Food Photography to whet your appetite
A few days ago, I had the pleasure of photographing a collection of breakfast and brunch dishes created by Mark Kempson, the chef behind Kensington’s Michelin-starred Kitchen W8. The brief was to showcase game meat in dishes that might make you rethink what belongs on the breakfast table.
When we think of game, we often imagine an autumn roast or a hearty winter supper. Breakfast probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. That made this shoot particularly interesting: an opportunity to see a familiar meal approached with fresh ideas and some exceptional cooking.
Game offers a delicious alternative to the chicken, beef and pork we tend to reach for out of habit. There’s a huge variety of flavours to explore, from venison to pheasant and partridge, each bringing its own character to a dish. It also encourages us to think more about seasonality and where our ingredients come from. You don’t need to reserve it for an elaborate dinner; with a little imagination, it can find a place in everyday cooking too.
Mark is a wonderful advocate for that approach. His enthusiasm for game is matched by the creativity he brings to preparing it. These breakfast and brunch dishes showed how inventive cooking can introduce an ingredient in a way that feels approachable, appealing and worth trying.
What I particularly admire is that his imagination always serves the food. There’s plenty of skill involved, but the pleasure of eating the dish comes first. His respect for ingredients and passion for British seasonal produce were evident throughout the shoot.
For me, it was a real treat to work with such an outstanding chef and photograph food that looked every bit as good as it tasted. Each dish offered something different to capture, and the photographs will hopefully encourage a few more people to give game a go.
Of course, one of the perks of photographing food is getting to sit down and eat it afterwards. Every dish was utterly delicious. I’d like to call that research, although going back for seconds probably stretches the definition. 😉
