Day in the Studio | Pasta Shoot

Toronto Food Photography by Fulcrum Imaging Studio

On the menu for dinner last night was a delicious pasta dish featuring Ginger Garlic and Lemon marinated Chicken Breast over a Pesto Spaghetti base along with a mix of farmer's market and fresh from my garden Tomatoes and Basil. I hope you enjoy the food photography and will check out the Fulcrum Imaging website for our full portfolio.

Overhead Perspective

Getting in Close

Third Perspective

We look forward to our next assignment and hearing from you for all your food (and more) photography needs.

#food #savourtheflavour #fulcrumimaging #lenstoweb #cooking #foodblog #foodphotography

Food Photography | A Day With a Chef

As part of a recent trip to France, a stay in Dijon was part of the itinerary. My wife Marie, to my surprise had arranged for us to join chef/eduator/author Alex Miles for a "Day with a Chef" cooking adventure. You can find out all about Alex here http://www.i-food-france.com. I can only say what a great unique experience it was.

It all started when Alex stopped by our apartment we had rented in the morning and we got a great guided tour of Dijon as we walked through historic city. Dijon certainly was a feast for the senses. 

Walking through the historic centre of Dijon. 

After a quick coffee at a cafe on Place Francois Rude we set off to explore the market and gather some fresh meat and produce for our meal we were going to prepare. I  am going to save many of my market photos for another post but the Farmers Market in Dijon was an experience of sight and scent all it's own and Alex knew his way around like a cat stalking a mouse, procuring produce from select vendors that were most local and would compliment our meal.

Just Another Day at the Cafe :-)

Inside the Dijon Farmers Market

Chef Alex at the Dijon Farmers Market.

Here we also picked out our protein for the day, fresh rabbit. We also selected two styles of fresh bacon from one of the vendors for the Rabbit braise. After the market it was on to a wine store we had discovered independently the day before, La Route des Vins, where we picked up a great bottle of Burgundy to compliment our meal. An excellent and expansive selection of wines and very helpful staff, the Route des Vins was the ideal place to get some Burgundies. Website here http://www.la-routedesvins.com.

Boulangerie

Of Course with Alex Being a former Pastry Chef and me a Food Photographer we had to see some of Dijon's best treats in the area too.

Another stop on route to Alex's apartment to get some bread ( a few stops to look at pastries) and we were set to cook. Alex had a beautiful place close to the market and it was such a joy to cook in his home and meet his wife as well. One can't help but marvel at his kitchen and it's bright red professional range (which I neglected to photograph)! After a glass of Kir, a great local drink of white wine and creme de cassis, we got down to making our meal. Of course Alex the great host he was had some of his terrines handy just to whet the appetite. (not that extra food was needed!)

Alex's Home Made Terrines perfect with the fresh bread.

We began by prepping dessert which was beautiful apricot and vanilla custard tart. I won't say much the picture speaks for itself.

May as Well Show Dessert First!

Next on the prep list was our rabbit which we browned with some of the bacon and then slow braised to give a perfect tenderness. Also on the menu was medley of fresh local vegetables and mushrooms, including some very unique field Asparagus which I had never seen before. 

These wild Asparagus had such vibrant color and delicate structure to match a rich taste that was totally unique to us. 

Dishing up a fresh vegetable medley for the first course. Delicious!

First course plated and ready to go topped with some freshly baked puff pastry. 

There did come a point where I decided to forego photography in favour of savouring the experience, but I did manage a shot of our table with rabbit. It was such a pleasure to sit with Alex and his wife for our mid day feast. The conversations were as equally enjoyable as the gourmet food. 

Getting ready to enjoy the rabbit, with some unique to the area, naturally buttery mini potatoes and of course a Dijon mustard sauce for the rabbit. 

The Apricot tart was the perfect finish to the meal but...... if that wasn't enough Alex had a cheese board with about 7 local selections and some dessert samples from a previous day's pastry lesson!

 A complete cheese board after everything else! My love of cheese is second to none and I sampled all, but needless to say a nap was in order after the walk back to our rental. 

The Personal Touch, thanks Chef Alex. I hope our paths cross again.

So if you ever find yourself in Dijon, save a day and book a session with Chef Alex, you won't be disappointed, it was a feast for all the senses and a great adventure exploring a great city.


Robert is a Toronto based photographer specializing in Food, Beverage and Product work. His business is called Fulcrum Imaging and he is available for freelance work both home and abroad. His portfolio is available at www.fulcumimaging.com.


As usual our images are copyrighted . We love to have our work shared with credit but using our content for your own gain or profit is not cool.

Copyright 2015 Fulcrum Imaging and Robert Greatrix Photography.

Food Photography| Gluten Free Baking

Food Photography | Gluten Free Baking

By Toronto Food Photographer Robert Greatrix | Fulcrum Imaging

Much of my food portfolio up to this point is self assigned and when I make a dish generally we eat it for lunch or dinner. This does raise some difficulties as my wife, Marie is Gluten Free and we have both friends and close family that have been diagnosed with Celiacs Disease. I myself, am not sensitive to Gluten and I consider myself a foodie, so I find that dishes made Gluten Free do not have the same taste or texture for the most part. In the past I found one of the most difficult was finding good GF pastries or recipes to make them that were simple and had ingredients that were easy to source (which continues to get easier). So thanks to a little research, some experiments and some slight tweaks I finally have a recipe that I love. The original recipe I found here: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/11/gluten-free-pastry-crust.html and after a couple of tries I found I liked the pastry with 1/2 cup of oat flour substituted for part of the rice flour. You have to read the above linked recipe very carefully to get the ingredients correct as it is formatted to show two different recipes and it is confusing. I will list out what I use to avoid the confusion:

1/4 to 1/2 cup Oat Flour (preference)

3/4 to 1 cup Brown Rice Flour (preference but keep the total of the two top flours 1 1/4 cups)

1/2 Cup Sweet Rice Flour 

1/2 cup Tapioca Starch

2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

I teaspoon Xanthan Gum

I cup (8ounces) butter (2 Sticks) 

7 Tablespoons Ice Water (may need to be adjusted up or down)

Method:

I freeze the butter first. Combine all the dry ingredients in a food processor. Then shred the frozen butter through a box grater or equivalent into the dry mixture, pulsing a few times after the first half (1 stick) is shredded and again after the second half. This gives a cornmeal like textured mix. I then add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time giving it a pulse after each one then a few more after to ensure it is evenly combined. I then transfer the dough to a freezer bag, squish it slightly into a ball and put in the fridge for an hour or so. I then work it with a rolling pin on a piece of parchment paper coated liberally with Rice Flour (or all purpose GF Flour mix). I also sprinkle the same on top to stop my rolling pin from sticking. The pastry is a little difficult to work with and you can also use a second pice of parchment on top to roll it and help place it in your baking vessel but when you get it right the results are fantastic. So far we have made Berry Tarts and Butter Tarts (my favourite), Apple Pie, Tourtiere and Quiche. See the photos below. I hope you enjoy. 

Food Photography is my business and if you like to see more of my portfolio please click HERE  to go to the Fulcrum Imaging Website. 

We are Toronto Food and Corporate Photographers and are booking shoots for food and corporate clients for February and March. Call or email us to save your time slot now or just to talk :-)

Email: rob@fulcrumimaging.com 

Phone: 647-408-6354

All images are copyrighted and the property of Robert Greatrix, and Fulcrum Imaging and cannot be used without permission. 

Hot Pepper Season

Hot Pepper Season: 

Toronto Food, Commercial and Corporate Photographer Robert Greatrix 

It's that time of year when all the spicy goodness is ripening up in a an explosion of red, orange and green. I was worried earlier in the year that an extremely persistent raccoon was going to successfully destroy my rooftop garden but as it turns out I think I have more peppers this year than ever. So I thought I would highlight some of my food photography portfolio and showcase my hot pepper crop. 

A selection of my peppers on a rustic white board surface, Jalapeño, Habernero, Cayenne or Chilli, one I don't remember and the dreaded Ghost Pepper. 

Some sliced Habernero with a diffused backlight. I love the aroma and vibrant colours of these fresh peppers. A couple thin slices is all I need to add some kick and intense flavours to a breakfast egg scramble. (Maybe a breakfast themed blog in the future)

The challenge comes some trying to use so many hot peppers as they seem to all ripen at once. Here I made a Spicy Salsa, a Habernero Mayo and a Fiery Red Sauce. I adapted the Fiery red Sauce recipe from an article in a recent Chatelaine magazine which always a great source for inspiring recipes. 

A couple more shots with the bottom one including some Guacamole, Tomato Salsa with Corn and Salsa Verde. I honestly never remember seeing Tomatillos before but saw some at the local Riverdale Farmer's Market and had try some of this somewhat unusual fruit. I roasted the Tomatillos over a light smoke on my Big Green Egg Grill and the sauce reflects it with a hint of smoky aromas. 

For more food photography visit www.fulcrumimaging.com and please visit your local farm markets and enjoy your harvest season. More food photography and more blog posts coming up.

Fulcrum Imaging is Toronto Photographer Robert Greatrix who is available for food, commercial and corporate photography as well as time lapse video creation. Please let us provide you a quote for all your photography needs by emailing a request to info@fulcrumimaging.com. We would love to hear from you.

Copyright 2014.

A little behind the scenes shot of my photo set-up, its a lot more work than one imagines and the worse part is the clean-up :-). Cheers.