Monday, June 11, 2007
Restaurants / Food media Purty pics of plated food
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Mon, Jun 11, 2007 at 8:44 PM
I'm sure you're diggin' this mouthwatering picture of my leftover $64 Porterhouse bone at the new Kevin Rathbun Steak. (More about that farther down.) Yes, I'm making a statement.
Perhaps you have noticed that I don't take a lot of pictures of individual plates of food, as many bloggers do. There are a couple of reasons. The first is that I'm not that skilled as a photographer.
The second is that two decades ago I spent a couple of years as editor of a glitzy home-and-garden magazine. I got really sick of looking at complexly styled food (as well as interiors, gardens and architecture). Basically a still-life composition, the usual photo of a plate of food seeks to be seductive rather than representational. (And you would not believe some of the crap professional food stylists use to "preserve" and enhance a plate of food for a photo session.)
Of course, presentation is part of what makes food appetizing, but the food photograph, styled by a professional, is an art quite independent of the chef's art, no matter how good she is at plating. "Photographs beautify," Susan Sontag wrote. You can't intelligently look at a food photograph without thinking about "authenticity" of depiction. Just take a look at the fast-food images I linked to last week to see how far that can go. (It's also true, naturally, that a bad photograph can as easily misrepresent a chef's work.)
It doesn't have to be this way, at least not all the time. (And it doesn't have to be gnawed bones, either.) Examples of the different directions photography can take from the usual food magazines were displayed quite well in last year's "Feed Your Imagination" contest sponsored by Observer Food Monthly in the U.K. The contest asked readers to submit photographs in three categories: "Food and People," "Food for Thought" and "Food, Glorious Food."
Most of the photographs depart from the usual faux representation of the still life and themselves express an opinion. Most all put food in a context much larger than artistic beautification.
Now back to Kevin Rathbun Steak. I had a good meal there last week and my first-impression review will be in the paper later this week. The place was packed on a Monday night and is no doubt destined to be a winner. It was so crowded I couldn't even get in the bar to check it out.
Rathbun has hired a great staff, including Clay Williams (pictured here). Clay was most recently assistant manager of Chops. He is a friend of my niece Jocelyn and has dined with us before, so I was unable to graze anonymously at the new restaurant. I'm going to have to develop some disguises. Does anyone know what Meridith Ford looks like? Maybe I could fashion a disguise in her image.
like
dislike
Latest in Omnivore
-
The Montauk Grifter: How to con your way into the kitchen 1
How Dan Kaufman conned his way into a big name in the food industry.
-
Weekend Food Events, Feb. 17-19: Pet parade dinner, Atlanta Chef's Expo, and more
Restaurant events for the weekend of Feb. 17-19.
-
Mardi Gras restaurant events in Atlanta: Where to eat, party and les bon your temps 1
Break out your multi-colored beads!
- More »
Author Archives
-
If you love him, insist he make his own sausage...or something
And what is a food dude, anyway?
-
From accused scammers to stinky cheese
Mainly unpleasant food in the news
- More »
