Passport to Asia 2011

I find that as I take advantage of more opportunities to experiment with food photography, I’m becoming increasingly passionate about this specific type of photography. Full disclosure: It could possibly be because in the process of taking photos or after, I sometimes get to sample my subject.
In 2011 I attended a cooking demo at William Sonoma presented by Hazel Sy of Tasty Pursuits. Hazel later contacted me about volunteering to take photos at Passport to Asia and annual culinary fundraiser for The American Cancer Society. This year the event was held at 82 Mercer St in the SoHo area of Manhattan. A variety of vendors from around the city set up booths which offered attendees an opportunity to sample traditional and inspired dishes from different parts of Asia.
I had a great time capturing images of both familiar and new dishes while eating samples along the way. However, my favorite part of the event was the cook-off. Megan Bolling, Arpin Chiapeth, and Jordan Brill (students from The French Culinary Institute) faced-off in an “Iron Chef” battle where they had to create two dishes in a half hour. Within this short period of time, they plated up some truly beautiful dishes that were a pleasure to photograph.