photography

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and How to Take an Epic Grilled Cheese Photo

Grilled cheese sandwiches are probably one of the easiest, most classic sandwich recipes ever invented. Taking a photo of one is sometimes another story.

You know how the recipe goes: 2 slices of cheese, two slices of bread, 2 slathers of sweet butter. Seriously, can comfort food really get any better? Okay, maybe when dipped in homemade tomato soup, but that’s kind of a given.

Then you have us recipe makers who just can’t seem to leave well enough alone. We simply cannot just make a simple grilled cheese.

We get all inspired and load on stuff like bacon, lobster, strawberries and definitely avocado. Sometimes they’re even healthified with trendy foodie ingredients like kale and shiitake mushrooms or begging-for-5-napkins-or-more buffalo chicken.

And that’s where the fun really begins.

continue to the recipe… about Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and How to Take an Epic Grilled Cheese Photo

Goat Cheese Stuffed Fig, Melon and Prosciutto Salad

The journey that led me to this simple Goat Cheese Stuffed Fig, Melon and Prosciutto Salad was just the ticket to a little mental time out.

Yesterday morning I drove up the canyon toward my photo shoot destination. The radio signal weaved in and out as it typically does, making the radio music that served as unacknowledged background filler a total distraction to the much louder brain noise churning through my head as I catalogued my mind’s daily to-do list.

I realized I hadn’t been hearing the tunes at all when the crackle was nearly as annoying as the same 23 songs I hear whenever Smudge and I are in the car together.

Our musical conversations tend to go something like this, “Mom, can you put it on 6?” and we listen to Taylor Swift belt out the blues about some bad-boy boyfriend she can’t seem to hold onto. “Mom, can you change it to 5?” and we hear Bruno Mars in his big-brimmed hat cry about being locked out of the pearly gates.

Heaven forbid One Direction or the Cups song comes on for the 9,374th time this month. Total freak-out ensues. And I must admit, I totally egg it on.

But yesterday I needed a break. A break from the chatter, a break from the radio and a break from the noise that was inside my head. So I turned off the tunes, or lack thereof, and practiced a little car meditation. As my engine wound up as it climbed the hill to the summit, I worked on my mind winding down.

continue to the recipe… about Goat Cheese Stuffed Fig, Melon and Prosciutto Salad

NEW! FoodieCrush Magazine Summer 2013 Issue

“Summer means watching cartoons all morning, roaming the neighborhood all day and heading home when the streetlights turn on.”

I don’t remember where I read or heard this quote, but it’s stuck with me. It doesn’t apply to me so much anymore, but it reminds me to encourage my Smudge to create her own summer memories. Memories that will get her through the far-to-soon-approaching school year ala 4th grade.

Putting together the ideas for this issue of FoodieCrush, I had a couple of flashbacks of what summer was for me as a kid. If I really let my mind wander, I could daydream all day about finding 4 leaf clovers in the grass, but they primarily center around, swimming (always swimming), my favorite sand color corduroy OP shorts, dipping my bare feet in the gutter water and racing across the black topped street, Caladryl covered mosquito bites, and riding my red, white and blue banana seat bike Sears Spirit with abandon as my hair caught in my mouth and the tassles on my handlebars whipped in the wind.

Of course as I got older the banana seat bike was kicked to the curb once I discovered one word. B-O-Y-S. Let’s just say I’m going to cherish 4th grade for my girl as much as fervently as possible.

In this issue I put the kibosh on any stories that might contain even a mere nod to mosquitos but I knew you’d be craving some serious food blogger love. So here you’ll find everything from teenage food blogger dreams to crazy fair food you can make at home, to of course, homemade popsicles sure to create some sweet dreams. Natch.continue to the recipe… about NEW! FoodieCrush Magazine Summer 2013 Issue

A Taste of Austin’s Blogher Food ’13 and Friday Faves

Hey ya’ll. That’s my Texas drawl. It’s replacing my aversion to the Utah drawl that drops the n’s and creates the oddest smash up of moosh when it comes to pronunciation. Us Utahns don’t say mouNTains, we say mount-ns, more in mumble form than diction form. We somehow make singular words plural. “I bought it at NordstomS” not Nordstom.

We also replace letters in sentences. “I’m going to drive across the border to Evanston to buy fireworks” (because you can’t buy the big-burn-daddys in Utah, only in Wyoming) turns into, “I’m gonna drive cross the border to EvINGston to get fireworks.”

Sorry Texas, you may not be the title holder to delirious dialects.

I’m almost beginning to feel like a real, live Texan after spending a little over a week traipsing through the hill country from Houston to Austin and back for food conferences and back again for the start of summer at my little seeeester’s in the beautiful Woodlands.

If all of Texas were as lush as my sister’s wooded and trail ridden community, and had about 50% of the humidity, I’d seriously think about transplanting. But, since that ain’t the case, I’ll be sticking to the mountains and deserts of Utah.continue to the recipe… about A Taste of Austin’s Blogher Food ’13 and Friday Faves

Big Traveling Potluck 2013 Recap and Friday Faves

I spent last weekend in the hilly wine and avocado country of Temecula, California, about an hour outside of San Diego. I was there for a food blogging conference cum retreat founded by Maggie and Pam of Three Many Cooks and Erika from Ivory Hut. Founded two years ago in Philadelphia as the Big Summer Potluck, the ladies have taken their show on the road and foraged their way west, in the incarnation of the Big Traveling Potluck.

This event is far from a traditionally architected blogger conference. Absent are formal seminars, sponsor booths and non-engaged attendees wondering what to do next. It’s less about what to wear and more about connecting over food, drink and the occasional chia seed pudding.

We were all there for the same purpose, to contribute to one another in a less formal, more intimate environment.

Let me make one thing clear: less formal does NOT mean less grand in scenery, attention to detail or heart.

I’ll be detailing far more about both conferences in the Summer issue of FoodieCrush coming this June. Until then, you truly owe yourself a read of the following recapif you’re of the food blogging variety. Or self-growth variety. Or if you’re just curious what happens when food bloggers gather together.continue to the recipe… about Big Traveling Potluck 2013 Recap and Friday Faves

Escape with Ghirardelli Intense Dark: Unexpected Rewards

In a world where work is sometimes hard, long and sometimes unappreciated, it’s important to give—and get—unexpected rewards along the way.

My workplace has changed in a big way over the past year. I’ve transitioned from 20 years of working for someone else to finally taking that plunge and working for myself. I don’t have a commute—except from the kitchen where I do most of my foodie creating, to my office where I get the design work done.

I can wear what I want, even though I pretty much did that anyway. When I run out of olive oil or am craving a new white dish for a photo, I can run to HomeGoods in the middle of the day and not feel the least bit guilty about it. Hey, I may even stop at 7 grocery stores on the way home. Yes, I do that too.

Working for myself is something I wouldn’t change for the world. But I do sometimes miss the company camaraderie, the daily interaction with co-workers (read that with a big emphasis on ‘sometimes’) because I really have the best set-up I could ask for. I work from home but I have the support of fresh ideas, willing hands and not yet jaded minds who are eager to learn.

I have interns.

For the past three years—has it been that long already?—I’ve been teaching Advanced Typography and Magazine Design at a local university. One night a week I meet up with senior college students about to embark on the transition of student to worker bee and teach them not only about design, but also about the real world, with real expectations and the hard work that will be expected of them once they get into it. Oh how I remember the days, my whole future was a glorious open field, ripe with opportunity. And it was so scary.

One of the reasons I enjoy working with these emerging careerists is not to teach them, but to teach me. To motivate me to be a better communicator and a wider thinker. To familiarize me with new technology I wouldn’t know was available as I work in my pigeon hole of doing the same thing the same way like I always have. To give me ideas and inspiration in an effort to keep fresh and relevant, and keep me up to date on the slang and fashion forward so I don’t seem like a total old fogie to my daughter and useful to my readers.continue to the recipe… about Escape with Ghirardelli Intense Dark: Unexpected Rewards

Cyber Monday Deal: NEW Holiday Cookie Cravings eCookbook for just $.99

** CYBER MONDAY PRICES NOW CLOSED, THANKS FOR PURCHASING THIS GREAT COOKIE PACKAGE AT OUR REGULAR PRICE

I’ve been teasing about it for a few weeks, and the day is finally here. The release of Holiday Cookie Cravings.

To kick off the holiday season, Maria of Two Peas and Their Pod and I are joining the Cyber Monday fray and offering our brand new Holiday Cookie Cravings, filled with 10 favorite brand new Holiday cookie recipes in a gorgeous, full-color ebook, FOR JUST $0.99!

This super special price is available today only—Cyber Monday—and will return to the regular price tomorrow.

I got so excited about sharing all of these cookies with you I knew you’d want to see how it all came about, so here’s a behind-the-scenes video to show you how we created this sweet tasting project.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/54215189 w=600&h=340]

We know you’re going to want more, more, more, because who doesn’t love cookies?continue to the recipe… about Cyber Monday Deal: NEW Holiday Cookie Cravings eCookbook for just $.99

Top 10 Pinterest Tips from Evo Conference 2012

I’m still riding the high of the past 2 weeks when my life flipped upside down, inside out and back again. I had my last day at my day job of five years, launched the summer issue of FoodieCrush, sent Smudge to overnight Girl Scout Camp for 5 days (!) and spent the better part of last week just over the mountain in Park City at Canyons Resort for this year’s Evo Conference.

Life is starting to power down a bit now and I’m quickly acclimating to working at home, for myself, for you and for my clients.

Not one to sit and watch soap operas and eat bon bons (one of my mom’s favorite sayings) I have several new projects in production and several more on the docket. Work life isn’t slowing down at all, if anything it’s getting busier, but at least my andrenaline levels are finally evening out.

So what did I learn at Evo? Here’s a snapshot of 15 things I took home—via Instagram—in addition to this amazing recipe for Whiskey Lemonade...

continue to the recipe… about Top 10 Pinterest Tips from Evo Conference 2012

How to Reposition Images In Your Facebook Timeline

We interrupt our regularly scheduled food blog format with this informational Facebook news.

You might be asking, “Hey, where’s the recipe?” Well, I had a problem and then I figured out a solution and I thought you might like to know about it too.

Whether you post photos of food on Facebook, pictures of your spastic dog, last night’s killer concert or your latest cross-country expedition, you may have come across this problem and perhaps this tutorial will provide the solution.

Do you ever look at an image on your new and vastly improved (*insert the-jury’s-still-out-look here*) Facebook timeline and think to yourself, “Wow Self, THAT is not how that image looked on my blog/mind/camera/computer! Why is it off-kilter?” Well I did.

And then I figured out how to reposition images posted into your timeline that are cropped to just the right size. Here’s how:

continue to the recipe… about How to Reposition Images In Your Facebook Timeline

Friday Faves: My View of Blogher Food 2012

Blogher Food 2012, held this year in Seattle Washington, flourished with food bloggers eager to learn, link-up and of course, talk food.

I did my fair amount of blogger stalking, trying to act nonchalant as I oh-so casually stared at nametags and wondered if I had lunch in my teeth, placing unfamiliar faces to familiar @usernames and occasionally calling someone by the wrong name completely.

I didn’t arrive in Seattle with much of an agenda besides becoming more familiar with the food blogging community. Yes there were plenty of online faces I was thrilled to meet in person, but what was just as inspiring was meeting bloggers I wasn’t aware of in the flip-flop fashion of how I normally discover bloggers—meeting them in the flesh first instead of via their online presence and then wondering what they’re REALLY like in real life.

Day one’s keynote with photographers/food bloggers Diane and Todd of White on Rice Couple christened my weekend with their mantra, “Your eyes are your lens, your heart is your shutter.”

I intentionally left my DSLR at home, wanting to be more spontaneous in capturing the memories of the weekend and my view of the city so instead I shot from the hip with my iPhone. Many of these photos were posted to my Instagram and all were edited with the VSCO app .

continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves: My View of Blogher Food 2012

Cookie Cravings Print and Digital Cookbook Giveaway

Chocolate chip or sugar, dipped in chocolate or stuffed, there’s hardly a cookie combination that hasn’t yet been discovered. Or is there?

I love coming up with new ways to share my love of food with others. That’s why I created Foodie Crush digital magazine—which by the way you still have a few more days to submit your favorite frozen treat recipe for the summer edition. I love concepting new and different ways to package recipes that makes my mouth water and stomach growl.

Food bloggers are some of the most inventive recipe developers in the world of cooking. And when it comes to cookies, Maria’s inventive combinations are at the top of the pack.

I recently teamed with Maria to create the e-cookbook Cookie Cravings, sharing 30 of her favorite cookie recipes with you. Some cookie recipes are new and some are revisits from her blog Two Peas and Their Pod. All of the recipes feature new photography and new behind the scenes stories.

I mean take a look at this Cinnadoodles recipe for sweet sakes.

Thank you to all who have purchased the e-cookbook digital package. And if you haven’t yet, you can purchase here. We loved providing delicious recipe for you and your families and your comments have been amazing!

And now at your request, we’ve added two more purchase options: You can now buy Cookie Cravings for your Amazon Kindle at the amazing introductory price of just .99—but only for the next week before the price goes up. And If you’re still craving the lovely printed page, we are offering a full-color, printed cookbook option for sale on Blurb.

And to thank you for your support I’m sharing the digital and the printed version of Cookie Cravings with you. It’s time for a giveaway!continue to the recipe… about Cookie Cravings Print and Digital Cookbook Giveaway

Announcing the Cookie Cravings Cookbook Plus a Giveaway

Hey! Guess what? We’ve birthed ourselves a cookie cookbook.

I’m thrilled to announce that Cookie Cravings cookbook is now available!

And to celebrate its arrival we’re giving away a KitchenAid 7-quart Stand Mixer just like the one Maria used to bake all these cookie wonders. Believe me, it got a workout. Oh, and a little known fact about Maria: If you can believe it, Maria doesn’t like to eat cookie dough. She’d rather eat the cookies baked! Which turned out just fine, more dough for me and Josh to snack on.

Okay, now I’m getting ahead of myself. First, the cookbook…

Maria’s Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk Cookies from the Cookie Cravings Cookbook

I’ve partnered with Maria and Josh of Two Peas and Their Pod to co-publish their first e-Cookbook, Cookie Cravings. It’s been such a blast plotting, planning and BAKING. We’re thrilled to share it and a bunch of other downloadable goodies with you.

Cookie Cravings is a 78-page downloadable cookbook that includes all new photography, new stories and a month of cookie recipes: 15 favorite recipes from the Two Peas and Their Pod blog plus 15 new cookie recipes created specifically for Cookie Cravings. I can verify they are all delicious after nibbling my way through the cookie cornucopia as I photographed and styled them for the book. My skinny jeans are officially on vacation.

And just like they say during late night T.V., “But wait! That’s not all!”continue to the recipe… about Announcing the Cookie Cravings Cookbook Plus a Giveaway

Announcing > Cookie Cravings Cookbook and Nutella No-Bake Cookies

Yep, it’s been one of those weeks. As in: Awesome.

It started off with a fantastic weekend when we surprised Smudge and her 7 y.o. bestie with a trip to Vegas for the Tour Concert Debut of her fave Nickelodeon band Big Time Rush. I think I liked the concert as much as she did—hello boy crush? It was hilarious when she put two and two together and figured out—and was SHOCKED—to learn that her “teen idols” were all of 23 years old. Oh, show bizness.

Our visit to the Neon Boneyard was beyond our expectations and a weekend stay at the incredible Loews Lake Las Vegas was followed by an amazing food buffet—and I mean GOOOD as in crab legs, shrimp and champagne galore—at M Las Vegas—a Best-Of suggestion from one of my L.V. resident besties. Thanks Chan!

And then it was straight hone to the big project that’s been filling my weekends and night-times with even more love, more food—definitely not the diet kind—and more laughter.

I’m so excited to announce that I’ve partnered with Maria and Josh of Two Peas and Their Pod to photograph, design and co-publish their first e-Cookbook, Cookie Cravings.

Maria, who the Pioneer Woman herself affectionately calls “The Cookie Queen”, and I met over three years ago and we’ve done several fun projects together, including Maria’s contributing editor duties for Foodie Crush magazine. And I can verify first-hand that the girl can bake cookies.

Maria and Josh have been asked to do cookbooks before but for some reason or another it just didn’t work out. But now they’re sharing their very favorite cookie recipes as well as some delicious, never before published cookie creations.

And lucky me! Maria curated her favorite cookie recipes, and then created some amazing, brand new recipes, and I got to take pics of all of them, design the e-Cookbook and lend my years of publishing expertise to get the project rolling.

We’re so excited to share Cookie Cravings with you. And of course, Maria’s first cookbook is all about cookies, SHE IS THE COOKIE QUEEN, RIGHT?

continue to the recipe… about Announcing > Cookie Cravings Cookbook and Nutella No-Bake Cookies

Market Street Grill Fried Calamari and Plate to Pixel Food Photography Workshop

What do you get when you take Utah’s gorgeous summer light, a room of aspiring food photographers itching to master their cameras plus an even more enlightening photography and food styling instructor?

For 13 lucky students it all added up to Tartelette’s Helene Dujardin‘s SLC Food Photography Workshop at the base of Utah’s Big Cottonwood Canyon—Market Street Grill Cottonwood.

FoodieCrush Magazine presents the SLC Plate to Pixel Food Photography Workshop

Jim of Fab Frugal Food, Sandra of Everyday Southwest and Radhika of Just Homemade wonder which one was shot with natural light and which with strobe? Only the photographer knows.

Market Street Grill Cottonwood

Helene lines up her shot—and scores

from left > Becky of Vintage Mixer, Maria of Two Peas and Their Pod, Annalise of Completely Delicious, Kelley of Mountain Mama Cooks

Looks like Dara of Cookin’ Canuck ‘s food photo bible has been put to the test

The click-clack of computer keyboards and scribbling in notepads was swift and constant as attendees copiously took notes—getting hands-on answers from Helene herself to the questions every aspiring food photographer wants to know:

what ISO & F-stop do you shoot in? (she shoots mostly on Aperature priority but also manual in her studio since she knows the lighting conditions intimately. Do what feels right and you do best, nobody will be the wiser when they look at the shot so long as its exposed correctly)
how do you use fill cards and what the heck are they? (white foam core to reflect and bounce light into your subject, black to absorb light and take it away)
how do you style your pics to make them look so yummy? (hold back a few items/ingredients from the recipe to use as props in the shot, like a squeezed lemon or a couple of berries and sugar to tell a story through your propping and storyboards)
do you shoot with lights and if so what studio lighting kit do you use? (not much but when she does, it’s this one).

Reviewing shots while shooting tethered with Lightroom

Sasha of SashaTenorio and Radhika of Just Homemade soaking it all in

from left > Maria of Two Peas and Their Pod, Deborah of Taste and Tell, Misty of Sticks in the Mud , Lindsey of Cafe Johnsonia, Annelise of Completely Delicious and Shirley of Munchkins Are Us

Lightroom tips and tricks

Shooting from above? Shoot straight down. On the ground. Kinda like a rock…rock…rock…rock lobster.

Through a thoughtful presentation showcasing step by step examples of her own photo work plus the photo tips and styling tricks that have taken her from amateur foodie photog blogger to a sought after commercial entity, Helene brought her book Plate to Pixel to life for the studious crew.

When working with long tendrils of pasta, do the twist

The essentials: good lenses, clamps, reflectors, Plate to Pixel bible and pretty food

from left > Deborah of Taste and Tell, Becky of Vintage Mixer, Winter of The Redd Party, Annalise of Completely Delicious, Kelley of Mountain Mama Cooks , and Misty of Sticks In the Mud

Market Street Grill’s Fresh Atlantic Salmon and creamy caesar dressed salad

After a tasty lunch it was time to roll up the sleeves and get to work—to get to the guts of the day, where the real teaching went into full metal jacket action.

As the photographers maneuvered their way through sets of 4-Layer Decadent Chocolate Cake to Fried Calamari to Cajun Fettucini, Helene shadowed each photographer and assisted in creating their own photos. She answered questions about composition, exposure and anything that came to the minds of these insatiable picture takers.

Radihka shoots Cajun Fettucine

Dara of Cookin’ Canuck and Aggie of Aggie’s Kitchen get coaching from Helene

Deborah of Taste and Tell takes on the 4 Layer Chocolate Cake

There was a bun in the oven, but whose was it?

Helene coaches lighting techniques—bounce and reflect

In addition to a gift certificate donated by Koo de Ker Boutique, some of the the su-weet swag in our goodie bags included Chocolat Artisnal Chocolates, Sweet Tooth Fairy Cake Bites, Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals makeup and a custom print and notebook to keep track of all those tips.

Sandra, Deborah and Misty work the reflectors; goodies from the goodie bags

Radhika of Just Homemade, was FoodieCrush’s contest winner and flew in from Houston TX to attend the conference. For just one day. Yes, she wanted it THAT bad!

and that bun in the oven is Maria’s soon to be pea

Wow. It was a seriously big day for everyone that attended, inspiring so many ideas, images and notebooks full of tips. Thank you Helene for letting FoodieCrush be a part of it, we loooove photography and influencing aspiring photographers in hopes to see more of it in the pages of our upcoming magazine and the blog.

To see more pics from the day, check out our facebook workshop album.

Huge thanks to Market Street Grill for hosting the event. And to give you a taste of the deliciousness we experienced, enjoy their recipe for Market Street Fried Calamari.

5 from 1 vote

All photos > foodiecrush

Thanks for reading. If you liked this post, please subscribe to foodiecrush and follow me on twitter and facebook

And the winner of the Tartelette/Helene Dujardin Photo Workshop is…

photo > Helene Dujardin/Tartelette

Look at that gorgeous photo. The lighting, the composition, the styling. All of the elements that make food-picture-making an art. And you ask yourself, “Why can’t I take pictures like her?”

Well now its your chance to be a picture taker and learn from Plate to Pixel, Digital Food Photography and Styling photographer and author Helene Dujardin. We’re pleased to sponsor the workshop and a spot at her Salt Lake City photo workshop at the SLC favorite Market Street Grill Cottonwood.

You commented, you liked and now one of you has won.

And the winner is:

Radhika from the blog Just Homemade. Congrats Radhika, we’ll see you in July.

Thanks for reading. If you liked this post, please subscribe to foodiecrush and follow me on twitter.

Helene Dujardin of Tartelette plus Photo Workshop Giveaway

You see it immediately in the photographs of the recipes she creates. Photographs that are effortlessly styled, that convey a simplicity that sweetly echoes her deliciously fresh and never forced rustic flair. It just organically shines through: Heart and soul.

As a former pastry chef, Helene Dujardin brings that heart and soul to the table. A self taught photographer and stylist—recently named Saveur.com’s 2011 Best Special Interest blog thanks to a gluten-free focus—Helene imparts her French roots, memories and traditions into her warm and welcoming writings, photos and recipes on the award winning blog Tartelette.

Helene’s recipes trend toward the sweet rather than savory with tempting takes on sweets such as Roasted Apricots and Lavender Panna Cotta and Plum Raspberry Cardamom Crumbles. In my mind (and I’m sure for many of her readers) Helene’s recipes and musings create the illusion that if we shared the same neighborhood I might catch her at the weekend farmer’s market where she’d be searching out fresh, seasonal produce, visiting with vendors and friends and then bicycling back home on her old-school cruiser, her bike basket overflowing with fresh produce and a bottle of wine.

She’d be off to create a quick Blackberry Apple Galettes and Burnt Sugar Ice Cream, a dessert that perfumes her home, tempting neighbors to drop in to enjoy an afternoon sweet and a chilled glass of fresh lemonade in the backyard, under the pecan tree.

Ahhhh, tranquility with a touch of romance.

But behind the tranquil Tartelette there is a woman who doesn’t quit moving, who has her hands in multiple projects and is generous to offer advice and friendship to fellow food bloggers and followers. After photographing several cookbooks including Deliciously Organic, Tart Love and Basic to Brilliant, Y’all, Helene is now sharing her expertise as a food photographer, stylist and teacher in her recently released book Plate to Pixel, Digital Food Photography and Styling.

We wanted to get to know Helene beyond the blog, to see if our romanticized perceptions of her life were notions or reality.

Thank you Helene, for being our foodiecrush!

1. Describe your blog in 3 words:
Nostalgic. Heartfelt. Storytelling.

2. If you could be one food blogger other than yourself, who would you be?
My friend Anita from Married With Dinner. Because she’s smart, generous, honest. Now, Anita is part of a trio I call “the three muskeeters” because they hold me tight and are the embodiment of authenticity. So ideally, I’d love to be 1/3 Anita, 1/3 Jen and 1/3 Jeanne

3. Which 3 blogs do you follow/are obsessed with/can’t live a day without?
Décor 8 by Holly Becker
A Photo Editor by Rob Haggart
Ordinary Courage by Brené Brown
Lots of style, lots of photography and lots of soul. Not necessarily obsessed with but definitely checking every day!

4. What is the one kitchen tool you could never give up?
My chef knife. Shorter blade from my days back at the restaurant to fit my small hands. Close second would be my whisk.

5. What dish are you obsessed with mastering that you just can’t get quite right?
My dad’s Osso Bucco. That’s his signature dish.

6. What did you have for dinner last night?
It all came from the farmers market here in Charleston: pork chop I get from my friend Jason’s company Meathouse, oven “fried” green tomatoes and field peas salad (heirloom tomatoes, avocado, field peas, vinaigrette). Truly, I have embraced my Southern home!

7. What’s one secret talent outside of the kitchen nobody knows about you:
I have the biggest memory bank you’ll ever find. I remember everything. Hands down seriously. It’s a bit of a curse a times because I can’t avoid a situation by simply saying “I don’t remember.” Ok, so it’s not a real talent. How about this? I can’t sit still and just watch TV so I have my cross-stitch next to the couch and cross-stitch away whenever we watch a movie or the news.

8. You’re happiest when cooking/eating:
For the people I love.

9. In your book, Plate to Pixel, you educate the reader about food photography and styling. What is the one technique in food photography or styling you find yourself surprised that you use again and again?
Honestly? All. Everything. Not necessarily together and not always all the time. Seriously though, whether it is camera modes, settings, capturing light and using it, composition or styling, photography is a series of decisions about what resources or techniques you are going to use to help you create a story with a picture. I guess you could say that my one technique would be to focus your sensibility on the story or the person(s) behind the recipe/dish.

10. The one secret ingredient to your success is:
Pour your heart out in everything you do and keep negatives away.

A great note to end on, thanks Helene! And now…

In addition to writing a book, photographing a few cookbooks and writing her blog, Helene teaches hands-on photography and food styling workshops across the country. (also here and here)

Which leads us to our super exciting announcement!

Helene and her students at the Ace Photo Camp in Santa Fe

Helene will be in Park City, Utah where she’ll be leading a workshop on food photography for attendees of the Evo Conference 2011 on Friday, July 8.

But on Wednesday July 6, in celebration of the release of a her book Plate to Pixel, Helene will be leading a food photography and styling workshop here in Salt Lake City, Utah. FoodieCrush is thrilled to sponsor this event and is giving you the opportunity to learn from her in an intimate venue, limited to just 12 students, your cameras and Utah’s gorgeous natural light. And one lucky reader just may get to do it at no cost–FOR FREE!”

You’ll spend the afternoon with Helene and just 12 other students, receiving personal instruction on how to improve your own photography and ultimately, your blog.

To get the class description and reserve a spot, just e-mail photoworkshopslc@gmail.com. Workshop spots will go fast so don’t dilly dally in making your decision.

But, if you don’t happen to make the cut…

We’re giving away ONE FREE SPOT for a lucky FoodieCrush and Taretlette fan. To enter the contest to win the free workshop spot, you must do these two things:

1. Like FoodieCrush magazine and Tartelette on Facebook

2. Leave a comment on this post and tell us why your photography needs Helene’s help.

If you purchase a ticket and win the prize, we’ll refund your money for the original ticket and open the spot to the next in line. Its a win-win all around! Good luck.

all photos courtesy of Helene Dujardin

Thanks for reading. If you liked this post, please subscribe to foodiecrush and follow me on twitter.

Interview with Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites & Giveaway

photo > Gabriel Goldberg

Inspirational. To me that’s the elemental word that describes art director/turned-photographer/turned-blogger Matt Armendariz, creator of the photo-driven blog Matt Bites. Finding Matt’s blog was a turning point for me—proof that you can take a left turn from your original destination and turn a passion into a career.

Migrating from a career as a successful art director and graphic designer, Matt switched career paths and delved headstrong into photography and now creates images for clients like Whole Foods Market, Fiji Water and Pom Wonderful. He’s also been seen in and contributed to Martha Stewart, Cooking Light and Time magazine among others.

Oh yeah, he’s cooked mano a mano with her…

And then of course, at the heart of his foodie empire, there is the blog. Matt Bites was one of the first food blogs I was really attracted to, thanks to Matt’s mad typography skills and creative and conceptual treatments with his photos. Ahhhh, the photos. Yes, I have a major crush on his sumptuous but simply styled photos that are often accented with just a touch of humor. Matt Bites is certainly not your average food blog. But then Matt isn’t your average food blogger.

Matt’s wit, graciousness and self effaced disposition is evident in every word and story he shares. His story telling and generous glimpses into his life and work makes each reader feel as if they could ring him up to meet for happy hour margaritas or shoot him an e-mail for suggestions on the best eats in Georgia. Or Los Angeles. Or Seoul, Korea. (Did I mention he’s also a well-traveled man?)

And now, after working on several cookbook ventures for others, Matt has plunged into the foray himself. Combining talents with husband–partner–and food stylist Adam Pearson, Matt has created the book Food on a Stick!, featuring recipes that are simple to prepare and easy to eat, perfect for noshing while balancing a beverage and mingling with your favorite friends or prepping for a playdate for a gaggle of 9-year-olds. Matt’s humor and playfulness shine through in concept, content and delivery, making Food on a Stick! a go-to appetizer resource for guests of all ages.

As always, we wanted to learn more about the man behind the lens. Thank you Matt for being our foodiecrush!

1. Describe your blog in 3 words:
Fun, irreverent, colorful. Three more words? Honest, scatterbrained, loving.

2. If you could be one food blogger other than yourself, who would you be?
David Lebovitz. I would get to eat pastries all day in Paris, walk the streets with a baguette in my arm and wear a beret. He’s going to kill me for saying all this.

3. Which 3 blogs do you follow/are obsessed with/can’t live a day without?
David Lebovitz – because David really lives life to the fullest and offers his take like no other. And even though he’s one of my best friends I’m still obsessed with his blog and his writing because he’s such a wonderful person.
A Photo Editor – I love that Rob keeps me updated with all things photography related. It’s like I get these little photo briefs every day and it keeps me in touch with my photographic side.
The Sartorialist – I love fashion, I love the interesting characters that show up on the pages of Sartorialist.

4. What is the one kitchen tool you could never give up?
A great knife. I can do just about anything. Oh, wait, I mean a bottle opener.

5. What dish are you obsessed with mastering that you just can’t get quite right?
Seafood Crustacean Oil Spaghetti with Sakura Ebi that I had in Singapore. I know I’ll never get it exactly the same but I’d be happy with a decent homemade version. Still can’t get it right.

6. What did you have for dinner last night?
Pizza Margherita done in a true Napoletana style from a pizzeria near my house.

7. What’s one secret talent outside of the kitchen nobody knows about you?
I play the piano.

8. You’re happiest when cooking/eating?
With friends.

9. From your book, On a Stick!, you’ve skewered everything from spaghetti and meatballs to smores. So, what was the most surprising dish on a stick?
I can’t really pick one that was surprising, I think they’re all really flavorful. Chicken and Waffles on a stick is really super delicious, though.

10. The one secret ingredient to your success is:
To smile and be polite. It’s gotten me farther than you’d ever imagine.

FoodieCrush Magazine Matt Armendariz Adam Pearson

photo > Matt Bites

And now you can get a copy of your own to use all summer long. Enter the foodiecrush On a Stick! cookbook GIVEAWAY! Just place a comment at the end of the post and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Matt’s new book, On a Stick!

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