1. By: Nikki Starnes & Alliy Cat

3.  Food stylists combine culinary art and science to prepare food for cookbook and advertising photographs, television commercials, and scenes in movies. Stylists are responsible for finding unusual ingredients and preparing food so it looks freshly made and appetizing. A culinary school degree is a must for a food stylist, as the job requires extensive knowledge of how food acts, both aesthetically and scientifically.

4.  A good food stylist starts out with a solid culinary education, and spends several years working as a traditional chef before working in the field. The best way to break in to the market is to work as an assistant to a well- established stylist, and then branch out into having your own clients. Food Stylists can earn anywhere from $450 to $850 a day once they are established.

5.  Being a food stylist is a fascinating and challenging job. Each Food Stylist has their favorite tools of the trade, whether they are a good set of shaping knives, needle-nose tweezers, Q-tips, or various things from art supply stores.  Food Stylists also get to experiment with new recipes when they are helping do the photographs for a new cookbook, and they get to create the new and interesting foods that restaurant chains such as McDonald’s launch.

6.  Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.  Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work- related problems.  Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.  Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.  Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

7.  But being a food stylist requires always being at the top of your game, and food doesn’t always behave. A Food Stylist is only as good as the last photo or commercial, so it requires an individual that is detail-oriented, organized, and focused.