Food Photography Workshop

It is very common nowadays to see people having their plate served to them in a restaurant and letting their food go cold just to take that obligatory food shot.  Well, if you can't lick them, might as well join them.  And since I'm guilty of it too, why not take print worthy pictures then.  You see my daughter used to take my food photos until she left for college.  So on October 2010, I joined a food photography workshop given by Joy Jesena-Barcelon.  Interesting as she actually taught us how to, among others, make do with common items that can give you that extra lighting you need, a flashlight!  Yes, you read it right, a flashlight! We're not professional photographers you know, so naturally we don't have any of their sophisticated equipment.  But you will be surprised at just how you can take good photos even without these.  Of course a good SLR camera will help although these were just taken with a Canon iXus but besides that, composition is really the key. Again, I was honored to have been asked to provide my salad rolls while the others provided dessert for us to shoot.

Fresh Vietnamese rolls

Fresh salad rolls with ground pork, water chestnuts and fresh basil

Fresh salad rolls with smoked milkfish, salted eggs, tomatoes and green onions

Lemon Bars by Veronica Singson de Tagle

Cream Puffs by Veronica Singson de Tagle

Connecting Foodies, COOK magazine

Fresh from my first private dinner in June 2010 and still brimming with excitement, here is my very first feature in COOK magazine, Connecting Foodies.  And it just wasn't about the dinner, there were snippets of my life as a foodie and my other holiday food offerings.  Overjoyed and filled with pride!

The Home Chef... a Private Dinner

It all started with a Christmas dinner for close friends in 2009 (see previous post).  All coming from the south, we refused to brave the holiday traffic in search of a restaurant and so they hatched an idea.  "Why not cook for us and we'll just pay you?"  Were they serious?!?

In June 2010, I launched The Home Chef private dinners in my home. Having participated in two of the food blogger, Anton Diaz's Ultimate Taste Test events where I got the public's approval and had therefore earned the honor of being featured in his blog, I invited him to be the first to try it.  Little did I know that he would ask Nancy Reyes Lumen to join his group.  I welcomed my first guest into my home and after the introductions and a little conversation, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach and tried not to dash off to my kitchen.  Trying to quell my excitement I slid beside my daughter who was taking photographs in the kitchen and let go of a muffled scream in her ear.

"Guess who's here for dinner?!?"
"Who?"
"Oh, just the editor of Cook magazine!"
"Whaaaaat?!?"

Sensing both my apprehension and excitement she went on to assure me.  "Oh mommy, you can do it!"

I gave her a smile and just like that, I went back inside wanting to make sure the other guests had arrived.  Then I returned to the kitchen and went head on with the cooking, praying to God that all turns out well.

I cooked, plated and, after the last course was served, joined my guests, relaxed and just enjoyed the evening.  Nancy excused herself as she had to leave early but not without first asking me if I would agree to be featured in her magazine.  Of course, I was enveloped with a sense of pride and thanked her for gracing my first private dinner.

Not only did I get featured in the Cook magazine, I too was again featured in Anton's blog.  Later on, I was again honored to be included in "Private Kitchens" in Lifestyle Asia magazine and "10 Private Dining Spots in Manila" in www.spot.ph.  Thank you for the features.  It was indeed a pleasure having you as my first guests.

It all starts with the menu, all personally hand crafted for that elegant look...

then the table is set

back in the kitchen, the food preparation starts, fresh tomatoes are ready to be chopped

and while it's roasting in the oven

cocktails are prepared, Orange Pineapple Spritzer with Apples and fresh Mint

and Crostini with Roasted Vegetables and Sardines in Olive Oil

preparing the salad now for service

Arugula Roasted Pepper Salad with Seared Rib-eye Steak

then the rest follow, Pasta with Seafood and Anchovies

Pollo al' Aretina

and to cap the dinner, Bailey's Chocolate Mousse on Graham Cookie Crust

Thank you!