Making Food Look Good: Food Advertising Techniques

What You See Isn’t Always What You What You See Isn’t Always What You Get!Get!

Roast Chicken or TurkeyRoast Chicken or Turkey

Cooked brieflyCooked briefly Painted with wood stain Painted with wood stain

and food colouringand food colouring Injected with mashed Injected with mashed

potatoes to make it potatoes to make it plumperplumper

Browned with a blow Browned with a blow torchtorch

RibsRibs

Same process as your Same process as your chicken or turkeychicken or turkey

Only now you can Only now you can ‘paint’ with BBQ sauce‘paint’ with BBQ sauce

HamburgerHamburger Cook BrieflyCook Briefly Create grill marks with Create grill marks with

red hot skewersred hot skewers Choose the perfect bun, Choose the perfect bun,

lettuce piece, tomato lettuce piece, tomato etc…etc…

Separate each layer Separate each layer with plastic discs so the with plastic discs so the bun doesn’t get soggybun doesn’t get soggy

Fresh FruitFresh Fruit

Coated with spray on Coated with spray on deodorant for that deodorant for that fresh, shiny lookfresh, shiny look

Drop glycerin on fruit to Drop glycerin on fruit to simulate water trickling simulate water trickling off the fruitoff the fruit

VeggiesVeggies Coat veggies with a Coat veggies with a

squirt of glycerin (used squirt of glycerin (used to treat burns) and to treat burns) and waterwater

Gives food a juicy, Gives food a juicy, glistening appearanceglistening appearance

Works with seafood as Works with seafood as wellwell

Ice CreamIce Cream

Often not real ice Often not real ice cream, but a mix of cream, but a mix of shortening and icing shortening and icing sugarsugar

A typical photo shoot A typical photo shoot using real ice cream using real ice cream calls for two dozen 2-calls for two dozen 2-litre containers – it litre containers – it melts fast!melts fast!

PuddingPudding Photographed pudding Photographed pudding

is as hard as a rockis as hard as a rock It contains 10 times the It contains 10 times the

amount of gelatin of amount of gelatin of normal pudding so it normal pudding so it doesn’t melt under the doesn’t melt under the photo lightsphoto lights

This also makes it easier This also makes it easier to moldto mold

Chocolate SundaeChocolate Sundae

Trying to take that Trying to take that perfect picture of a perfect picture of a sundae?sundae?

The chocolate sauce will The chocolate sauce will stick to the ‘ice cream’ stick to the ‘ice cream’ better if you put pieces better if you put pieces of paper towel under itof paper towel under it

Icy Cool DrinksIcy Cool Drinks

Nope, not real iceNope, not real ice

Rather it’s acrylic ‘ice’ Rather it’s acrylic ‘ice’ that refracts light better that refracts light better than real ice and than real ice and doesn’t meltdoesn’t melt

Cereal…Cereal…

No milk hereNo milk here

Instead white glue is Instead white glue is substituted for the milk. substituted for the milk. Why? Why?

The cereal doesn’t get The cereal doesn’t get soggysoggy

Pancakes and SyrupPancakes and Syrup

The pancakes are The pancakes are coated with stain guard coated with stain guard so they don’t soak up so they don’t soak up the syrupthe syrup

The syrup could very The syrup could very well be motor oilwell be motor oil

French Fries!French Fries!

Individually selected Individually selected and then secured to a and then secured to a styrofoam base so they styrofoam base so they ‘fan’ out perfectly‘fan’ out perfectly

Hot, Steaming Food?Hot, Steaming Food?

Place a source of steam Place a source of steam behind the food to give behind the food to give it that ‘fresh from the it that ‘fresh from the oven appearance’oven appearance’

Or place hot steaming Or place hot steaming cotton balls within the cotton balls within the plateplate

Perfect Pasta?Perfect Pasta?

Place blocks of Place blocks of Styrofoam under the Styrofoam under the pasta noodles so they pasta noodles so they don’t cave in on youdon’t cave in on you

Build ingredients in Build ingredients in layerslayers

Not all photos are stylized…but…Not all photos are stylized…but…some sure are!some sure are!

Not all photos are stylized…but…Not all photos are stylized…but…some sure are!some sure are!

Not all photos are stylized…but…Not all photos are stylized…but…some sure are!some sure are!

Not all photos are stylized…but…Not all photos are stylized…but…some sure are!some sure are!

Not all photos are stylized…but…Not all photos are stylized…but…some sure are!some sure are!