ryan szulc 2013-10-18 ryan szulc 2013-10-18

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!

ryan szulc 2013-10-16 ryan szulc 2013-10-16

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

ryan szulc 2013-10-10 ryan szulc 2013-10-10

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

ryan szulc 2013-10-09 ryan szulc 2013-10-09

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

ryan szulc 2013-08-31 ryan szulc 2013-08-31

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

ryan szulc 2013-05-08 ryan szulc 2013-05-08

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

ryan szulc 2013-04-23 ryan szulc 2013-04-23

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.

Whole Truck Burger

Chili Fries

Chocolate Diablo Cookies

Terimayo Oroshi

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Soba Noodles

Crab & Brie Grilled Cheese

Mac N Cheese Cones

Oysters

Grilled Swordfish

Pimento Mac & Cheese

Pork Chops with Lemon Potatoes

ryan szulc 2013-04-17 ryan szulc 2013-04-17

Mustard 5 ways

Food Styling: Noah WitenoffProp Styling: Madeleine Johari

5 different mustards

in a salad dressing

on toast

on a burger

as a marinade

on meatballs

ryan szulc 2013-04-11 ryan szulc 2013-04-11

Waiting

I love shooting landscapes and working with natural light. It's such a different approach than what I am used to working in studio. I had an opportunity to do this recently on a commercial shoot in Oregon and I was reminded how much waiting is involved. Waiting for the sun to move into the right position or waiting for the clouds to clear, waiting for the light to work it's magic and bring the landscape to life...so much waiting. Sometimes the waiting is completely wasted as the sun gets into that perfect position and that's when the clouds roll in and ruin everything. I don't really mind this though. It's a refreshing change of pace. It's like going fishing, it's fantastic when everything lines and you get that awesome shot, but it's also just nice to be out there even if thing don't fall into line. All that waiting gives you an opportunity to reflect and everything just seems to slow down a little.

So here are a few shots I took while waiting and waiting and waiting...

ryan szulc 2013-04-03 ryan szulc 2013-04-03

Toronto Star Cookbook

Jennifer Bain's Toronto Star Cookbook hits the shelves this week. We shot this project in studio last April. It's funny how you kind of forget about the work for a while and then it comes back to life with the release of the book a year later.

With recipes ranging from Brazilian fish stew, to bimbimpbap to beef kaftas to grilled cheese sandwiches, this cookbook is definitely the most eclectic selection of recipes i've ever shot.

The Toronto Star Cookbook includes recipes from the province's chefs, farmers, home cooks, food writers, store owners and many others. Inside are recipes from more than two dozen cultures, reflecting the province's rich multicultural food scene, as well as many Canadian classics. Jennifer selected and personally tested every one of the book's recipes, most of which have been featured in the Star since she took over the food beat in 2000. Also included are 25 READERS' CHOICE recipes, chosen by Star readers as their favourites of all time.

Prop Styling: Madeleine Johari Food Styling: Noah Witenoff

Publisher: Appetite by Random House