Back to Basics - Chef Michael Smith

Here is a quick look at Chef Michael Smith’s new cookbook, Back to Basics, released this month. We shot this book over 10 days in PEI at Michael’s fully loaded test kitchen and we're looking forward to round 2 in November to shoot his next one. Here’s a few of our favourite shots from the book. Food Styling: Unkie No-No (Noah Witenoff) Food Styling Assistant: Magical Mel Stuparyk Prop Styling: Mad Dog Johari Post-production: Meathead Gibson

Bottomless Pot of Steamed Mussels

Prosciutto Roasted Asparagus

Tree Fruit Compote

Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb

Whole Wheat Spaetzle with Baby Spinach

Brazillian Grilled Steak with Salsa Criolla

The Team!

The Flavour Principle

Lucy Waverman and Beppi Crosariol's new cookbook, The Flavour Principle was just released a few days ago. Last fall, I had the pleasure of shooting this book with an all-star team which made my job pretty easy.I'm really proud of how this one turned out. Here are a few of my favourite shots from the book.

Art Director: Colleen Nicholson Food Stylist: Eshun Mott Prop Stylist: Madeleine Johari Digital Guru: Mathew Bartholomew Gibson jr.

Publisher: HarperCollins

The Book!

Steak

Buffalo Mozzarella & Pickled Fennel

On the Rocks

Spicy Chilled Pea Soup with Crisp Mint

Korean Beef Noodle Sitr-Fry

Warm Lemon Poppy Seed Cakes

Ardbeg Whisky

The Definitive Stockyards Spareribs

Cherry Tomatoes

Mango Ice Cream

Oysters with Horseradish Gelée

Warm Chocolate Caramel Cakes

Saffron Risotto with Scallops

Warm Lemon Poppy Seed Cakes

Toronto Life Cookbook 2013 - Food

Every chef puts a bit of their personality and attitude into his or her recipes. I try to keep that in mind while I'm working on a project like this, because the food can be just as much fun as the people who create it.Here are a few of my favourite dishes from this year's batch.

Patty Melt - Rose & Sons

Minestrone Soup - Samuel J. Moore

Steak with Shishito Peppers - Bar Isabel

Scalloped Sweet Potatoes - The Grove

Laksa - Hawker Bar

Creole Corn Fritters - Leslieville Pumps

Chai Spice Doughnuts - Glory Hole

Panna Cotta - Toca

Macaroni & Cheese - The Gabardine

Mexican Corn - La Carnita

Bangcakes - Origin Liberty

Roasted Scallops - Bent

Paella - Patria

Duck Trio - Farmhouse Tavern

Spaghetti all'amatriciana

Toronto Life Cookbook 2013 - The Chefs

The Toronto Life Cookbook hits the shelves this week. This is my second year shooting this project and it’s quickly become one of my favourites. I get to work with 40 of the city’s top chefs, shooting their food along with a portrait of them in their restaurant. First up, here' a look at a few of the portraits of this year’s chefs. I’ll post another blog in coming days to show off the food. Enjoy!

Teo Paul - Cote de Boeuf

Susur Lee - Bent

Basilio Pesce - Porzia

Chris Jang - A-OK Foods

Didier Leroy - Didier

Kristel Placida - Le Ti Colibri

Monica Miller - Saving Grace

Alex Molitz - Farmhouse Taven

Alec Martin - Hawker Bar

Danielle Oron - Moo Milk Bar

Andrew Carter - The Oxley

Greg Flom - Leslieville Pumps

Eron Novalski - Aria

Matt Petit - Rock Lobster

Jonathan Hamilton & Andrew Richmond - La Carnita

Ashley Jacot De Boinod - Glory Hole

Anthony Rose - Rose and Sons

Tye Thomas and Bryan Lavers - Thomas Lavers Cannery

Steve Gonzalez - Valdez

Alexandra Feswick - Samuel J. Moore

Craig Harding - Campagnolo

Gihen Zitouni - Toca

Attilio Pugliese - Happy Hooker

Grant Van Gameren - Bar Isabel

Let's go to the Ex!

Celebrating the Ex's intestinal terrorist and his band of brothers. anti-food styling: Noah Witenoff anti-assisting: Matt Gibson

The Jumbo Corn Dog

The Caramel Apple

Corn on the Cob

The Jumbo Turkey Leg

Cotton Candy

The Mini Donut

The Donut Burger

Chef Michael Smith

We were thrilled to be invited out to Prince Edward Island this past January to shoot Chef Michael Smith's latest cookbook.Not so thrilled about the blizzard we got caught in on our way there (see the photo below).

Once we got settled in, it was a fantastic shooting experience in the beautiful town of Bay Fortune. Michael and his wonderful team set us up in an amazing cottage right next to the studio. I really can't say enough about how great we were treated while we were out there. It felt like we were on vacation.

A few highlights for me included:

1. Drinking PEI Moonshine. 2. The endless games of ping pong. 3. Madeleine discovering a new constellation - 'the mini dipper' 4. Noah taking on the nickname of 'lettuce leaf' 5. Watching Mel go up and down the stairs from the kitchen to the shooting area 900 times.

The book won't be out until later this year, but here's a little preview of some of the shots we did:

Prop Stylist: Madeleine Johari Food Stylist: Noah Witenoff Food Stylist Assistant: Melanie Stuparyk

Prime Rib

Smashed Potatoes

Fries

Chicken Wings Whole

Barley Risotto

Pork Chops

Honey Mustard Ribs

Pan Roasted Zucchini

Chicken Strips and Dips

Curried Lamb Shank

Fish Wings

Backyard Burger

The storm we got caught in on our way out to PEI

Noah and I having a "discussion"

Reviewing a shot

The championship match

Happy Anniversary

Here's to Matt Gibson. He's just passed his 2 year anniversary here at Ryan Skuzlik Photography.2 years of abuse and still going strong!

The choice of a new generation.

Applied Arts 2013

It's always nice to be included in the Applied Arts Photo Annual.Here are some of my photos that made the cut this year.

To see the rest of the winners click here

Ultra Decadent Chocolate Cake

Toronto Life Cookbook - Lobster

Toronto Life Cookbook - Sandwich

Toronto Life Cookbook - Burger

Fog on Dwarf Trees A

Fog on Dwarf Trees B

Eat Street

I am always pushing to go messier, oozier, and runnier when shooting food… but it’s a fine line before it gets, well, sloppy. Shooting the Eat Street Cookbook put that concept to the test. Each recipe was provided by various food trucks found across North America, and our goal was to shoot each one with a casual, street food feel. It got messy, and we stained a lot of things, but it was a helluvalotta fun.