Lecture | Master of Modernist Cuisine

Yesterday, Marcus and I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a TimesTalk lecture, entitled "Master of Modernist Cuisine," featuring Nathan Myhrvold (of Modernist Cuisine fame) in conversation with New York Times writer Jeff Gordinier, hosted at The Times Center near Times Square that was part of this weekend's New York City Wine and Food Festival (NYCWFF). I had bought tickets for the event back in June when they first went on sale, and around that time, I had discovered that Mr. Myhrvold would be releasing a second Modernist Cuisine cookbook around the same time that would be more fitting (i.e., a singular volume as opposed to the original's five) and "affordable"  (a whopping $140 versus the original's super hefty cost of $625) for at home-use (aptly entitled Modernist Cuisine at Home). I was so psyched at the prospect of finally owning a copy of some iteration of Modernist Cuisine that even made this upcoming lecture that much more exciting.

So this past week, my pre-ordered copy of Modernist Cuisine at Home arrived via Amazon.com (thank you, Amazon Prime!).


{1} It arrived in its own snug box (fancy, I know!) {2} which even had a "seal" on the it which read "certified frustration-free packaging." I guess it's to ensure that during its potentially bumpy trip from the warehouse to any doorstep, that the book will stay intact without any shipment damage -- no arguments here! {3} When I opened the package quite easily, I found the cookbook to be inside another box -- {4} the book, along with a complimentary waterproof (!) kitchen manual has its own slipcase (what I now dub to be the Russian dolls of the cookbook world). Oh, and did I mention it weights a little over 10 pounds? Yup, I was still planning on lugging this all the way to the lecture.

The original five-volume, 2,400-page of cookbooks, Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, was created by Mr. Myhrvold with Chris Yong and Maxime Bilet (scientists, inventors, and accomplished cooks) and "reveals science-inspired techniques for preparing food that ranges from the other-worldly to the sublime." The authors, along with their 20-person team at "The Cooking Lab," have "achieved astounding new flavors and textures by using tools such as water baths, homogenizers, centrifuges, and ingredients, such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and enzymes." Their mission for this work is "destined to reinvent cooking." Located in Bellevue, Washington, The Cooking Lab is "a culinary research laboratory and publishing company originally created for Modernist Cuisine" and "houses one of the most sophisticated research kitchens in the world."


The TimesTalk with Mr. Myhrvold was held this past Saturday at 11 AM.


His was part of a series of NYCWFF talks with other renowned food personalities/chefs including Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, Paula Deen, and Marcus Samuelsson.

Just as a little background (thanks to the pamphlet given at the TimesTalk), before Modernist Cuisine, Mr. Myhrvold had quite a non-culinary dossier of experience. He had graduated with degrees in mathematics, geophysics, and space physics from UCLA as well as with Ph.D.s in mathematical economics and theoretical physics from Princeton. His postdoctoral work at Cambridge University also included working on quantum theories of gravity with Stephen Hawking. Soon after, he became the first chief technology officer at Microsoft, where he established Microsoft Research and oversaw many advanced technology projects. Leaving Microsoft in 1999, he went on to pursue a lifelong interest in cooking and food science. He staged at Seattle's top restaurant, Rover's, for two years before completing culinary training at Ecole de la Varenne. He is now the CEO and founder of Intellectual Ventures, a firm dedicated to creating and investing in inventions. In fact, Mr. Myhrvold himself is an active inventor with nearly 250 patents issued or pending, including several related to food technology.


The event had sold out earlier in the week, so the theatre was completely packed.


Here were some highlights to the stimulating conversation Mr. Gordinier had with Mr. Myhrvold:

• When asked about his original fixation on food, Mr. Myhrvold briefly mentioned for the first Thanksgiving holidays where he sought to cook a meal for his family, he learned that Georges Auguste Escoffier was not the best go-to resource for beginners (i.e., more for advanced cooks) and that the Pyromaniac's Cookbook more suited his skillset and proclivities for flames.
• Mr. Gordonier asked Mr. Myhrvold if his epicurean interests set him apart while he was working in the "techie world" -- Mr. Myhrvold responded that the food groups of a programmer includes caffeine and pizza, so it was a completely different kind of atmosphere. 
• Bill Gates isn't too much of a "foodie" as he was puzzled by Mr. Myhrvold's request to take a leave of absence to attend culinary school. He even said to Mr. Myhrvold that Modernist Cuisine is the only one he has ever opened.
• When Mr. Myhrvold built The Cooking Lab, he and his team were looking for cookbooks that divulged the newest and latest cooking techniques. Their search concluded that the market was oversaturated with "classic" approaches to cooking, so in that regard, the world was covered, but when it came to combining science and cooking, there wasn't much out there (though the online culinary/cooking forum, eGullet, which discussed many of these topics). Because this scarcity made it hard for people to learn what these "new" technique may be, this would become the driving force behind creating and publishing Modernist Cuisine.
• Mr. Myhrvold noted that Harold McGee wrote the first books on science's impact on cooking.
• There is a divide between food scientists and chefs -- e.g., sous vide (low heat over long period of time) vs. sautéeing (high heat over short period of time). Because sous vide involved cooking in a new parameter, Mr. Myhrvold couldn't help but think of it in programing terms. He wrote lines of code documenting how heat travels into and through food, in particular, how a piece of steak is cooked. As the interior of a steak is cooked through conduction, the thickness in the cut of steak impacts how long it takes (2 inches versus 1 inch can take up to four times as long to cook). All of this lead to the section of the cookbook which addresses how to cook the perfect steak. People prefer to interior of a steak to taste a certain way (i.e., tender, soft, juicy) and the exterior to taste a certain way (i.e., smoky, charred, and browned). For these reasons, sous vide-ing a steak followed by blowtorching the edges/exterior will accomplish these two desired textures/tastes/flavors.
• When Mr. Gordinier asked about whether or not Mr. Myhrvold had any concerns about the expenditure behind creating a cookbook volume set like Modernist Cuisine, Mr. Myhrvold answered that he was perfectly fine with starting this whole venture with a larger fortune to create a small fortune in the cookbook business. He wanted to take the philosophy from the realm of winemakers -- i.e., make something you love and hope someone else will love it, too -- or even more generally, the artist approach.
• Cooking can be an art (created by an artist) or a craft (created by an artisan), and food spans both these areas, pervading these thoughts in a profound way.
• How cooking works is explained in Modernist Cuisine and Modernist Cuisine at Home -- recipes basically say do this, this, and this, which is very limiting; however, by understanding the scientific principles behind cooking, one can tailor these principles to many recipes and to one's own taste (i.e., ultimately what Modernist Cuisine is trying to accomplish).
• Mr. Myhrvold jokingly said the cover of Modernist Cuisine at Home (i.e., visually deconstructed hamburger) is the National Space Station sandwich -- no gravity!
• Mr. Myhrvold likes to dress his salads by hand, resulting in a better distribution throughout, but he likes to salt his dishes at the end, so that there is a high concentration initially to satisfy the palate yet less salt overall in consumption. 
• A blowtorch is a great investment for the kitchen, especially for searing the edge of a steak for charred flavor.
• Barbecuing can be the American way of grilling with charcoal (high heat) or it could be the more traditional way of smoking with woodchips soaked in water (low heat) with the odd but appropriate addition of ice cubes for getting the ideal temperature. 
• Mr. Gordinier brought up the example of how roasting a chicken can be a meaningful, culinary ritual observed by many Americans strongly contrasts to the sterile, quite literally lab-like approach (e.g., in a plastic bag) of cooking behind Modernist Cuisine. Mr. Myhrvold's deadpan response: If your kitchen smells delicious, the food cooking at hand is losing something (i.e., flavors). Mr. Gordinier countered, "I feel like the Grinch just stole Christmas again!" Mr. Myhrvold brought up another example where this occurs: Mrs. Field's cookies inside shopping malls. That smell of freshly baked cookies that wafts throughout isn't actually the smell of fresh baking cookies -- it's really vanilla extract cooking over a hotplate on low heat. 
• When asked about how traditionalists have reacted to his book, Mr. Myhrvold simply said that most of them haven't actually seen the book, so most change their view once they do.
• Mr. Myhrvold sees Modernist Cuisine as the provider of the best, ultimate recipe/method/technique in how to prepare a said dish/ingredient, as they take a scientific approach to finding the optimal recipes/formulas/principles. His example was how he believes that Modernist Cuisine makes the best ice cream, which strangely enough doesn't even contain cream/milk and is totally vegan. This recipe involves pistachio oil, homogenizing it then adding sugar, stabilizer (protein), and ground pistachios. Another technique involves hyper-decanting wine, which ultimately involves throwing a whole bottle of wine (preferably a younger red wine) into a blender and "frappé" for about 30 seconds.
• When comparing something like gelatin (a very well-known, familiar Western ingredient which is actually created by boiling pig skins) to agar-agar (something lesser known in the mainstream Western family kitchen unless it is a vegan one, yet has been used in Asian for several centuries derived from a seaweed extract) for thickening, it's peculiar to see how certain ingredients have been commonly accepted and others that seem out of place, strange, and foreign to be looked at with raised eyebrows.
• Mr. Myhrvold noted that he gets a lot of people asking him about if and how he cooks with "a chock full of chemicals" in The Cooking Lab and fittingly responds by saying, "Yes we do, and with a chock full of elements, too!" At the end of the day, Modernist Cuisine is all about informed cooking -- science is always in the kitchen; Mr. Myhrvold is just taking the ignorance out of it for the uninformed.

Mr. Myhrvold signing copies of his cookbooks.


Mr. Myhrvold signing my copy of Modernist Cuisine at Home for Marcus and me!


Here's our signed copy! :)

Findings: Hands down, this was probably one of the most interesting lectures (and most educational!) I've attended. I didn't really know much about Modernist Cuisine other than what I've briefly read in articles and such (mainly because I haven't had a chance to get my hands on the original cookbook or the new until this past week). It was so enlightening to hear Nathan Myhrvold speak so eloquently and knowledgeably without skipping at beat about the questions that Jeff Gordinier threw at him during the course of the event. I learned so much in so little time, and I know that I'll continue to learn so much more as I work my way through his tome of a cookbook -- the photographs are already mindblowing, too! I think for Marcus, it was an even more awesome event in that he found it so cool that Mr. Myhrvold approaches things like cooking in the same way he himself does -- very analytical, pragmatic, and rationalist. Plus, he's so laid back and easy to talk to that you wouldn't feel like you're in the presence of estoteric company. His humor and commentary make it that much more enjoyable. Even with the brief audience Q&A session, the questions being thrown at him were mostly complex, and he answered them quite thoroughly and precisely with no hesitation at all. This guy really does know his stuff, so I wouldn't want to mess with him. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend this lecture. With that being said I would highly recommend attending any events/signings/lectures that feature Mr. Myhrvold because I guarantee you'll be in for a treat.

Price point: $35 per ticket.

--October 13, 2012

The Times Center
TimesTalks
242 West 41st Street
New York, NY 10036
http://thetimescenter.com/calendar.php
http://nytimes.whsites.net/timestalks

New York City Wine and Food Festival
http://nycwineandfoodfestival.com

Modernist Cuisine at Home
Nathan Myhrvold and Maxine Bilet
available here on Amazon.com

Book Signing | Stanley Tucci

I had the pleasure of attending a book signing over at the Barnes & Noble located at 82nd and Broadway for the awesome Stanley Tucci and his new cookbook.


Even around 6:15 PM, the event space was getting filled up quickly.


Mr. Tucci arrived a little bit after 7 PM with a humorous yet stylish entrance -- can't miss his chance for a photo op!


He began with a brief introduction behind the cookbook, its history, its influences, and its roots in his family's cooking as well as in collaborating author, Chef Gianni Scappin, and his family. While the audience was quite fascinated with this story, he still added some humor to it all and apologized to the audience. "Ahhh, I am being SO boring right now -- I am so sorry." Everyone laughed.



Mr. Tucci noted that his mother, Joan Tucci, is a great cook and learned from his grandmother who learned from her mother and so forth. Same goes for his father, Stan Tucci. His film, Big Night, celebrated "whom and where he came from, offerng not only a positive view of Italians (i.e., no gangsters) but a more humanistic view, one that would show the complexity of this extraordinary people." A year later, this inevitably lead to his family co-writing a cookbook with Chef Scappin (with whom Mr. Tucci studied with to familiarize himself with his character's role in Big Night) which would become the first iteration of The Tucci Cookbook (then entitled Cucina & Famiglia, "a shorter, less glossy version." Since then, the book had gone out of print, and due to a surprising demand for this book, Mr. Tucci's wife, Felicity Blunt, brought a second life to this cookbook, which became the very book we were all here to discuss and celebrated here tonight.


Mr. Tucci went on to explain that he wanted to write a cookbook that not only spanned the style of cooking he was familiar with (his family has roots from Calabria, a southern region of Italy), but one that also touched on northern Italian cuisine. That's where Chef Scappin's expertise came in, as his family is originally from the Veneto region of Italy. The marriage between northern and southern Italian cuisine is meshed well in The Tucci Cookbook. Mr. Tucci even made a hilarious remark about how most American think they know Italian cuisine when they really don't, which went sort of like this: "When you go to the grocery store to look for breadcrumbs, you come across one with 'Italian seasoning' -- what does that even mean? Can they be any more vague?!" He is right about that -- just because you're using "Italian seasoning" doesn't mean what you're making is really Italian! :P


Soon, Mr. Tucci brought his mother on stage with him. They both answered a brief session of an audience Q&A. Here were some highlights (based my chicken scratched notes -- mostly summarized):

• Was Mr. Tucci a messy cook growing up? How about now?Mrs. Tucci: "He's pretty good -- not bad." (laughter ensued)
• Which recipes would you  yourself make on a weekly basis from The Tucci Cookbook?Mr. Tucci: "A lot of it is great for daily meals. But if I had to pick, the pastas."
• Favorite restaurants in New York City?
  Mr. Tucci: "Marea... right, honey? (looks over to his wife, who shakes her head) Ohhh, Aldea! Basically any restaurant that ends in 'A' is good! But seriously, Scalinatella is great. And Joe's Shanghai -- you know, the place with the dumplings filled with soup, that I always somehow spill all over myself because they don't have lobster bibs? Oh, oops, and of course, Mario Batali's restaurants, and not because he wrote the Foreward or paid us to say that! He's a great friend of ours!"
• Favorite wine recommendations?Mr. Tucci: "All of them." 
• Favorite brand of pasta? Extra virgin olive oil?
  Mrs. Tucci: "Barilla or De Cecco -- they offer a pretty good variety and are easily accessible. As for extra virgin olive oil, I've been using Filippo Berio for years."
  Mr. Tucci: "Yeah, and I think Barilla comes from Iowa. I know it sounds strange, but it works! Hmmm, for olive oil, we've been buying Frantoia by the case. But for the most part, you can't go wrong with extra virgin olive oil -- just don't buy 'lite' olive oil. I don't understand it -- it's stupid!"
• Favorite cookbooks?
  Mrs. Tucci: "Can't go wrong with Mario's or Lidi Bastinich's books -- they really know their stuff!"
  Mr. Tucci: "Nigel Slater, too."
• Favorite dessert?
  Mr. Tucci: "I'm sorry to say that I'm not a dessert person, but I do love peaches and wine."
  Mrs. Tucci: "Homemade biscotti."
• Do you a kind of person who sticks to the recipe or one that improvises?
  Mr. Tucci: "Can't you tell by my performance tonight? I am a total scientist."

Aren't they the cutest mother-son pair? Adorable!


The crowd waiting for Mr. Tucci, his mother, and his father to sign cookbooks!


Mr. Tucci and family signing cookbooks (ooh look, there's Ms. Blunt in the background)!


They were so friendly and fun to talk to -- no wonder Mr. Tucci has such a great personality. Definitely know where he gets it from now!


My copy of The Tucci Cookbook signed by Mr. Stanley Tucci (both senior and junior!) as well as Mrs. Joan (Tropiano) Tucci.

Findings: This could easily be one of the best book signing events I've attended, if only for the entertaining Q&A session driven by the hilarious answers delivered by Stanley Tucci. He was so much fun interacting with the audience, making it very casual and enjoyable to hear about his latest culinary endeavor. It was also refreshing to see what other things he has happening in his life along with his fabulous acting career (loved him in The Devil Wears Prada, Easy A, and The Terminal), especially such a fond appreciation for cooking and family roots. Seeing celebrities out of their element like this is so humbling and inspiring.

Can't wait to read all about his family and delve into some of the recipes!

Price point: $35 for each book.

--October 12, 2012

Barnes & Noble
2289 Broadway
New York, NY 10024
http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/1979

The Tucci Cookbook
Stanley Tucci with Joan and Stan Tucci, Gianni Scappin, and Mimi Taft
available here at BN.com

Book Signing | Amanda Cohen, Grady Hendrix, & Ryan Dunlavey

Last night, I went to the Dirt Candy Cookbook launch party with Christine and Marcus at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe (had the pleasure of finding out about it through a Dirt Candy blog post!). The authors, Chef Amanda Cohen, Grady Hendrix (a journalist, who also happens to be her husband), and artist Ryan Dunlavey hosted the party to officially celebrate their new book's release, which had occurred only a couple weeks prior.

Chef Cohen is the chef-owner over at Dirt Candy, a highly rated, all-vegetable restaurant in the East Village. She also happens to be the first vegetarian chef invited to compete on Food Network's Iron Chef America. Before her success at Dirt Candy (which opened in 2008), Chef Cohen had worked at many vegetarian restaurants here in New York City, including at Teany (i.e., Moby's teahouse) as its first chef. Other kitchen experience under her belt include Other Foods, Angelica's Kitchen, DinerBar (non-vegetarian), Pure Food and Wine, Heirloom, and Blossom Cafe.

Her latest venture is the restaurant's eponymous cookbook -- in boldly striking comic book form -- tells the tales of the things that she has learned in a humorously illustrated way. Upon perusing the first pages whilst waiting for the event to begin, I couldn't help but laugh out loud (and I mean actually do so). It was really well written humor that got the point across effectively and coyly. Even one of the event attendees saw me laughing, and then stopped to say, "So I saw you laughing before -- were you reading the cookbook? Is it really that funny?" Indeed it is.

{1,7} Housing Works Bookstore Cafe / {2} introduction by staff at Housing works / {3} Dirt Candy: A Cookbook event description / {4} caramel popcorn with corn cream (dairy-free) / {5} stacks of the featured comic cookbook ready to be purchased and signed / {6} smoked cauliflower and waffles with horseradish cream sauce / {8} attendees waiting for event to begin -- so full already at 6:45! / {9} Grady Hendrix introducing Chef Amanda Cohen and artist Ryan Dunlavey / {10} tomato cake with smoked feta, cherry tomato leather, and spring herb purée / {11} Chef Cohen and Mr. Dunlavey signing their comic cookbooks / {12} portabello mousse with pear and fennel compote

The event involved a dramatic reading (in the style of coffeehouse poetry -- hilariously deadpan), Chef Cohen and her husband talking about the initial hardships they had before they finally became a running restaurant and a smashing success later on (great slideshow documenting such), as well as the editing/testing process behind the comic cookbook. Along with all that, there was PLENTY of hors d'oeuvres to go around -- about five different recipes served in bite sized portions for all attendees to sample. Plus, free booze (wine and beer).

Christine and me, on the second level of the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe.

Of course, here's my signed copy of the awesome comic cookbook -- love how characteristic Chef Cohen's and Mr. Dunlavey's inscriptions are! So great!

Findings: We had a great time at the Dirt Candy Cookbook launch party Housing Works Bookstore. It was certainly one of the best cookbook signings I've had the pleasure of attending to date. There was PLENTY of samples to go around (and not just one -- FIVE!), and they were so radically different than most vegetable-centric dishes I've had (Ubuntu and Kajitsu come to mind) -- very creative and delicious (nothing like the stereotypes that perpetuate the idea of bland, boring, and "overly healthy"). The comic cookbook itself is such a novel idea, that I cannot wait to read it cover-to-cover.

Thanks again to the team at Dirt Candy as well as at Housing Works Bookstore for throwing such a wonderful launch party -- it was the perfect way to celebrate this huge feat!

Price point: $22 (including tax) for each book.

--September 10, 2012

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe

126 Crosby Street

New York, NY 10012

http://www.housingworks.org/bookstore?utm_source=shop_nav&utm_medium=webpage

Dirt Candy: A Cookbook (of) Flavor-Forward Food from the Upstart New York City Vegetarian Restaurant

Amanda Cohen, Grady Hendrix, and Ryan Dunlavey

available here on Amazon.com

Feasts & Affairs | La Tartine Gourmande food workshop

For the past couple years, since Four Tines was founded, I've been on the lookout for a food photography class/workshop so that I can work on my photography skills when it comes to food. I had come across one class at the Institute of Culinary Education, which had quite a hefty price tag at $525 and required a three-day time commitment -- something that wasn't super feasible for me at the time. Then, as luck would have it, food photographer/stylist/blogger, Béatrice Peltre, announced she'd be in the New York City area over one weekend in June -- for a two-day collaboration of events (including a full-day food photography/styling workshop and a cooking class dinner) with food stylist/photographer, Karen Mordechai of Sunday Suppers in Williamsburg. So before I knew it, I took a leap of faith and signed up for the workshop in a matter of minutes. I found out shortly after registering that the twelve coveted spots for this intimate workshop became sold out in less than two hours. I felt so lucky to have been able to sign up in time and to finally have the opportunity not only to meet Béa in person but to interact and learn from her. I had also been trying to make it to a Sunday Suppers loft dinner for the past couple years, so that was also a big win, too! The workshop included materials, produce at the market, as well as lunch.

At 10 AM on Saturday, the class met up first at Union Square Greenmarket, where Béa wanted to walk the entire class through the season's best produce and pick up the necessary ingredients for the full-day workshop (which would go until 5 PM) before heading back to the Sunday Suppers loft.

Some of my shots captured through our meticulous stroll through the farmers' market: {1} fresh bunches of lavender / {2} a wide array of (heirloom) tomatoes / {3} multi-colored radishes / {4} baskets of red and white cherries / {5} barrels of squash / {6} crates of radishes / {7} berries in green dry-pint farm baskets / {8} bouquets of sunflowers

Prior to this weekend, I had never really been to the USGM, especially on Saturdays when it is certainly the busiest, and what a treat it was! I still can't believe what I'd been missing out on for the past year of living in the city -- I will definitely have to make it back more frequently this summer as the season's bounty is so alluringly delicious.

Something I've never seen before -- rainbow carrots!

Béa, picking up all kinds of colored carrots.

One of our favorite stops that morning was this stand (I need to find out the name!) that offered all of these micro greens -- perfect for our food styling and plate dressing later that afternoon. Though be wary -- a quarter pound of these assorted greens is for sale at a whopping $12! Heavy hands at this stand can be dangerous! :P

Another vegetable/herb stand.

Once we finished up at the farmers' market, we all took the L over to Williamsburg in order to begin our workshop at the Sunday Suppers loft run by Karen. Karen founded Sunday Suppers as "class-cooking-dining experiences, pairing friends and food." Its space is located in a waterfront loft in Brooklyn, and classes are taught by local/visiting chefs. The food is always "market fresh, local, and organic" where "the approach is to create seasonal and fresh meals together."

Upon entering, the entire class was left speechless at how open, beautiful, clean, and lit-up the space was. It was every food photographer's dream - - a space with such an open floor plan in the city is so hard to come by, and we'd be the lucky ones today to play around with food, kitchenware, and our lenses.

The assistants at Sunday Suppers were unpacking our gathered loot in the kitchen, while the workshop members settled in with some exploring, rehydration, and shutter-clicking.

The workshop allowed all of us to prepare, prop, and style food for our cameras, learning how to best use natural light to create photographs that reflect our own styles. Whilst doing all of this, Béa would be our resource, guiding us through understanding the composition details behind creating a good photograph.

{1} All the goodies available at Sunday Suppers' arsenal of fun kitchen/table props, which {2} Béa snuck some shots of once we arrived!

As everyone was getting settled in, cameras were pretty immediately taken out to begin our survey of the space.

While we were waiting for lunch, the twelve of us went around, introducing ourselves and expressing what we were hoping to learn and improve during the workshop. Here are some of the topics we discussed, as an introduction to the rest of the afternoon:

• In the industry, food-styling and food photography are professions that are usually separate -- but at the same time, they are very dependent on each other. Awesomely enough, Béa has been able to fuse the two together in her career.
• There are many specializations in the field of food-styling (e.g., chocolate, cheese, etc.).
• Béa is self-taught and has relied a lot on her intuition over the years. Growing up in France, she has found the importance of food culture there has influenced her life and career quite a bit.
• Different bloggers/magazines/etc. use different styles of photography/food styling (e.g., light vs. dark).
• Always consider STYLE and COMPOSITION when styling and photographing food.
• Béa always starts styling/shooting with a minimalist approach, followed by whatever choices made aesthetically in the frame.
• Think about what kind of light you desire and consider what's available.
• Easiest to start close to a window with natural light.
• Many times, you'll only get one good shot from hundreds of initial shots.
• Sometimes less is more -- too much in the frame can overcrowd the food. Given how much you may love a prop/item/ingredient, sometimes it might be best to not to use it for a given shot.
• Fresh herbs are key -- can be an easy-fix for brightening up some shots.
• Don't forget you can always crop items in a given photograph/shot for composition.
• Must be really detail-oriented in all aspects of food photography/styling.
• Playing with texture with props in a frame can add another dimension to a shot.

Shortly after, lunch was served, and they were all made at the kitchen at Sunday Suppers!

Loved this vase with wildflowers.

Roasted asparagus!

Red and golden beet salad with hazelnuts -- loved this combination!

Onion frittata!

Béa took some shots for lunch, too.

Lunch was absolutely delicious, and it was nice to just get to know everyone before the workshop shooting began.

On the island in the kitchen, the staff at Sunday Suppers laid out all of the ingredients for the three of Béa's recipes we'd be assembling, styling, propping, and shooting: two tartines (smoked salmon with ricotta, spring vegetables, and basil oil; prosciutto with tarragon-flavored slow-roasted cherry tomatoes and goat cheese) and strawberry tiramisu en verrine (i.e., in a jar). We split into four teams of three -- two groups were assigned to the dessert, and the remaining two did each of the tartines.

Some of the ingredients laid out: {1} rainbow carrots / {2} tarragon-flavored slow-roasted cherry tomatoes / {3}pistachios, eggs, and sugar in the raw / {3} thick-sliced prosciutto / {4} artisan breads including Italian loaves and baguettes / {5} some yellow micro greens / {6} fresh strawberries and baking tools / {7} multi-colored radishes

My fellow workshoppers split up in teams gathering ingredients for their assigned recipes.

Team Tiramisu assembling their desserts in glasses/jars.

I was on Team Tartine Prosciutto, so I gathered a slice from the Italian loaf, two slices of prosciutto, and three slow-roasted cherry tomatoes. I started with spreading some goat cheese on the slice of bread then laying out the prosciutto like folded ribbons and lastly topping it with the three juicy tomatoes.

The next few shots show my evolution of styling with my tartine first. My first few shots were shot on the Aperture and the "Food" scene setting. I didn't know much about manual mode until later in the afternoon, when I realized my camera's "Manual" mode had its meter set all the way to the left, where its shutter speed was on a slow setting, washing all of my photographs out. Luckily, I had some amazing tips and advice from my fellow class members and Béa to improve my camera settings.

I added some basil leaves and some yellow micro greens for some eye-popping color. I added an orange tomato on the side for good measure.

An aerial shot, sans tripod. I didn't get a chance to use one of the tripods in the workshop (now wishing I had), but now I'm very much thinking about investing in one very soon!

I found this white plate on the prop table, thinking the white would make all of the elements of the tartine pop. I also added some more yellow micro greens in a kinda "quotation mark" format, just to see.

Side view -- I like that you can see the crinkly-ness of the tomatoes here!

I also tried putting a glass filled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar next to the tartine on the plate. Wish I had moved the glass over a little more to the right, so there'd be a more definitive gap between the two plated items.

Here's a view of the entire plate with the oil glass. Definitely would've looked so much better if I had used a tripod.

Just the tartine and fork on the side. I like the clean look of this.

I saw someone whip out this brown paper bag of wooden utentils, and I loved how it looked on the table, ripped open like that. Really played against the wooden table nicely.

I was going through some of the drawers in the kitchen, coming across this bronze-tinted spoon. Thought it'd go well with the organic wood of the table and pop against the white of the plate.

I even tried to add a little artistic, culinary flair to the plate by spooning some balsalmic vinegary oil in a curve on the plate. You have no idea how many attempts I had to do in order for the oil to take shape like this -- one of my favorite shots of the day!

A shot after I discovered how to use "Manual" mode properly.

Béa saw me struggling a bit on how to change my composition, so she suggested that the white plate might have been a little restrictive, which then led her to suggest putting the tartine directly onto the table, with my glass behind it. I liked this approach very much.

I changed up the backdrop a little by moving over to a drawer on wheels that happen to have wooden cutting boards for slicing bread. Loved the crumbs and the checkered cloth I added for color. I ever moved the tartine to a new plate that I had filled with the raw ingredients I had used earlier to create the tartine.

Béa assisting a workshopper with shooting.

I stole a shot of one of the tartines styled by one of my fellow workshoppers -- certainly one of my favorites that I had seen all afternoon, especially with the raw radish cut that way!

Most of the strawberry tiramisus had already been plated, so I just took whatever ones were unused and experimented on my own.

I especially liked this one because I just placed the glass of tiramisu over a cutting board used to chop the pistachios, strawberries, and ladyfingers. The resulting crumbs, nut shells, and other bits were totally natural.

Another dish styled by a workshopper that I really admired.

Béa helping another workshopper on the tripod with a cakestand shot.

Another lovely creation by a fellow workshopper.

Someone's styling station -- really great colors!

Watching the Sunday Suppers staff work!

Found this already styled on the table! Aren't those baby strawberries so adorable?!

Takin' a break and talking to Béa whilst snacking on some cherries.

Black raspberries -- very ripe and sweet!

I placed some mixed cherries in a ceramic farmer's basket -- love this look!

After a couple hours of shooting, Béa gathered us all around her laptop and had everyone submit a photo or two for a friendly group critique. She walked us through some basic features of Adobe Lightroom (now officially on my wishlist!) and how she would normally use it to touch up her photographs.

Béa demonstrating how letting crumbs/shells/herbs fall naturally onto a styled/propped shot can look a lot better than if it's too deliberately styled.

After critiques, we cleaned up a bit, and everyone was getting ready to head out.

The Sunday Supper staff with Karen, tidying up.

Before I left, I was able to have Béa sign my copy of her new book, La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life. Normally, this would be the extent of my interaction with a food icon like her, so it was so spectacular to be able to spend virtually the entire day with her, learning loads about photography and food styling. So awesome!

Findings: I had such an AMAZING time at this Sunday Suppers food photography/styling workshop, especially as it was headed by Béatrice Peltre and organized by Karen Mordechai. It was such a treat to learn from the best in the industry, as her work, especially through her blog and cookbook, certainly illustrates that she has a keen eye for capturing the most dynamic and liveliest of moments even from the literally stationary plated/styled dishes and props. There couldn't have been a more perfect spot like the loft of Sunday Suppers to put these styling/photography skills to the test with our group of twelve workshoppers. I really went into it with no expectations (mainly because I didn't really know what to expect other than delicious and quality ingredients with a well-renowned stylist), and I left, enlightened with so much yet with so much more to learn on my own. I sometimes forget how powerful digital SLRs are (especially when equipped with the right knowledge and know-how), and I was certainly reminded of this on Saturday afternoon. We had so much talent in the room -- from amateur hobbyists, experienced stylists, and professional photographers -- that everyone had something to share and to learn. It was such a pleasure to be in the company of such talented individuals -- it was both inspiring and motivating.

What I really admired is how incredibly friendly Béa is -- she is so warm, welcoming, and so very patient. She is so knowledgeable, yet she is not pretentious at all, and I felt comfortable with asking questions, even when mine were the most basic of them. I now look through my viewfinder with a little more confidence and with a little more technical competence that I think I'll be able to frame some better shots and moments of my adventures with food here at Four Tines. It was definitely the best money I've spent all year.

Lastly, I want to thank Béa for being such a great teacher and Karen for being such a lovely host. I'm so happy that you two were able to collaborate this wonderful workshop. Looking forward to more events at Sunday Suppers!

Price point: $350 per person for a 12-person food photography and styling class with stylist Béatrice Peltre.

--June 23, 2012

Union Square Greenmarket

north and west sides of Union Square Park
http://www.grownyc.org/unionsquaregreenmarket

open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 8 AM to 6 PM

Sunday Suppers

Brooklyn, NY

http://www.sunday-suppers.com

check website and follow Sunday Suppers on Twitter for details on future events/dinners

La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life

Béatrice Peltre

available here at Amazon.com

read more about Béa and her recipes over at her blog, La Tartine Gourmande