Diana Henry’s Buratta & Pumpkin salad, one of the delicious vegetarian recipes
NEW AWARDS
PINK LADY Cream of the Crop winners & Wine - people
(also a winner in the US Colour Awards & AOP )
Leafy shadows and sun ripened vegetables
Chefs, pre diner drinks at Chateau Bagnol, Lyon
PINK LADY FOOD PHOTO AWARDS 22
I still can’t tell you which of the 3 pictures are in the Finals of the Pink Lady Awards. Over 80,000 images were entered with 3 of my images in the final 50-60 images. There were some superb photos submitted from all over the world.
Later in April I can publish which 3 have got through?
MORE AWARD SUCCESS
I am not allowed to tell you about success in the Pink Lady Awards apart from 3 images have been Shortlisted but I have 3 winners in the Color Awards USA 2022.
The three winners are Ripe Bananas, Buratta winning for the 3rd time and Chefs for the 3rd time.
Ripe Bananas.
Buratta
Chefs, Chateau de Bagnols, Lyon, France.
STILL LIFE - THE HUMBLE BANANA
Still life may be considered a weird subject but one that is fascinating. It allows you to make an everyday object extraordinary.
Surfaces, outlines and shapes, reflections are often crucial to making the photo interesting. Often there’s a fine line between an image being wonderful or boring.
An example can be clearly seen with my award winning Whippet photo. We all know what they look like but can you show it in a slightly different way with a slight twist or from a different angle? Do you need to see the head?
I shoot more and more ingredients and the skills learned from being a still life photographer enable me to make a simple ingredient more interesting. The most everyday object can be beautiful.
OFM - NEW PROJECT
In my eyes, photography is not just about taking the picture, it’s just as important to arrange all the components, the correct food & props stylist so everyone is working and pulling in the same direction with the right props, backgrounds & foods.
I love briefing out the props and backgrounds so the stylist can go out and do her magic. Without good props our work is very tough.
On a lovely OFM brief with River Cafe Chef, Joe Trivelli I could put my skills into practice. The recipes were wonderful and I thoroughly recommended them for Easter.
Smoked haddock, samphire, sun-dried tomatoes, green olives, lemon peel, garlic drenched in olive oil.
I love this simple execution, i tried it looser, with cutlery, more bread but the oval plate was so good, with amazing food, it just didn’t need it.
Shaved asparagus, a hint of anchovy with eggy pasta.
The simplest pastas are often the best; I love this surface
Mussel & tomato soup served on a friselle to absorb all the juices; friselle are similar to a bagel and originate from Puglia.
The pork is browned off before putting in the oven for a slow roast with stuffed artichoke hearts.
Sliced stuffed pork plated with the delicious artichoke hearts. I really like this shot, there’s beauty in the messiness. These shots can look very contrived but I think this works. (there are some awful supermarket alternatives out at the moment, which is a shame as they never looked so bad).
The lamb & potato casserole soaked in red wine with capers & bay. I worried about this shot, it not only tasted wonderful but looked amazing too. Relieved and happy.
I try not to add cutlery unnecessarily, but I think the spoon works?
All the dishes tasted so good, so cook the recipes in the Easter Observer Food Monthly..
Thanks to my wonderfully organised assistant, Tom Teesdale, food stylist Rosie Mackean (& assistant Holly) & Tamsin Weston who always brings great props & surfaces. Everyone did such a great job, thank you.
MORE DELICIOUS READY MEALS
Ready meals used to be a ‘Dirty” word and predicted to disappear in 2010 but now with more and more food delivered to our doors post covid, they really are returning stronger than ever.
My Local Kitchen recipes are written by chef Garry Hollihead who has won 3 Michelin *** around the globe and head chef at the Embassy Club during the Brit Pop days
Japanese fiery broth
Sri Lankan coconut fish curry
Pistachio flat breads
Banana, rum and raisin bread with salted caramel
GETTIN' DIRTY WITH IT
I have been shooting a lovely project for the Kew Garden Cookbook with two lovely ladies from Kew, Gina & Lydia and Jenny Linford a food book author on over 20 cook books, many of which we have in our kitchens.
I have been shooting mainly in London but several ingredients were shot at home use my flagstones around the house and stables.
I always like looking at the humble background of how a shot was taken, the old bits of wood holding backgrounds up etc. In this case the pumpkins stood up perfectly balanced by themselves and were still there the following day despite the gales, before being wheel-barrowed off to our lane annual charity for Cancer Research.
Our little winding country lane in Sussex grows about 350-500 pumpkins and about 200 chillies every year with all proceeds going to Cancer Research. We all have friends and family who have lost lives to cancer so it’s nice being able to give back.
PROVENANCE
Italian produce is so good, wonderful sun-ripened fruit and vegetables that just need a drizzle of oil or stacciatella served with the sweet tomatoes.
Basket of mixed Italian tomatoes and aubergines
Served slice with stracciatella & olive oil
Marcelo’s fine crop of aubergine
Ivana’s farm fresh eggs
HUMBLE ONION BHAJI
One of my favourite ever foods to eat is the humble onion bhaji and no one cooks it better than head chef Sham at the https://newicktandoori.com
So many Indian restaurants cook a horribly floury version but at the Newick Tandoori, they’re wonderfully crisp and packed full of flavour with a sweetened dipping sauce. Amazing, you’ll have to try them…
Best ever mouthful of food, a real contender
GOLDEN HOUR
I love the golden softness of the sunlight light during ‘golden hour’. It’s magical…
Tuscan cactus
HOMEGROWN VEG
We all love going out to restaurants but often they’re using the wonderful produce we grow at home. A sun ripened, home grown tomato is hard to beat.
Just add a sprinkle of rock salt and a drizzle of oil or roast at 200C for 5minutes and then reduce the heat to 120C for 5 hours, grind some black pepper & throw in some garlic.
NEWICK TANDOORI
Every restaurant needs an owner and chef who’s excited by what they cook and serve.
At the Newick, a tandoori frequented by celebs Piers Morgan, Sky News Adam Bolton and various BBC presenters to name a few, the owner chef Sham loves creating in the kitchen and brings out various wonderful creations whether it’s Pink Prawn Biryani or Tandoori Partridge.
We had a wonderful day shooting slow cooked beef curry cooked in milk and pink prawn biryani, plus a host of other dishes , restaurant and portraits.
We went home feeling exceedingly full!!
Chef & proprietor Sham Haque
Slow cooked beef shin in milk.
Pink prawn biryani
Tandoori sea bass with a special tomato sauce
BACON NAAN DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME - DISHOOM
What a way to start the day with Dishoom.
A freshly rolled & cooked naan bread, free range crispy bacon. yoghurt, sweet chilli jam & coriander.
MY LOCAL KITCHEN - READY MEALS
My Local Kitchen serves up Fish, Meat & Vegetarian ready meals prepared by Michelin* chef Garry Hollihead.
Hugh shot several dishes in a Soho Hotel during lockdown in a very quiet West End.
Each section had an introductory shot showing the provenance of the ingredient.
Persian saffron chicken
Lamb shank pie
Beef short ribs
Michelin starred chef at three different restaurants, Garry Hollihead
Cauliflower ingredient shot
Keen’s cheddar soufflé
Vegan pepper couscous
Tofu
WHEN THE GOING GET'S TOUGH, THE TOUGH KEEP GOING...
The Pink Lady Food awards goes from strength to strength with over 10,000 entries from all over the world. It’s becoming very competitive with no respect given to well known photographers from London.
I note there was only one other photographer who i see as a competitor to myself in the finalist list. This proves it is very tough. The overall winner will always be a steamy type of shot as most judges are UK based and these scenes from hot foreign countries always look very appealing (& new). A shot of someone picking a cabbage in Suffolk may struggle against rice pickers in Bali??
JUST SCOOPED THE BIG PRIZE FROM LA
Last Saturday the International Color Awards were announced & guess who not only won but also picked up 2 other major prices & more nominations.
I love hearing my name read out …!!
Organic market cabbages
Serial award winner
Wild mushrooms, dirty hands
Cabbage parcels
Quince in hand
San Francisco sour dough
JUST LOVE WINNING AWARDS #PINKLADYFOODPHOTOGRAPHEROFTHEYEAR
I am a serial lover of winning photo awards, it’s the stamp of approval from within the industry.
Please never stop sending me these emails:
Dear Hugh,
CONGRATULATIONS!
We are delighted to inform you that your entry, as detailed below, has been selected as a Finalist entry for Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2021.
· Home-made Italian Buratta & extra virgin olive oil Marks & Spencer Food Portraiture
HEROES
HAPPY 74th BIRTHDAY DAVID BOWIE
David is such a legend and I have followed his career since watching Ziggy; it's such a huge loss to the world of music not having him around.
My first job was photographing him on his Isolar11 tour for three days at Earls Court for RCA. I was still at Art college & prob didn't appreciate how lucky I was. I always loved Bowie but when you're young you presume the rest of your life will be like this.
I loved the Low & Heroes cold war Berlin days with big influences from Eno & Iggy. I also love the Young American album & Studio 54 Warhol era. Of course Ziggy Stardust is amazing & so many others...!
https://www.bowiebible.com/albums/welcome-to-the-blackout-live-london-78/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sq6_NVrKeshttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D1Sq6_NVrKes
The shoot was part of a film directed by David Hemmings, another hero of mine (& every photographer) who starred in Antonioni's sixties classic Blow Up; the film remains unfinished. These dates were the end of his European tour and recorded as a live album by Tony Visconti and released as Stage.
Sadly both David's can never be replaced.
What are your favourite Bowie albums?
TALKING SAUSAGES
In Italy, sausages are so fresh you can eat them raw, but on a snowy Tuscan day cooked & sizzling on a grill they’re pretty irresistible.
In Italy, everyone loves having their photo taken. The idea of playing the role of Rocky is too tough to turn down