlton Tower Hotel in London. An inspirational chef, Bernard Gaume, at the forefront of UK Cuisine Nouvelle – in its correct context as taught by Fernand Point and further developed by Michel Gérard, Roger Vergé and the Troisgros brothers; not the misunderstood object of derision it later became. But oh, the ingredients! Live langoustine and crayfish every week, baskets of wild mushrooms in season, direct from France and the fish! So fresh and always whole and untouched until we got our hands on them. And the herbs, boxes of intensely fragrant basil and tarragon and my own favourite chervil whose subtlety belies a very happy marriage with eggs and cream. Ingredients that are sirens to the soul, how could one not fall in love with cooking? I should mention foie gras too – for which (and I make no apology) I have developed a life-long passion. I never thanked M. Gaume – and I should like to, I owe him a lot; he got me started.

A new chef joined us – Ian McAndrew – a brilliant chef of his generation, who was kind enough to introduce me to Anton Mosimann at the Dorchester Hotel and the journey began again, lifting me to new heights and experiences. This quietly charismatic chef had incredible vision and a passion for the best ingredients that was so infectious. Special moments were travelling with Hr Mosimann to the Dracula Club in St Moritz to cook a special dinner for 50 people, and competing in the Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt (and winning gold) as part of the Dorchester Hotel team. There is a picture of me (with others) in The Essential Mosimann; I didn’t know this when the book was first published and only saw it years later. It brought back many happy memories!

On my return from a season at the Hotel Kulm in St Moritz, I applied for, and got, a position at the Connaught Hotel in London. Michel Bourdin was only the 4th Head Chef there in 80 years and the kitchen was steeped in history, tradition, experience and…truffles! These have since been added to my list that includes foie gras – nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, compares to the aroma of a wicker basket full of fresh truffles. Almost impossible to describe flavour or aroma – and I have been asked many times. Holder of two Michelin stars, the passion M. Bourdin held was so tangible and visible – Hr Mosimann and M. Gaume had this too, but it was quieter, controlled. With M. Bourdin it was always bubbling on the surface in a way that was exciting and very Gallic!

I worked at the Carlton Tower and Connaught twice, the Dorchester only once, but for a longer period. Although there were other good kitchens, it is these three brilliant and great chefs that nurtured my love of food.

And so on to photography. A passion developed later in life, and one I wished I’d started much earlier. So much thought goes into the way a chef wants to present a dish and yet it is eaten so quickly! A photograph preserves that moment in time, yet if the food is to be eaten as well, the opportunity to get the shot is as fleeting as a landscape photographer catching the dying rays of the setting sun. Food ingredients themselves also offer endless scope for photography, whether a macro shot of mushroom gills or a beautifully back-lit rhubarb leaf or colourful stems of rainbow chard. The photograph gives us the opportunity to show our appreciation and respect for fine ingredients in a way that presents them at their best and stimulates our senses.

Whether a finished dish, a beautiful ingredient or the people that inspire, food photography should seek to convey that passion and make us hungry for more!

 

You can see more of Rob’s work at Real Food Photography.

 

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Potato News: Robuchon’s mashed potatoes, Swiss giant potatoes to be fed to pigs, calorie counting at chain restaurants, how potatoes changed the world

Published by Tuesday, October 25, 2011 Permalink 0

by video

If you’ve ever had to the good luck to taste Joël Robuchon’s mashed potatoes, made with the variety Ratte, you probably daydream about them often enough. This here explains how to make them. Click Swiss Info to watch a video that explains how to make them.

Gawker says more than 10,000 tons of potatoes will end up in Swiss troughs this year. The dry spring and warm autumn made them too big to meet the standard sizes that can legally be sold in supermarkets.

Ever wonder how many calories are in those KFC mashed potatoes and gravy? article calculates “680 calories, and an even more shocking 2130 mg of sodium per serving.”

Potatoes from the New World most likely saved Europe from a famine in 18th century. This Smithsonian Around 200 varieties of Peruvian potatoes were... is a fascinating history of the potato and how it changed the world, and full of interesting facts.

Around 200 varieties of Peruvian potatoes were...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Food News Daily: September 20, 2011

Published by Tuesday, September 20, 2011 Permalink 0

Mainstream Anglo Media and Press

A scotch eggstravaganza: A just-set egg in sausagemeat with a light and crisp crumb coating is a lovesome thing, The Guardian

Is Wall Street Driving World Hunger?, The Atlantic

Notes from my Slow Food Challenge dinner, by Joe Yonan, The Washington Post

Walmart’s Fresh Food Makeover: Can the retailer known for its poverty wages solve the problem of urban “food deserts”?, The Nation

The world’s most expensive whisky: Dalmore 62: A bottle of Dalmore 62 scotch whisky has been bought for a new world record of £125,000, The Guardian

Tomato Carpaccio (Mark Bittman), The New York Times

Work starts on York’s Chocolate Attraction (theme park), BBC

American History, Seen through a Shot Glass, NPR

Best of the Anglo Food and Travel Blogs and Sites

Closing the Productivity Gap for Women Farmers, Impatient Optimists

Ahoy Matey! International Talk Like a Pirate Day – September 19, The Rambling Epicure

 

 

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The Rambling Epicure Voices

Published by Monday, February 7, 2011 Permalink 0

Food writer, Culinary Chemistry, The Rambling EpicureJenn Oliver writes our column Culinary Chemistry. She has a Ph.D. in science, where she explains the scientific aspects of what really goes on when you cook (the next Harold McGee?). She’s been running a gluten-free blog, Jenn Cuisine, since 2008 and her kitchen is more like a laboratory than a kitchen. She’s focuses her chemical calculations and experiments on figuring out how to make traditionally glutinous food gluten-free.

Esmaa Self writes the Wild Woman on Feral Acres column. She lives on a small farm in Colorado where she employs organic and sustainable methods to grow fruits, vegetables and herbs, raise chickens, bees and fish and where she routinely turns out imaginative, healthy, guilt-free meals from scratch. One of her numerous blogs recounts her farming adventures: Backyard Eggs. She also writes novels and contributes to numerous organic farming and green publications, and runs a sustainable living site, Homeostasis.

Simon de Swaan is Food and Beverage Director at the Four Seasons hotel in New York City. He studied at the Culinary Institute of America and has an incredible collection of antique cookbooks and books about food and eating, from which he often posts interesting and unusual quotes. In his column Simon Says, he gives us daily food quotes from his tomes.

Jean-Philippe de Tonnac is an essayist, editor and journalist. He directed the special editions of the Nouvel Observateur for almost ten years and and has published twenty books. As preparation for publication of his Universal Dictionary of Bread (Dictionnaire universel du pain, Bouquins Laffont, 2010), he obtained a baker’s certificate (CAP) at the Ecole de Boulangerie et Pâtisserie de Paris in 2007, and traveled worldwide to countries where bread held a particular cultural significance.

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Great Chef Series: Philippe Chevrier’s Recipe for Mixed Berry Crisp

Published by Friday, February 4, 2011 Permalink 0
by Jonell Galloway, recipe translated and adapted with authorization of Domaine de Châteauvieux

Michelin star chef Philippe Chevrier’s recipe for mixed-berry crisp with nougat and caramelized pecan ice cream

Philippe Chevrier is head chef and owner of Domaine de Châteauvieux in Satigny, right in the middle of the vineyards just outside Geneva. His restaurant has two Michelin stars and a 19/20 rating in the GaultMillau restaurant guide. Geneva gourmets have had a soft spot for him for a long time now and his restaurant is the institution of fine dining in this city.

Chevrier posts a recipe a month on his site, and this is an adaptation of this month’s. Admittedly, it is a recipe for experienced cooks and people who really like to bake or who have a real sweet tooth. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be motivated enough to get through all the steps.

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