Some of you may be asking yourself this question – what use does foodstyling have outside of a movie set or set, and does it even exist? Is it worth working with a food stylist, for example, in a restaurant? I'm answering!
I will start by saying that food, as such, is inherently so charming that it is beautiful in itself and therefore requires no additional means to emphasize it. Sometimes it just requires that it also becomes appetizing – then the beauty must be brought out. That is, to reveal in it its own charm, that is, color and shape.
All this is in order to directly show its qualities, which speak about its appetitiveness. You might think, like nothing, and yet!
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First, let's assume that we divide restaurants into two types:The first type is the one with author's cuisine, where the chef (chef) is responsible for the menu and presentation of dishes, and the second is chain restaurants, where the menu is often determined from top to bottom.
In the first case, the food stylist's job may take some form of consulting with the chef, which is mostly about the technical aspect, that is, preparing the dish so that you can take a few pictures of it and it still looks perfect. Such collaboration can take place, for example, when creating photos for a map of dishes or any other form of their exposure. Secondly, such cooperation can be much more reasonable. For who, if not a food stylist, will prepare perfectly appetizing dishes so that, based only on photos, a potential client can see and choose what they would like to eat? These photos can also be a great tool for working in the kitchen, based on which its employees can see a sample dish and can easily reproduce it.
Here are some examples - for example, chain burgers, restaurants that serve pizza, or even ordinary small restaurants (popular in the east of the world), where thanks to the photo, the customer can imagine the dish they choose. Often it is so exotic and unfamiliar that visualization is very desirable. Sometimes even this visualization has a 3D dimension. before entering the restaurant in the shop windows, in addition to the menu card, we see Mockups of dishes displayed, based on which we can easily make a choice of what we want to eat.
Here Working as a foodstylist can be just like working as a makeup artist for an actor in a movie. There are often big headlines in the newspapers. ... actress x is seen on the street without makeup! and everyone is thrilled that someone without makeup looks just ordinary.
Briefly: if Mr. Burger could have gone outside alone, he might have gotten that comment, too. This is why it is so important that the food presented in the photo creates the same working environment as the actors. That is, take care of them so that the time and conditions on the set (for example, temperature) do not significantly affect their appearance. In addition to the purely technical component, there are other aspects of this cooperation.
One contributes to a better representation of the product that we show in the offer. The second one is intended for more effective sales of the proposed product. Which model someone uses depends only on the client. I would like to make it clear at this stage that the operation of the foodstylist does not affect the customer's decision and choice in the method of selling the product. In this matter, we are just a tool in the hands of the client. We help you visualize the image of their product. Of course, sometimes this is close to reality, sometimes very far from it... However, our topic is not to evaluate this phenomenon.
Source: Pinterest
Example 1.
A chain company that sells hamburgers both in Poland and around the world.
In this case, the foodstylist's job is to create a delicious-looking burger, drink, or French fries. For the most part, everything is based on original ingredients, and the challenge of foodstylist is to show the dish in a convincing way and show as many ingredients as possible that make up a particular food.
Sometimes the use of small tricks-for example, gently deflecting the top of the bun allows you to accurately show its inner part. When you move ingredients to the foreground, you get the impression that there are more of them. Dewy lettuce or tomato, adds juiciness and freshness…
All the work is aimed at showing in the best possible way what is available in the offer. Without adding any "bonuses", nothing more, except what is in the composition of this dish. I can't resist quoting here the famous scene from the movie" The Fall " starring Michael Douglas. 31 years later, the character in this movie, in a different restaurant, should have been able to shake off his frustration. ☺
Example 2.
Online retail store m.in. cold and warm snacks and ready meals.
In this case, the foodstylist task is more complex. Namely, it consists in creating a product based on the original product, a product that looks excessively appetizing, delicious, using all possible ingredients (not necessarily in the form in which they are present in the product). Different call, different means of operation. Of course, the goal remains the same. Sale.
Example 3.
Chain restaurants located at gas stations where food is prepared by employees of those stations who are not cooks. In this case, thanks to the collaboration with foodstylist, photos were created showing step-by-step the process of preparing a sandwich and dish, so that everyone can see what the final product looks like.
Thanks to this visual aid and photos on the menu, also created in collaboration with foodstylist, the customer knows what they expect, and the specified employee knows exactly what they should cook.
To sum up, can the work of a food stylist be useful for a restaurant?
It depends on whether someone wants such cooperation and whether they see the space for it. Most of the time, we're not chefs, but we know each other pretty much in the kitchen as well as cooking. We don't create a taste because we don't see it, but we can create an image. Modern social culture is gradually forcing people to switch to "pictorial"writing instead of reading. That's why the role of foodstylist makes sense and will continue to make more and more sense, after all, each of us – willy-nilly-eats with our eyes.
Junior specialist in Marketing Communications and PR.
He is a graduate of the University of Warsaw and the Main School of Agriculture. We have been in the HoReCa industry for more than 10 years. For many years, he has been associated with the Trip group, Sobienie Royal Golf and Country Club, and the Florentin Restaurant in Warsaw.
She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw Technical University with a degree in Architecture for the Knowledge Society and Visual Communications at the Polytechnic University of Milan. A specialist in creating a mood. She has gained experience at home and abroad at numerous international seminars (Seville, Lisbon, Florence), fellowships at La Sapienza (Rome), etc. m.in. in Carmi e Ubertis and ADM Milano.
A manager with many years of experience in the cosmetics, food, and children's industries. During his career, he was associated with such companies as: L'Oreal, Samsung, Danone-Nutricia, Unilever. During his professional life, he was responsible, among other things, for the development of e-commerce sales and content in Poland and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. 
