Before lockdown I had already planned to start photographing food from home. A recent move has given me more kitchen space and now with time on my hands, I finally had the chance to do it.
I also wanted to showcase the dishes of some amazing Brighton and Hove restaurants that I have worked with in the past. My first port of call was the lovely team at the wonderful Greek restaurant - Nostos.
I have visited Nostos both for work with Restaurants Brighton and as a customer and I was blown away by their food on both occasions
In their own words….
‘ Authentic, wholesome food, as it should be. Honouring our culinary heritage while taking inspiration from local ingredients to create a varied menu that includes iconic dishes as well as lesser known gems of Greek cuisine ’
I have been to Greece almost every year for 10 years now either for work or on holiday and it really feels like a home away from home for me. I love everything Greek! The food, the landscape. the culture. With no visit in sight for this year, I wanted to bring a bit of Greece home and recreate an authentic recipe that would carry me away to mediterranean in one forkful.
At Nostos, their head chef Alex kindly shared with me their recipe for Vegan Gemista - an authentic dish of stuffed vegetables with rice.
I first had Gemista in Greece many years ago and they soon became one of my favourite dishes. The slow cooking of the rice, flavoured with fresh herbs and sweetened with raisins made this particular recipe one of the best I have tasted! I roasted some potatoes on the side and served it with a Greek salad and Tzatziki.
I felt honoured to have such coveted inside info - thank you Alex!
I set about planning my shoot.
I painted an old table in classic blue and white, sourced props and got all the ingredients in. I discovered there is quite a lot of planning involved in this part of the shoot which I really enjoyed.
Setting up a home studio in my kitchen was pretty straight forward. I have big windows so there is lots of natural light which I then diffused and reflected back onto the dishes. It was a long day of prepping, cooking, shooting and eating! I took on the role of chef, stylist and photographer so it was a busy day but I was rewarded with some great photos and a wonderful meal to sit down to.
After shooting indoors I ventured out and took a few shots in the garden….
Nostos are now doing takeaway so you can try this dish and many others by going to their website below. They have a range of vegan and vegetarian options. They also have a great online shop for fresh bread, pies, desserts, coffee, vegetables and essentials.
They are open everyday from 10am to 9.30pm for take away and deliveries. There is 30% discount for NHS staff.
https://www.nostos-hove.co.uk/