I infuse my passion for the kitchen with decades of experience in creating and styling food for TV, print, and digital. I have been fortunate to use some of Australia’s finest brands and ingredients.
I do believe that first we eat with the eyes!!! There’s nothing that gets the juices or imagination flowing faster than a beautifully styled shot of something that looks absolutely good enough to eat.
I love styling food for the camera, it indulges and balances my creative side and particular eye for detail with my love of food and cooking ….and get I paid for it!!!!
Over the years how fortunate I’ve been to have styled food to be published across point of sale displays, cookbooks, food packaging, press, editorials, websites, social media and numerous television commercials.
Researching food trends then creating recipes to suit is my delicious challenge. There is a lot to know before you start: what’s the intended usage of the recipe, how does the product work, It is so important to remember who the recipe is for before you create a recipe that fits the brief.
Putting your consumers hat on and imagining the skill level of the cook I think is just as important as the development of wonderful flavour combinations that will delight the cook!
Not to mention testing it to make sure it works and then writing the recipe concisely in language that every cook can understand!
For me its never just been about the home cook, developing and writing recipes for the hospitality and foodservice industry demands a different mindset altogether particularly when it comes to quantity cooking and functionality as well as the all important cost.
A highlight for me has been my involvement in the development and food styling of 4 editions of Philadelphia Simply Heaven Cookbooks.
With a love of food science and a long career in the FMCG industry, what a thrill being part of the development of so many new products. a thrill being part of the development of so many new products. Understanding how flavours work together is paramount when developing on the kitchen bench.
One winning sample can evolve into a Gold Standard Recipe, and that is a very good place for R&D to start on the road to a successful new product!.
Conducting attribute comparisons and functionality tests to support formulation changes and productivity improvements is something I am no stranger to. This is a vital tool is to support any product by specifically replicating consumer usage and being the advocate of the consumer.
A great recipe website can speak volumes to the consumer and drive awareness and usage of your product. What fun I’ve had working with many agencies to expand my skill set to other publishing avenues,
including writing copy for and producing all manner of content : recipes and images, instructional recipe videos, stop motion recipe content and cinemagraphs for consumer and foodservice online publications including websites, blog, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
It’s always fun to share knowledge and expertise with audiences all over the nation through cooking demonstrations, food and product presentations for press launches, trade shows, product launches and customer and distributor range reviews.
Creating excitement and confidence in your brand can be the result of an innovative, skillfully crafted and engaging presentation with and opportunities to sample the product in ways possibly not imagined. Why not make your product sing!
What an honour it’s been to represent household name brands as a brand ambassador, making appearances on both television and radio.
A long standing arrangement between Cadbury Kitchen and Everyday Gourmet with Justine Schofield allowed me to advocate for the brand and delight consumers with delicious recipes in over 100 episodes, and more recently My Market Kitchen and The Cooks Pantry.
Over the last two decades, I have had the pleasure of working on iconic Aussie and renowned international brands like Vegemite, Kraft, Philadelphia, Toblerone, Eta, Oreo, Cadbury, Pascall, ZoOSh, Bega, The Natural Confectionery Company, Dairylea, Captains Table, Belvita and Ritz.