Food and Plates Go Together

An obstacle course ran from the front door to the kitchen. The lounge a giant-sized, walk-in storage box with stuff piled everywhere. Cupboards and drawers were thrown into chaos as a pile of plates, a different shape platter, coloured linen, extra forks or spoons were to be found. The kitchen, our food preparation space doubled as our studio.  It’s hard to believe a year ago this month; we were in the midst of photographing Churchill Park School’s 50th Jubilee cookbook. 

Cookbooks are so much more than the recipes. Some people have shelves and boxes crammed with them and never cook a single thing. Many rainy afternoons of escapism can be spent immersed in a new cookbook, reading and looking at photographs, pondering what to make if only there was time, and if you had the necessary ingredients. Images provide inspiration and enticement - great visual cues of what the finished dish should look like.  You’ll concur, there is nothing more frustrating to discover your interpretation of a dish and its carefully followed instructions look nothing like the picture in the book.

Don’t be disheartened. Those cookbook photos take lots of time and hours of practice to perfect.  Tomorrow’s another day so take time to create something that smells delicious, is nutritious and tastes good too. A weeknight dinner, a special occasion or even a BBQ for a crowd, but don’t simply throw it on any old plate. White dinner plates, Nana’s china or those coloured bowls you brought back from a fabulous overseas - eating should be one of life’s simple pleasures, so make it a visually appetising one too.

Now, what’s for dinner!

Michelle