Food Styling for Photographers

GARNISHING BASICS

Make a series of parallel cuts about 1/8 inch apart on

each side of the center cut. Turn the onion and make a

cut into the middle of the same edge at a perpendicular

angle. Repeat the cuts 1/8 inch apart across the cut

surface of the onion, resulting in an even grid pattern.

Place the cut onion into a bowl of ice water, completely

submerging the bulb of the onion. Th e image above shows

an onion after being cut before the ice water bath, and

another onion after being submerged in the ice water. As

you can see, after about 10 to 20 minutes, the onion will

expand, creating a fl ower. Onions cut this way will hold

in ice water during the day until needed on set. Th ey can

be used with the entire green top still intact or with the

top removed to within 1 inch of the fl ower.

Use Ice Water to Make Curls

One of my favorite garnishes can be used as an element

in a salad or vegetable presentation. Th e loose curls

created by this technique are beautiful and visually inter-

esting. With a paring tool, slice the entire length of a

carrot or zucchini to remove only one strip of the outer

skin, exposing the interior of the vegetable. Th e next

slice, removed with the paring tool, will be edged with

the vegetable’s natural covering. Roll this long slice into

a tight roll and then choose one of two methods to hold

this roll together. In the fi rst method, a square of plastic

wrap can be tightly bundled around the roll to hold it

in the rolled position. Th e plastic-wrapped vegetable can

then be plunged into ice water. Use ice to hold the

bundle submerged in the ice water. For the second

method, wrap black matte tape around the rolls to hold

them in position. However, you must be careful not to

get the tape wet while you are wrapping it around the

roll because the tape will not stick to itself if wet. Wrap

the tape around the rolled vegetable, beginning with the

middle of a 4-inch length of tape. When the tape has