Food styling is the art of presenting food for photos or movies. Wherever it is-whether in a photo, on packaging, in advertising, in a color magazine, or in a cooking show-there is (or should be) also a food stylist, who is an integral part of the creation process. Is food styling a "product" of our time? It turns out ... no. So, find out its history!
Food styling – how did it start?
It can be assumed that the profession of food stylist has existed for several centuries. For reference: even in pre-war times (before the First World War), in rich houses there was always a person who was called home economist. She performed the functions of a person who was engaged in organizing the life of the kitchen, ordered the products necessary for food at home, compiled the menu, organized the work of the rest of the service, and monitored expenses... interestingly, in Anglo-Saxon countries (Great Britain, Australia), a person who is engaged in the profession of a food stylist, especially on the set, is still called home economist.
This was followed by an era of magazines and cookbooks for which women involved in the household wrote. The demand for this type of publishing house arose because, after many wars and other "riots", societies began to migrate, moving to cities in search of work and a better, easier future.
Back then, young housewives, young women, were cut off from their family homes – and it was there that they learned for centuries the knowledge of widely understood cuisine and organization passed down by their mothers or grandmothers. Times have changed – information had to be obtained as if "from the outside", that is, from newspapers and books.
Interesting fact: This is mentioned by Maria Ochorowicz-Monatowa in the introduction to her book Universal Cookbook. Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa also refers to this topic in the book 365 meals for 5 PLN.Both of these positions were written in the XIX century.
Examples of stylization in 1910 (Maria Ochorowicz-Monatowa, Universal Cookbook)
Over time, television joined in – first educational cooking programs (who among us hasn't heard of Julia Child?!), then advertising. Demand was growing-not only programs, but also the fast-growing advertising industry needed someone to explain how to prepare something, and at the same time show the finished product in an exceptionally attractive way.
Interesting fact: some top chefs who host their own cooking programs on television, even use the help of several culinary stylists at the same time to implement the production of the program!
The facts are: women went to work, and along with this "phenomenon" ready meals or semi-finished products appeared in stores, allowing them to be quickly prepared. Advertising has arrived, so there's work for food stylists as well. 😊
Examples of the 60s style. (Warsaw cuisine, 1963)
Food styling in Poland
Poland of the 90s. also has joined this trend. And the market for advertising, colorful magazines, and delicious-looking cookbooks began to flourish. While in the beginning the photographers managed to do it themselves (until today, many photographers around the world are engaged in both photography and food styling), professionals from abroad were already hired to implement television commercials.
Examples of the style of the 90s. (Christiane Teubner/Annette Wolter, World cuisine dishes are delicious like never before, 1993)
What is the reason for this?
A food stylist working outside of their home country needs an on – site assistant – someone who will help them organize their work, organize the kitchen and necessary appliances, help them make purchases, and introduce them to the subtleties and aesthetics of Polish cuisine. If, of course, the ad was ordered by a client from Poland…
Sometimes the opposite happened – the customer was a representative of a foreign company. Then it was necessary to help in the organization of purchases, and let's agree - in the 90s. finding foreign food items wasn't one of the easiest tasks. Even if you managed to get artichokes, passion fruit or coconuts somewhere, all the other products grew seasonally and were available locally.
These were not the times of globalization; apart from the bazaar on Polna Street in Warsaw, there was practically no other opportunity to shop. I went to Berlin for them, and several times I happened to fly by plane – to London, Paris, Barcelona... – just to bring back something exotic and out of season.
At that time, I was already working on the set – I was engaged in scenography. I have never been interested in largr decorations, I preferred interior decoration – decor of rooms, windows, walls, cabinets, a table…
As more and more food stylists came from abroad, I began to take orders as their assistant. First, out of pure curiosity – after all, how could I know what kind of job it really was?
However, I soon found out that I liked this job. So I started getting knowledge from them, learning the secrets of the profession, cooking techniques (so that it looks fresh and appetizing longer), the secrets of organizing work and managing people – both those with whom I work on the set, and with food suppliers.
I have worked with many stylists. Over time, I also began to travel around the world – and then I myself needed local assistants. Then it turned out that I was also passing on my knowledge, while at the same time learning a completely different view of my profession in new places.
What conclusions did I come to?
A few words about the profession of a food stylist
Food styling is an incredibly complex process that requires, among other things, a lot of knowledge – both general and, for example, historical (if we are implementing some project related to the past time) - product knowledge and ... patience.
Where does this conclusion come from?
Well, in addition to knowing about a specific product (food product), knowing various cooking techniques and having a large amount of food equipment required for operation, a stylist should also know the basics of culinary art, design, chemistry or physics. In addition, he or she should always be ready to improvise.
Another point to keep in mind is definitely the ability to act under pressure and stress – this job is burdened with time constraints and financial responsibility. By the way, I will also mention the ability to make purchases, or rather, to invent hard-to-find products already, right here and now.
This profession is almost impossible to learn in school or on a course, although I know that it exists. You need to learn it in practice – on the set, from someone who already knows it and performs it.
Working as a food stylist is specific, because food, which is our hero, never perform solo. It needs much more to look good. There's always a clientwho sometimes knows exactly what he wants and expects the perfect realization of his vision, but in many situations this vision is not enough for him, and you need to offer specific aesthetic solutions.
This also comes with director or photographer - everyone works at their own pace and rhythm – and the actors eating this food. Sometimes it's children who won't take anything artificial or unpleasant in their mouth; sometimes it's dogs, cats, or even horses or other animals.For a food stylist, combining aesthetic vision with taste can't be a problem. Our hero - even in spite of possible repetitions of these pictures or photos - should still look fresh and appetizing.
P.S. For those interested in this topic, I recommend the miniseries made by Amazon: James May: Oh Cookwhich amusingly shows how this job looks.
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. 
