FOOD STYLING at The MAYA KITCHEN

May 7, 2011, Saturday, 9am to 3pm

I was late in arriving last Saturday, May 7, 2011, and Chef Teo already had the class’ as he went about his talks about what Food Styling is all about and his various accomplishments in this field. And I thought that I was in for several hours of food decorating and plating techniques, but I guessed I was wrong…

          It was a unique lecture and demonstration that well known food stylist Chef Theo Zaragoza shared with students and the media recently at The Maya Kitchen.  The event started with a very informative talk which touched on the whys and hows of food styling.

According to Chef Theo, food styling is the art of bringing food to life, of preserving the natural appeal of food to ensure that it looks its best in front of the camera.

Chef Teo

The chef also differentiated between food styling and food presentation. Whereas food presentation requires that hot food is served hot and cold food is served cold, food styling, in most instances, require room temperature. Food handling is kept to a minimum in presentation while in styling, food is meant to be held and not eaten. In the pursuit of perfection, food styling invariably leads to food wastage, something that is not allowed in presentation. The most glaring difference is that food is half cooked or not cooked at all in styling.

To further illustrate his points, Chef Theo held a hands-on workshop by dividing the class into four groups. He then did step-by-step styling of fresh vegetable salad, pizza, fruit trifle and roast chicken. Chef Theo shared his styling secrets for each dish like how to create height and achieve the right color for the salad; how to create the thick, rich cheese strings seen on TV when a pizza slice is lifted; how to perfect the layer-by-layer look of a refreshing fruit trifle and how to achieve that appetizing rich brown color of a roasted chicken.

Chef Theo Zaragoza was a student of internationally-renowned stylist Dolores Custer. His very own Resultado Gourmet Designs, Co. is now an in-demand food styling firm in the advertising industry. They have done cook books, TV and print ads and editorial work for some of the country’s biggest food brands.

    For more information on other courses offerings, log on to www.themayakitchen.com or e-mail contactus@themayakitchen.com  

We really had fun doing the step-by-step styling of the three dishes, the fresh veggie salad, the fruit trifle, and the roast chicken, and laughed at ourselves as we saw our own creations being photographed and how they would look like when seen on the TV screens. Here, take a look at the photos and judge for yourself.  

Delicioso! Fresh Veggie Salad

Kiwi-Mango Fruit Trifle. Yummy!

Roast Herb Chicken with Baby Potatoes and Carrots

   And now I really do looked, not only once but twice, at food photos and food TVCs, wondering how much effort, how much spoilage, and how many takes were made during each and every photo. Thanks to Chef Teo, now I know. . .