I read a lot of food blogs. Some I visit for a minute or two, while others I can hardly bear to tear myself away. With the latter, I explore deeper and deeper into their archives, marvelling all the time at the quality and consistency of their work.
Sydney food blog, Cook Republic, is one of those blogs I can happily spend hours on. Sneh’s work has a striking aesthetic – it’s lovely but edgy, not pretty. And her photography is nothing short of spectacular.
Sneh is one of the judges for the upcoming Eat Drink Blog 3 photography competition open to all Australian food bloggers. So with the recent announcement of the photography competition I thought it was a great time to ask Sneh a few questions.
Sneh, you’re a modern renaissance woman. You do so many things – graphic and web design, recipe development, styling, photography – and you do them all so well. When people ask you what you do, how do you define yourself?
A very interesting question, Christina, one that I have pondered over myself several times. I usually tell people that I am a designer and writer. I follow that up by saying that I also do photography and styling. But for the most part, I am first and foremost a designer.
Where did your passion for design come from? Who are your design heroes and your greatest influences?
I have been creating art since I was a child. Even when I was ten years old, I was doing pastel portraits, charcoal sketches and dry paint street art. My dad used to create fantastic portrait sketches and beautiful hand lettering. I remember going through his artwork, completely in awe of what was on the pages. I wanted to emulate him. When I was at uni, I discovered the wondrous world of digital art and web design. Walter Disney has always been my design hero for a very long time. Some of the best children’s illustrators from a long time ago to modern day have been my biggest design influences.
Your food photography is incredible, Sneh. How did you learn about photography and styling? How would you describe your style?
Thank you Christina. That is very kind. Approximately 11 years ago while I was living in Singapore and working on a food portal, I came across the launch issue of Donna Hay magazine. It blew my mind. Even though there were many food publications around at the time, there was none like Donna Hay. It was an inspiration. Fast forward to the present and I own every single print issue of the magazine. Although I feed off the pages visually, my style is nothing like the one portrayed in the magazine.
I learned about photography by trial and error and one You Tube video. And I am still learning something new, every single day. I am not very technical when it comes to photography and I might not be able to rattle off the technical terms. My style of photography is very visual, often dark and moody and almost always busy and messy.
I like thinking that I am a “gypsy” photographer. I draw inspiration from the food in front of me and let that guide the styling. I never draw a diagram or list out props. I love portraying food the way I would eat it, messed up, crumbs everywhere, sauce drips, stained napkins and all. I always shoot in natural light and adore shooting when it is quite dark in the evenings. Interesting and quirky props always find their way into my photos.
Your photography has been recognised with a number of awards and press coverage – which award were you most proud of?
I was most proud of winning the first ever EAT DRINK BLOG Australia Wide Food Conference Photography award. It was the IMPACT award and was judged by an esteemed panel of seasoned food photographers and food magazine editors.
For someone new to your blog, which of your recipes would you recommend and why?
These are some of my favourites from the blog that I keep returning to:
- Wholemeal Rosemary & Raisin Rounds;
- Garlic & Thyme Quinoa Patties;
- Macadamia Tray Cookies;
- Burnt Butter Caramel Slice;
- Milk Bundt Cake; and
- Sour Cream Tart.
You always have such great props in your photographs, Sneh – I’m constantly salivating. Do you have any favourite shops or sites you’d like to share with us?
You can tell I am prop fiend, huh? A lot of my props are sourced from local op shops (Vinnies, Salvos). My favourite online shop is Lark Made. I buy a lot of props from Etsy and Ebay as well. Every month, I share a list of my favourite things with links to online prop shops.
When you’re in the kitchen, what are your favourite gadgets and utensils?
I love my 20cm Wusthof chef’s knife and Victorinox paring knife. And my big paddle board that multitasks as a chopping surface and serving platter. Oh and my mixing bowls, blender, herb scissors (I even cut chicken with it!), mortar and pestle, balloon whisk and my Chasseur French oven.
What do your family think of your food blogging?
Nick loves it. He loves his food and recognizes what a boon my food blogging is to him getting to try out something new every other day. My older boy is starting to form an opinion, and wants to be my food-hand-model in his spare time when he grows up. My younger boy doesn’t care much about mum being a “plogger”.
Can you describe your perfect weekend for us?
Aaah. A perfect weekend would be spent at home in my pajamas, cooking and eating breakfast as a family, baking something sweet, watching a movie together, camping out in the backyard, playing a board game or two, having cups after cups of all kinds of tea and then ordering take out at night. No doing dishes or laundry or cleaning up.
What’s next for you and Cook Republic?
More days to work for me (my youngest is off to school next year!) and the launch of something new on Cook Republic next year (details are top secret! :-))
(c) All photos by Cook Republic and reprinted with permission.
