bitten TV: A Day in the Life of a Food Stylist

Amongst many many others, one of the main things that I have discovered during our ‘bitten TV’ filming so far is that behind every beautiful cooking show is a very, very clever, hard working and committed food stylist. In our case, we have the very real pleasure of working with Luisa Farelo, and her more-than-able assistant Caro Alberts.

Since we started they have shopped, chopped, plated and done all manner of seemingly crazy things in the name of ensuring that our food looks mind-bogglingly gorgeous, and there is no ways that this show (circus?) could go on without them.

Before we start rolling the cameras in the morning, and long after they’ve stopped rolling at night, every teeny tiny detail has been thought through and discussed, down to which butter knife we’ll use, has the fridge handle been polished, are the avos as ripe and plump as they should be, and so very many more. Also, way before any cameras were even on set, Luisa and Caro were working through sourcing equipment and props and all manner of pretty things, from our exquisite mint-green smeg fridge and our Le Creuset pots and pans to this collection of crockery loveliness from The Pause Room.

So here, (for various reasons including that you’ll probably be sick of my behind-the-scenes narratives shortly, and also because she’s infectiously lovely), are a few anecdotes from Luisa’s world…

Two lines about yourself and how/why you do what you do
I’m a freelance food stylist that’s addicted to good coffee and constantly craves Dim Sum.
While the majority of people are sitting behind a computer, I’m out shopping for ingredients, hunting for props and creating food that looks as good as it tastes.

Your first food memory
Making Christmas mince pies with my mother after putting up the Christmas tree

Your favourite comfort food
Slow roast pork belly with loads of crackling

What gets you excited about working on ‘bitten.’
I’m so excited to sit back and enjoy the episodes on TV, knowing that I was part of making it all happen.

Your dream destination, and why if it’s relevant
Even though I’ve been there a couple of times – Switzerland in Winter. I get to do 3 of my favourite things all in the same day – snowboard, drink Gluhwein and eat cheese fondue!

Also, she’s a startling perfectionist, she loves dim-sum and hot cross buns and has almost every colour of skinny jeans known to woman.