Tag: Food Photography

The bread and the salt between us

the bread and the salt in between us

I absolutely love ethnic food.

I grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, a city that offers food from every single corner of this world. Childhood memories are fond in my heart when it comes to middle eastern food. Every Sunday my dad would take me to our favorite arab restaurant called Almanara. Right in what used to be the gorgeous centre of the city. Mouthwatering just the thought of it. The maître was always so impressed that I would eat raw kibbeh with my hands, helped by the bread dripping with hummus. Olive oil and green onions as well.
I was 5.

the bread and the salt in between us recipes

Once I moved to London I could still enjoy my arab feasts. Specially with friends cooking the real thing! What amazing meals we had. Stuffed grape leaves are comfort food. Not to mention how simple yet such delicacy it takes to prepare them.
Unfortunately since moving to Italy such pleasures have been drastically reduced. Italy is way behind on having greater variety of food besides their own only distinguished by each region. When in Milan you might get lucky and find a “non italian” restaurant.
So, Yes! I miss, I crave my dose of international palate.
But enough of me, my cravings and moaning, let’s talk about more important issues such as immigration and food. And photography too.

the bread and the salt in between us Mayada's family

I have been noticing a great deal of positive actions on immigrants that have successfully settled in a new country thanks to their integration to a new community through food and their roots.
Syrian refugees are a beautiful example of it.
In the past two years when I visited São Paulo I went to new, cosy and family run places with outstanding food. They were all recently relocated Syrian families. My utter respect.
They are not the only ones, of course, as we all know how delicate the situation in Syria is.
So when I saw on my Instastories feed a post from a talented New Yorker food photographer I follow called Liz Clayman talking about her latest work my heart exploded. Syrians in Jersey City, community dinners, their story and food.
Went straight to Amazon.com to buy it.

the bread and the salt in between us cover

With foreword by Chef José Andrés no less.

the bread and the salt in between us Foreword by José Andrés
Preface with her gentle own words by Mayada Anjari herself together with witty Jennifer Sit on those extra two hands writing and translating.
Last but not least photography by Liz Clayman.

The book is so simple, with rather classic recipes not much fuss about it really. But such simplicity is what makes this book outstanding! Mayada’s family story, their perseverance in getting a better future for everyone, the importance of Friday night meals and how she managed to fit in her new community with the power of food.

the bread and the salt in between us recipes

Liz’s photos are precious. I could taste, smell each dish from the lighting, colors and beauty of each page’s shot.

My hearted compliments to this very special trio. You published a priceless gem in such delicate times. We need more of those!

the bread and the salt in between us sweet

Go and buy your copy right now if you consider yourself a real foodie person. It’s a must for your collection and dinners to share.

@ingridhofstra

Ingrid Hofstra Instagram

I very much enjoy the lightness on Ingrid’s work. She takes you around the world with her images in the most delicate way.
Here is an extract from her About.

Hi, I am Ingrid. I am a photographer, journalist, and videographer and I create global culinary stories. My work revolves around food because I love how it brings together people from all walks of life – and I want to tell the stories they like to share. It’s also the perfect excuse to be on the road non-stop. In the past years I dined with local coconut farmers in Sri Lanka, tasted cactus in Palm Springs, went foraging with a Michelin chef in the Faroe Islands, roamed the premises of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and harvested olives in Catalonia.

When I’m not traveling, you can find me at home in Hilversum – a town near Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Visit her Instagram @ingridhofstra & website

Terri Salminen

details in Terri's kitchen

I am American born and had the great fortune of growing up in the countryside of the northern Italian region the Veneto.  I soaked up culture, friendship and love of food through my mother’s intensely social attitude and followed her to markets and into the kitchen from three years of age onward.

Terri writing in her kitchen

I first met Terri about five years ago through our connection with Jamie Oliver’s Foundation.
She is a very lovely lady impossible not to fall in love with! She is caring, gives attention to the smallest of details when dealing with people and, YES!, she is a true food lover. Did I mention what a great food photographer she is as well? You can see it all on her blog Recipe Writings – and food memories.

What is the importance of your kitchen in your house?
The kitchen is the center of the house and a favorite place to write.

What’s the best part of the day for you to cook?
I am most inspired to cook in the morning as I like to create new things during the first part of the day. Sunday is my favorite day of the week to cook, and I often make fresh pasta or something that takes time to prepare on Sunday.


Are you a creative chef or simply love to follow recipes?

I am a creative cook. I like to read recipes in order to learn. Cooking is a continuously growing process so reading recipes is like learning a new language to me. When I cook, I cook intuitively though.

Three ingredients that are never missing on your kitchen cabinet?
Extra virgin olive oil, garlic and rosemary are always in my kitchen cabinet.

How did your passion for cooking come about?
My passion for cooking comes from two sources, my mother and her love of cooking and Italy, where I grew up.

What’s your favourite dish to cook that you know it can never go wrong with it?
My favorite dish is zucchini soup. It never goes wrong and always tastes wonderful. It’s like comfort on a spoon. On the other hand, risotto and polenta never go wrong either and I love them too. And of course, I can’t live without tomato soup, tomato sauce, tomato jam. I love tomatoes!

Would you receive for a day an entire tv crew in your kitchen?
Yes, I would receive a tv crew in my kitchen and I would make them a nice lunch.

Do you follow any tv show or have a favourite cooking book?
I don’t watch cooking shows generally. I have many favorite cookbooks. Cooks I admire are Elizabeth David, Alice Waters, Nigel Slater and of course Jamie Oliver. I have many cookbooks but choose them carefully. I have just ordered Julia Child’s “The Art of French Cooking” and will read it page by page!

Terri Salminen  “I am a cook by profession and a philosopher by education. I am American born and had the great fortune of growing up in the countryside of the northern Italian region the Veneto.  I soaked up culture, friendship and love of food through my mother’s intensely social attitude and followed her to markets and into the kitchen from three years of age onward.

https://terrisalminen.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/caldogno-1966.jpg?w=672&h=505&resize=660%2C495

family portrait Terri Salminen – all rights reserved personal archive

I started cooking professionally when my first child was born. I follow the principles of the Italian kitchen, utilizing fresh, colorful and seasonal ingredients. I love to experiment with color and structure. In my cooking there is always a combination of raw and cooked, steamed or grilled, braised and stewed. I love herbs and cannot cook without olive oil, garlic and good sea salt.

I live in the Netherlands where I work as Sous Chef at Microsoft at Hutten, sometimes as private chef, give teaching classes and write about food for the Dutch edition of Jamie Magazine, on my own blog and for various special projects. My dream is to have a cooking school, open to the community, working with all generations, sharing the beauty of food.”

Ivan Milani & Alessandra Tinozzi

Alessandra Tinozzo & Ivan Milani

“My kitchen today is made of my chidhood bonds. Taste of what I did and didn’t have at home. Fresh pasta & fish”.

Ivan Milani, Chef
What is the importance of your kitchen in your house?
It is the place where we get together to chat, to drink a glass of wine, eat parmigiano cheese and chill out. However that place is not the kitchen itself, which is rather small to normal standards. We have a beautiful terrace which faces the kitchen, one of the conditions Alessandra asked while they were looking for the new place.

Terrace & Renzo the dog

What’s the best part of the day for you to cook?
“At home, she cooks and rather well”
“He complains the kitchen is too small, that I use the knives all wrongly but when we cook together he gets to be my commis”. (laughs)
Ivan needs a few days of detox before he gets close to a kitchen when on rare moments of time off. “During summer time, being a huge fan of barbecue, he can’t wait to get by the grill, all shirtless”, says Alessandra.
Something that for any ordinary housewife it would mean “total panic” like having friends and family over, at Casa Milani&Tinozzi is different. Ivan is more than happy to prepare exquiste dishes.
Since the opening of Piano35 in July, Ivan is in the restaurant kitchen most of the time and both are having to adjust to a new pace of time at home. Leaving Alessandra with very handy choices of doing take aways from the Japanese right downstairs, to pizza from round the corner with also some tasty choices from their local Deli as well.
But she is looking forward to getting back to normality where she can go to their local markets and cook her food again, including the meals for Renzo, the family dog.

in the kitchen together

Are you a creative chef or simply love to follow recipes?
For Alessandra the pictures are great to look at but cooking books are not inspirational for her homecooking. Having both parents as good examples in the kitchen when she was growing up, she follows pretty much the Tinozzi method, instinct.
Ivan, on the other hand, answered this question with his very own theory about the clear difference between eating and feeding ourselves.
Meaning that on our day to day habits we feed ourselves in order to keep our “body machine” going. Food for fuel I added. To eat has a very high verbal connotation. An act of pleasure, cultural, social, out of heart & soul if you must. You don’t eat everyday. You feed yourself. An act of nurishment.
“Mind you that does not mean I don’t care about quality of my ingredients. Like at the restaurant like at home. I just can’t do the same style of cooking at home.”
“Unfortunately…” sights Alessandra

Three ingredients that are never missing on your kitchen?
“Parmigiano is the winner! Our house is a not a house for Ivan if he can’t have his chuncks of parmigiano cheese. Can I count sparkling water as one of my ingredients?”
“I would say wine instead” laughs Ivan.
“Rightly so. Can we have four ingredients? In our fridge you will always find the jar of anchovies and of course let’s not forget pasta! Long shaped, always!
At Piano35 Ivan adds, his wild foraging herbs, foigras and fish. Oh! A good rice for risotto too.

Always Pasta!

How did your passion for cooking come about?
“It was kind of a crescendo. I have always enjoyed eating since I was a kid. I guess having a very imponent mother figure who had the talent of making fresh pasta, especially the filled up ones. She was from the Emilia region. When it came to meat she was a total disaster! Nor did she eat fish. So whenever she said she had prepared fish for dinner I knew she meant frozen fish fingers. My dad was born by the River Pò. That for me always meant that my summer holidays’ memories, my grandparents house all tasted like fish.
While growing up I did enjoy making some experiments in the kitchen.”
But it was long before he got to run his own. His professional life started with his passion for wine.
Slowly he started getting more and more involved with the choice of ingredients. A mix of passion and great experiences in important kitchens led him to be at the top of the highest building in Turin running the rooftop glassed terrace Piano35 restaurant.
For Alessandra it all started during a “small crisis of what do I want to do when I grow up?” question. At one point she wanted to become “a cook”. Luckly she chose not to follow that road and went on into exploring the photografic world. Shooting industrial packadge food until she got to shoot the food “naked”. Just like unwrapping it all. As it is. The rest is history. Many different project about chefs were born. The first one was about portraits where she wanted to transmit what went on in their heads, all the “madness” that goes inside and they transform in culinary magic every night. Edible creativity. Period.

What’s your favourite dish to cook that you kow it can never go wrong with it?
“My leek tart.”
“Undoubtedly” agrees Ivan. “But your meatballs…the Tinozzi meatballs are just…” and the thought leaves Ivan speechless.
“They’re made with a base of meat and whatever leftovers we have in the fridge.”
In a kind of unisson they both complemented each others sentence by saying “They are always the Tinozzi meatballs but they are never same.” (laughs)
“At the restaurant it works completely the opposite as you have to keep the constancy of a dish at its 100% best performance, respecting cooking time, the variables that can affect preparation, customers that do come back for one specific dish.” They would be just a few of the reasons that Ivan consider a complex mix of components that makes his work stressful. Yet he still believes his menu cannot go without a risotto.

Alessandra Tinozzo, photographer

Would you receive for a day an entire tv crew in your kitchen?
“They wouldn’t fit in!” laughs Alessandra.
“Well, it all depends on the project, if it is something fun, well written why not? Never say never and frankly I don’t see myself working on a tv show as a chef”.

Do you follow any tv show or have a favourite cooking book?
“We don’t even own a TV!! (laughs)
“We do watch ‘Chef’s Table’ on Netflix.”
“There you go! Here is an example of a well made program. Attention and care to its minimum detail, what it really means to work in a real kitchen” concludes Ivan.

Terrace & herbs

Ivan Milani – Italian Chef, husband to a photographer, dad to Giula and furry dad to Renzo the Dog.
A mix of passion and great experiences in important kitchens led him to be at the top of the highest building in Turin running the rooftop glassed terrace Piano35 restaurant.

Alessandra Tinozzi – Italian Photographer, wife to a chef and furry mum to Renzo the Dog.
“I wanted to transmit what went on in their heads, all the “madness” that goes inside and they transform in culinary magic every night. Edible creativity. Period.”