Making Food Look Good: Food Advertising Techniques

What You See Isn’t Always What You Get!

Roast Chicken or Turkey Cooked briefly Cooked briefly Painted with wood stain and food colouring Painted with wood stain and food colouring Injected with mashed potatoes to make it plumper Injected with mashed potatoes to make it plumper Browned with a blow torch Browned with a blow torch

Ribs Same process as your chicken or turkey Same process as your chicken or turkey Only now you can ‘paint’ with BBQ sauce Only now you can ‘paint’ with BBQ sauce

Hamburger Cook Briefly Cook Briefly Create grill marks with red hot skewers Create grill marks with red hot skewers Choose the perfect bun, lettuce piece, tomato etc… Choose the perfect bun, lettuce piece, tomato etc… Separate each layer with plastic discs so the bun doesn’t get soggy Separate each layer with plastic discs so the bun doesn’t get soggy

Fresh Fruit Coated with spray on deodorant for that fresh, shiny look Coated with spray on deodorant for that fresh, shiny look Drop glycerin on fruit to simulate water trickling off the fruit Drop glycerin on fruit to simulate water trickling off the fruit

Veggies Coat veggies with a squirt of glycerin (used to treat burns) and water Coat veggies with a squirt of glycerin (used to treat burns) and water Gives food a juicy, glistening appearance Gives food a juicy, glistening appearance Works with seafood as well Works with seafood as well

Ice Cream Often not real ice cream, but a mix of shortening and icing sugar Often not real ice cream, but a mix of shortening and icing sugar A typical photo shoot using real ice cream calls for two dozen 2- litre containers – it melts fast! A typical photo shoot using real ice cream calls for two dozen 2- litre containers – it melts fast!

Pudding Photographed pudding is as hard as a rock Photographed pudding is as hard as a rock It contains 10 times the amount of gelatin of normal pudding so it doesn’t melt under the photo lights It contains 10 times the amount of gelatin of normal pudding so it doesn’t melt under the photo lights This also makes it easier to mold This also makes it easier to mold

Chocolate Sundae Trying to take that perfect picture of a sundae? Trying to take that perfect picture of a sundae? The chocolate sauce will stick to the ‘ice cream’ better if you put pieces of paper towel under it The chocolate sauce will stick to the ‘ice cream’ better if you put pieces of paper towel under it

Icy Cool Drinks Nope, not real ice Nope, not real ice Rather it’s acrylic ‘ice’ that refracts light better than real ice and doesn’t melt Rather it’s acrylic ‘ice’ that refracts light better than real ice and doesn’t melt

Cereal… No milk here No milk here Instead white glue is substituted for the milk. Why? Instead white glue is substituted for the milk. Why? The cereal doesn’t get soggy The cereal doesn’t get soggy

Pancakes and Syrup The pancakes are coated with stain guard so they don’t soak up the syrup The pancakes are coated with stain guard so they don’t soak up the syrup The syrup could very well be motor oil The syrup could very well be motor oil

French Fries! Individually selected and then secured to a styrofoam base so they ‘fan’ out perfectly Individually selected and then secured to a styrofoam base so they ‘fan’ out perfectly

Hot, Steaming Food? Place a source of steam behind the food to give it that ‘fresh from the oven appearance’ Place a source of steam behind the food to give it that ‘fresh from the oven appearance’ Or place hot steaming cotton balls within the plate Or place hot steaming cotton balls within the plate

Perfect Pasta? Place blocks of Styrofoam under the pasta noodles so they don’t cave in on you Place blocks of Styrofoam under the pasta noodles so they don’t cave in on you Build ingredients in layers Build ingredients in layers

Not all photos are stylized…but…some sure are!