The photography for Regee's Coconut Kitchen Cookbook is now largely complete. Here are Regee, Tina (food stylist) and Paulo (photographer) at the end of the last photo shoot on Tuesday.
Even though there was a lot of painstaking work involved, cook, stylist and photographer were a great team and had a lot of fun during their three 8-9 hour photo shoots.
Click on "Read more" below to see more photos
For Regee, the work starts the day before when we head off to Farmers Market in Cubao to buy all the food for the 8 dishes she will be cooking for that particular photo shoot.
Farmers is a huge fresh market with hundreds of stalls overloaded with vegetables, fresh meat, fresh fish and all sorts of other goodies. After a couple of hours walking around trying to find everything we need, we stagger back home laden down by heavy bags and boxes.
Regee then has to start prepping some of the dishes in the afternoon and evening so that she will have something to give Paulo and Tina when she arrives at Tina's house the next day. On all three occasions, the prepping and cooking went on at our condo until about 1AM!
Up early the next morning. It is a logistical nightmare for Regee to pack absolutely everything she needs for the 8 dishes to be cooked that day--including food, pots and pans, food processor, utensils etc. Luckily, she is a consummate Excel user and I think she has used up a couple of forests on lists and notes! Then pile into an Uber and fight your way through Manila rush hour traffic for 1.5 hours to Tina's house.
Then the real work begins with Regee cooking up a storm and Ana assisting. I just try to keep out of the way. In fact, on the second shoot, I had 24-hour stomach 'flu so apart from taking a few photos, I slept most of the time on the sofa. I only ate a banana that day as I couldn't bear the thought of food.
They also serve who only sleep and wait!
Here are just a few of the photos I took on the second and third photo shoots.
On the left, Tina sets to work on styling the the lettuce cups. On the right is the result.
The shrimp and beets with coconut sauce on toast and lettuce are my favorites. Paulo photographs the mussels which Tina has styled.
At the end of the last day, Tina had a surprise addition to our dinner--an absolutely delicious chocolate cake that she had baked for us to celebrate the completion of three very successful photo shoots. In addition to being a food stylist, she is also a commercial baker. Thank goodness this was on the third photo shoot and I was able to eat. And did I mention that in addition to lunch and dinner on each photo shoot, everyone went home with a lot of leftovers for the next day... and the next day?
There is still photography to be completed for the front and back covers of the book. That will take place on November 28 and will also be designed and handled by Paulo and Tina. I wish I could show you what the front cover might look like but I am not allowed to do that. However, you will not be surprised to learn that it will look stupendous. Regee, Paulo and Tina will make sure of that!
Even though there was a lot of painstaking work involved, cook, stylist and photographer were a great team and had a lot of fun during their three 8-9 hour photo shoots.
Click on "Read more" below to see more photos
Farmers is a huge fresh market with hundreds of stalls overloaded with vegetables, fresh meat, fresh fish and all sorts of other goodies. After a couple of hours walking around trying to find everything we need, we stagger back home laden down by heavy bags and boxes.
Regee then has to start prepping some of the dishes in the afternoon and evening so that she will have something to give Paulo and Tina when she arrives at Tina's house the next day. On all three occasions, the prepping and cooking went on at our condo until about 1AM!
Up early the next morning. It is a logistical nightmare for Regee to pack absolutely everything she needs for the 8 dishes to be cooked that day--including food, pots and pans, food processor, utensils etc. Luckily, she is a consummate Excel user and I think she has used up a couple of forests on lists and notes! Then pile into an Uber and fight your way through Manila rush hour traffic for 1.5 hours to Tina's house.
Then the real work begins with Regee cooking up a storm and Ana assisting. I just try to keep out of the way. In fact, on the second shoot, I had 24-hour stomach 'flu so apart from taking a few photos, I slept most of the time on the sofa. I only ate a banana that day as I couldn't bear the thought of food.
They also serve who only sleep and wait!
Here are just a few of the photos I took on the second and third photo shoots.
Paulo arrives with a huge bag of equipment for the third and last photo shoot
On the left, Tina sets to work on styling the the lettuce cups. On the right is the result.
Regee's Kare kare is transformed on Paulo's computer
The unadorned mussels from Farmers Market look very colorful after cooking
Pancit Buko
Salmon in a coconut curry sauce with lemongrass
Shrimp summer rolls with coconut meat
At the end of the last day, Tina had a surprise addition to our dinner--an absolutely delicious chocolate cake that she had baked for us to celebrate the completion of three very successful photo shoots. In addition to being a food stylist, she is also a commercial baker. Thank goodness this was on the third photo shoot and I was able to eat. And did I mention that in addition to lunch and dinner on each photo shoot, everyone went home with a lot of leftovers for the next day... and the next day?
There is still photography to be completed for the front and back covers of the book. That will take place on November 28 and will also be designed and handled by Paulo and Tina. I wish I could show you what the front cover might look like but I am not allowed to do that. However, you will not be surprised to learn that it will look stupendous. Regee, Paulo and Tina will make sure of that!
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