The workshop, held at the brewer’s Great Western Hotel, in Newquay, Cornwall, was conducted by renowned food photographer David Griffen.
Griffen, who lists the Fat Duck Group, Raymond Blanc, Tom Aikens, Nathan Outlaw and Rick Stein among his clients, took the chefs through the fundamentals of good food photography.
This included everything from composition and lighting, through to mobile phone apps that allow the user to professionally edit their image before sharing it via a social media platform.
Wonderful tool
According to Griffen, smartphones are now also terrific cameras, and can be a wonderful tool for any chef.
He explained: “Social media is an effective platform to tell a story and grow awareness of a product or brand. It’s not just about the finished dish, it’s about the ingredients and the work that goes in to making great food.
Griffen added: “You don’t just take a picture of a dish – you need to construct it, light it and edit it.
These guys are up early, they see the wonderful dawns, the local producers delivering their order and the prep work that the team does, and that’s a great story to tell through pictures.”
The workshop was part of the St Austell’s quarterly chefs’ forum, which brings together head chefs to discuss industry developments, new initiatives and laws.
Customer demands
Nick Hemming, catering development manager for St Austell Brewery, explained that pub food is no longer a quick bite to eat with some chips on the side.
Hemming said: “The customer demands a high quality menu, freshly cooked to order using local produce, and food sales now account for 50% of the company’s annual turnover, which is a very telling statistic.”
He added: “Through these types of inspiring events, we are helping our chefs to shout from the rooftops about the fantastic food they are serving our customers, and for customers to be able to see via social media just how good our food is.”
Jay Horsley, head chef at the County Arms, in Truro, said: “I’ve been teaching myself up until now but to get some hints and tips from a food photographer of David’s experience is amazing.
“I’ll be doing a lot more posts as I see a real opportunity to promote our specials using these new skills.”