It’s always lovely working with Monica Galletti - even if it is a shoot at the end of a full day of filming, at the back end of a ‘red eye’ flight. She’s a true pro that always delivers. This shoot - a commercial shoot for Singleton Whisky - allowed me to step into the film set and shoot her in the surroundings that had already been used for the moving imagery. More from Monica and her collaboration with Singleton to come.
Shot for Bridge Studios/Singleton Whisky
This Anna Jones shoot took place about a year ago, but I never got around to posting it before now. As we’re in January, all struggling through the New Years resolution to get a little healthier and help the environment, I thought there would be no better person to start the year off with than Anna Jones. As far as I am concerned, Anna has written the bible of vegetarian cooking “A Modern Way to Eat”, a book she has followed with her “One Pot, Pan, Planet”. The latter is a book that does not only encourage vegetarian cooking but also how we can cook in a more environmentally friendly way. This shoot was to support an OFM article about Anna Jones and her work as one of UK’s most cherished vegetarian cook book writers.
Shot for OFM
It is always a pleasure getting to work with the team from Cook Magazine in Italy. We have been on many trips and photographed many of the world’s best chefs together. However, this time I was commissioned to photograph the team behind the magazine having Christmas dinner. The dinner consisted of a meal that each member of the magazine associated with Christmas.
For this shoot I arrived in Milan late on the Sunday, Monday morning, bright and early, we took over a section of the exclusive Ginori Chinaware store and got to work dressing the Christmas table. A full team of set designers, flower arrangers, hair and makeup and food stylists were there to help create this feast.
Everyone sat down and I started to photograph. I wanted to suggest that they all raised their glasses and said ‘cheers’ - and I got some blank expressions back. I repeated myself a couple of times before I realised that they all thought I was saying ‘cheese’. The look of disappointment, ‘What has this pandemic done to the photographer - reverting to the good old classic cheese phrase?!’ A look of relief came across everyone’s faces when they realised that I was just trying to get everyone to raise their glasses. Glasses were raised and laughter washed over the uncomfortable quiet caused by the one minute confusion.
A large group shot, 6 individual portraits and 6 plates later - I jumped in the taxi and headed for the airport, back to London….
Shot for Cook Magazine, Corriere Della Sera
Clare Smyth is one of Britain’s best chefs. Her restaurant “Core by Clare Smyth” in Notting Hill has three Michelin Stars and is one of London’s most sought after restaurants. She has been named the World’s Best Female Chef by the World’s 50 Best Restaurant, been the Good Food Guide’s ‘National Chef of the Year’, She got a perfect score by the Good Food Guide. She’s won the Chef Award and she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire - to mention a few of her achievements. Clare is basically “Da Bomb!”
This shoot was a cover shoot for Observer Food Monthly Magazine. A real pleasure working with her and her restaurant.
Shot for Observer Food Monthly Magazine
First time I worked with Rav was for a mothers-day shoot. I was commissioned to photograph her, her mum and her grandma in one shot. When they turned up I did not only meet very nice, fun and friendly Rav, but her mum and grandma were great characters too. Such a great trio! I have to admit that there was a slight language barrier between Rav’s grandma and me - but somehow the humour and a sense of understanding each other was definitely there.
So - it was with great pleasure that I received a commission to photograph the trio again. This time to coincide with Rav’s new book release - as well as the celebration of light day, Diwali. Rav had also brought some friends over to help enhance the feeling of festivity.
In order to give an impression of us celebrating Diwali - I wanted to create a dark and atmospheric room with candles and food decoration. I was sent props to use and the shoot was to take place in Rav’s place. I was given 2 hours to setup and shoot, but Rav was happy to extend the time a little when I got there. 2 hours was tight, but especially as I got there to see a 3 meter diameter glass dome above the room we were shooting in, and it was a bright sunny day. One thing is to expose the daylight away with flash, but I also needed to bring some atmosphere out with the candles. I took what blankets I had, ripped off the paper backdrop and got ready to cover as much of the glass dome as I could. However - the glass dome was 6 meters above me so the only way to get to it was to climb through a tiny window, in the top end of Rav’s bedroom window, to get to the roof. I am already not a very flexible with my almost 2 meter height, seeing me climb through that window was a sight to behold. (I never knew I could get my knee behind my ears - a move I had to perfect to get out.). I covered what I could of the window and got on with setting up the grand Diwali celebration table with the props I had. We managed to create a setting that had some of the intended atmosphere. Rav’s friends and family were not only lovely to work with, but managed to look and act relaxed and festive.
Rav comes across as a nice and friendly person when on TV. Having met Rav on several occasions now, I can truly vouch for her being the friendly, fun, and a sparkly, kind person. Having met her friends and especially her family, also gives a depth to understanding who Rav is, and she is exactly as you would hope from seeing her on TV.
I hope to work with Rav again, and if her mum and grandma is there too then that’s a-ok with me. Maybe next time we’ll get them all posing as Charlie’s Angels. I can especially see Rav’s grandma Biji getting into that…
Shot for Waitrose Food Magazine
I have too admit that the introduction to this trip to Padua didn’t bode well for an amazing meal. We rocked up to a roadside hotel on the side of a semi industrial district of Padua, Sarmeola di Rubano, at about 11pm. The hotel, only a few hundred meters from our final goal and objective of the trip, the acclaimed restaurant Le Calandre. The hotel had closed and we had to call and wake up the staff to come and let us in. There we were met with a hotel that felt like Miami Vice on a budget. I eventually got to my room quietly hoping that the Le Calandre, a couple of hundred meters down the road, would be considerably better.
When I first saw the restaurant from the outside it didn’t look like we were up for much of an improvement. The restaurant entrance and windows looked good, but the building looked more like a mix between a South of France building estate and an industrial warehouse. However, as soon as we walked into the bistro that is in front of the restaurant itself, we realised we were somewhere special. Le Calandre restaurant is run by the two brothers Massimiliano and Raffaele Alajmo. Max (Massimiliano) is the chef and took the restaurant in 1992 and took it from one to two Michelin stars in 1996, making Max the youngest ever chef to get two Michelin stars at the age of 22. At the age of 28 Max gained the restaurant its third Michelin star, making him the youngest ever chef to get that accolade. The restaurant has maintained its three Michelin stars ever since and Chef Alajmo has been given the nickname “Il Mozart dei fornelli” (The Mozart of the stoves).
The restaurant is a family business run by the two brothers Max and Raf. The adjoining bistro is run by their sister Laura. The restaurants were previously run by their parents Erminio Alajmo and Rita Chimetto. The family now run several of Italian and international restaurants as well as having a bakery section that supplies food to external shops, bistros, restaurants and cafes.
So - when a chef like Max, receives me with open arms and insists that it is a true pleasure to be photographed by me, then it is a true sign of his humility and generosity. We did not only get to eat the taster menu at Le Calandre, which was exceptional! - but we were also invited to dine in the Bistro and their new restaurant on St Mark’s Square. For the latter we were transported on a wooden speedboat, not unlike what you see in a James Bond Movie.
The restaurants run by the Alajmo family do not only provide excellent food, but also an experience that makes you smile and laugh, makes you excited and stimulate all your senses. So - to call Max the Mozart of the stoves may be an understatement.
Shot for Cook Magazine
Last time I went to Moscow I was about 16 years old. A very different place, but also a very different experience. Back then I was young, on a trip with other international students and youngsters. This time I was on a trip for the Italian food magazine Cook, Corrier Della Sera to photograph the twin chefs behind the restaurant Twin Garden. Last time I probably ate crisps and cheap sandwiches, this time I ate exclusive Michelin star food and crabs with champagne.
The idea and process of traveling to Moscow is more intimidating and different than actually being there. Apart from a taxi service on the airport with drivers aggressively approaching you, trying to trick you into paying extortionate prices, (which can remind a little of traveling to a country that relies on tourism,) apart from the blatantly apparent class difference, and apart from the size of the buildings, Moscow actually reminded me a little of Norway. It was a cold December week, but as there was no snow, it was dark most of the time. People tend to wear similar outfits to what we wear in Norway - practical navy, grey and black winter clothes. Although the architecture was grander than in Oslo - it had the same colouring and texture.
We were well taken care of in Moscow by the team behind Twin Gardens. The Michelin star restaurant (19th best in the The World's 50 Best Restaurants awards) served up vegetarian taster menus (a first in Moscow?!) with wines made from Mushrooms, tomatoes, beetroot to mention a few. Although I have to admit that the wine is not the type I would enjoy on its own whilst watching a long film, the small tasters of it served with accompanying meals - worked perfectly. Oh - and the tomatoes! Grown locally on their farm Twin Farm - they were so tasty they even made the Italians give an impressive nod.
Impressed by the restaurant in Moscow, we had a second day where they took us to their restaurant on the outskirts of the city. In the middle of a Luxury shopping mall - (and by luxury I meant LUXURY Russian style,) was the twin brothers Ivan and Sergey Berezutskiy’s second restaurant Crab and Wine. This restaurant serves only crabs and wine/champagne as indicated in the name. Here they had a large crab aquarium in the restaurant (as well as several filled aquariums with crabs in the basement). The aquarium in the restaurant was probably around 2m tall and 8 meters wide. Here the guests could get a PS4 remote to control a claw, and pick their own crab using the remote (as if out of a James Bond villain scene in a James Bond film). We were served 7 different types of crabs, on three tables pulled together to fit them all, and champagne to accompany. An experience you’ll find hard to replicate.
The chefs Ivan and Sergey were identical twins by looks, but were very different in behaviour. Sergey was the more introvert, softly spoken and didn’t speak much English, and Ivan was the opposite. (That Sergey also had the flue when we were there made it easier to know who was who when I spoke to them - not always easy when you don’t know them well). They were extremely hospitable and introduced us to the modern and traditional Russia through food. As many surprises as expectations were met.
Shot for Cook
