Maple Syrup

A little while ago, the lovely folks at Kit & Ace dropped off a bottle of Drip Copper Maple Syrup.This is some seriously good stuff. So good it inspired us to do a little shoot celebrating one of our national treasures.

Food Styling by Matthew Kimura

Drip Maple - Copper

Maple butter waffle with caramelized banana

Maple yogurt Panna cotta with French Toast

Maple sugar pie

Pimentos & Piri Piri

Here are some photos I shot for Carla Acevedo’s Pimentos & Piri Piri. This cookbook is your invitation to explore the delicious cuisine of Portugal. I love how this one turned out! Food Stylist: Nicole Young Prop Stylist: Madeleine Johari Post-Production: Matt Gibson

Azorean-Style Crab in the Shell

Grilled Sardines

Pine Nut-Crusted Rosemary & Garlic Rack of Lamb

Whole European Sea Bass with Fresh Coriander & Lemon Dressing

Octopus Salad

Peas & Eggs in Tomato and Red Peppers

Sardine Pizza

TV Dinner

TV dinner - the unsung hero of my childhood. I have fond memories of coming home to the note: "Dinner's in the freezer." Remove the plastic covering the dessert, poke a few holes over the corn, 4 minutes in the microwave and make your way over to the boob tube.

Charbroiled pork, chopped and formed, in BBQ sauce, with buttery mashed potatoes and corn. Decadent warm brownie for dessert. Enjoy with: Golden Girls (season 2, episode 6) "Big Daddy’s Little Lady" Blanche's dad (David Wayne) arrives with a surprise: he's remarrying. And an even bigger surprise is his fiancée (Sondra Currie).

Delightfully breaded chicken nugget cutlettes, crinkle fries and sweet corn with a moist brownie for dessert. Pairs well with: Three's Company (season 5, episode 22) "Honest Jack Tripper" Jack swears off fibbing for good, but then learns that blatant honesty is not always the best policy.

Southern style fried chicken cutlets with BBQ dipping sauce, creamy mashed potatoes and sweet corn. Serve hot with: Dukes of Hazard (season 5, episode 21) "Daisy’s Shotgun Wedding" Tired of her family's overprotectiveness, Daisy moves in with a friend---and is promptly kidnapped for a wedding with one of the Beaudry clan.

Tender white turkey meat with gravy, dressing, soft mashed potatoes and green beans. Finished with a scrumptious apple-cranberry dessert. Serve with: ALF (season 4, episode 4) "We’re in the Money" Willie's blood pressure rises along with the Dow Jones average when he decides to go along with ALF's stock-market investments.

Hearty salisbury steak, chopped and formed’ with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes with gravy and sweet corn finished with an apple-cranberrry dessert. Goes well with: "Summer Slam 1988" Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage face off against André the Giant and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase in a match billed as "The Mega Powers versus the Mega Bucks” with guest referee Jesse ‘the body’ Ventura.

Buffalo Girl Cooks Bison

Buffalo Girl Cooks Bison is our second collaboration with the award-winning writer Jennifer Bain. We first teamed up with her to shoot the Toronto Star Cookbook a couple years ago. For her latest book, we turn our attention to,"North America's original red meat." Here's an interesting little tidbit about bison. "An undomesticated species, Bison are ethically raised and primarily grass fed. The result is a meat higher in protein and lower in fat than beef. It's also very high in iron and omega-3 fatty acids." This book features more than 100 bison recipes. Here are a few of the shots we did for the book.

Prop Stylist: Madeleine Johari Food Sytlist: Noah Witenoff Post-Production: Matt Gibson

The book! In store now.

Broiled Bison Marrow Bones with Parsley Salad

Dave Carter's Coffee + Black Pepper-Rubbed Bison Rib Roast

Bison Achari Kebabs with indian Cucumber + Tomato Salad

Bison Burgers with Smoked Gouda + Red Pepper Relish

Southwestern Braised Bison Short Ribs

Cast-Iron Skillet Bison Steak with Caramelized Onions

Bison + Bean Stew with Wilted Swiss Chard

Red Lentil Soup with Mini Bison Meatballs

Bison Balls with Chiptotle + Cilantro

Beer-Braised Bison Ribs with a Chipotle Kick

Bison Steaks

MADE IN QUEBEC - A Culinary Journey

We recently teamed up with HarperCollins & Julian Armstrong, long-time food writer for the Gazette of Montréal, to shoot her latest cookbook Made in Quebec - A Culinary Journey. This book, which hit the shelves last week, shows off the best of what la belle province has to offer. From Lobster Apple Soup, to Maple Syrup Pie, to Venison steak. The range of recipes is very eclectic, which made this cookbook really fun to shoot.

Here are some of the shots from the book.

Prop Stylist: Madeleine Johari Food Stylist: Noah Witenoff Post-Production: Matt Gibson

The book!

Lobster Apple Soup

Maple Syrup Pie

Venison Steak

Lamb Burger

Tarte Tatin

Beet Soup

Glazed Baby Turnips

Fiddleheads

Smoked Salmon Tartar

Apple Crisp

Spring Salad

Creton

Tomato Tarts

Toronto Cooks

Amy Rosen's new book TORONTO COOKS is definitely the most fun I've had on a project in recent memory.We shot with 48 of Toronto's top chefs in my studio over the course of one crazy week. It was an intense marathon shoot, but we couldn't be happier with the results.

"While always known for its vibrant and varied food scene, the city has experienced a culinary explosion of late and is quickly evolving into one of the world's greatest dining destinations. With chef-tested recipes beautifully complemented by Ryan Szulc's gorgeous and playful photographs, Toronto Cooks has everything you need to recreate your restaurant favourites at home."

Publisher: Figure 1 Design: Jessica Sullivan Prop Stylist: Madeleine Johari Post-Production: Matt Gibson

Front and Back Cover

David Lee / Nota Bene Hamachi Ceviche

Matty Matheson / Parts and Labour The Parts & Labour Burger

Tyler Shedden / Cafe Boulud Seared Foie Gras Marocaine

Christina Tosi / Momofuku Milk Bar Confetti Cookies

Massimo Capra / Mistura Bigoli with Lobster

Carl Heinrich / Richmond Station Country Terrine with Beet Relish

Lynn Crawford and Lora Kirk / Ruby Watchco Braised Short Ribs with Horseradish Gremolata

Ted Corrado / Drake One Fifty Olive Oil Poached Octopus with Drake x[OH!] Sauce

Alejandro Bustamante / Coquine Restaurant Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Shanks with Couscous and Toasted Pine Nuts

Ashley Jacot De Boinod / Glory Hole Doughnuts Crab Fritters

Victor Barry / Splendido Egg Yolk Raviolo

Alexander Molitz / Farmhouse Tavern Mushroom Soup

Michael Caballo and Tobey Nemeth / Edulis Baba au Rhum

Robert Bartley / E11even Whipped Ricotta with Garlic Country Bread

Hemant Bhagwani / Amaya: The Indian Room Amaya Prawns

Dufflet Rosenberg / Dufflet Chocolate Pecan Buttercream Cake

Alexandra Feswick / The Drake Hotel Grilled Peaches with Oregano and Pistachio Pesto and Fresh Ricotta

Rocco Agostino / Pizzeria Libretto Arancini with Mozzarella

Giacomo Pasquini / Vertical Primo: Salt Cod Ravioli with Zucchini Mint Purée

Rosanne Tripathy / Jelly Modern Doughnuts Peach Shortcake Doughnuts

Ezra Braves / Ezra's Pound Ezra's Hummus

Wing Li / Linda Modern Thai Pineapple Yellow Curry

Ben Heaton / The Grove Squash Fritter, Curry, Coconut

Peter Ramsay / Geraldine Seared Scallops with Beets and Beurre Blanc

Basilio Besce / Porzia Citrus Salad

Conor Joerin and Scott Pennock / The Emerson Spicy Braised Lamb Shanks with Sour Cream and Cilantro on Polenta

Cory Vitiello / The Harbord Room Poached Steelhead Trout with Almond Gazpacho, Grapes, and Cherry Vinegar

Ponniah Vijeyaratnam / Allen's Muscovy Duck Breast with Whiskey Blackcurrant Sauce

Andrew Halitski / Bymark Fennel-Crusted Black Cod, Tomato-Braised Winter Greens, Chickpeas, Parmesan, and Fried Garlic Bread

Jacob Sharkey Pearce / Ursa Housemade Semi-Firm Tofu

Lorenzo Loseto / George Artichoke Gazpacho

Andrew Carter / The Oxley Sticky Bison Short Ribs with Waldorf Slaw and Gaufrette Potatoes

Zane Caplansky / Caplansky's Delicatessen Cabbage Borscht

Stephen Pynn / Bannock Arcadian Court Chicken Pot Pie

Jean-Charles Dupoire / Loire Croque Monsieur with Potato and Leek Soup

Olivier Le Calvez and Andre Walker / El Catrin Tuna Ceviche

Damon Campbell / Bosk Roasted Pork Loin, Vanilla Yam Purée, Pickled Cherries, Warm Maple Bourbon Vinaigrette

Jeremy Dyer / L'Avenue Bistro Beef Bourguignon

Rony Goraichy / Tabülè Garlic Shrimp

Danny Pantano / Glas Wine Bar Variations on Local Beets, Fingerling Potatoes, and Shallot Purée

Fabio Bondi / Local Kitchen & Wine Bar Vitello Tonnato Tartare

Chantana Srisomphan / Khao San Road Pad See Ew

Doug Neigel / Mercatto Orecchiette with Italian Sausage and Rapini

Kris Schlotzhauer / Enoteca Sociale Bucatini All'amatriciana

Donna Ashley and Leif Kravis / Karelia Kitchen Fish Cakes with Remoulade and Cucumber and Red Radish Salad

James Buie / Lakeview Restaurant Freedom Toast

Nadège Nourian / Nadège Tarte Fraîcheur

Peter George / 360 Linguini with Wild Canadian Mushrooms and Crumbled Blue Ermite Cheese

Matthew DeMille / Drake One Fifty Outtake From Shoot

The Messy Baker

Charmian Christie's 'The Messy Baker' has hit the shelves and we're thrilled with the final result.In shooting this book, our goal was to show baking as it happens in the real world - sweet, savoury, messy and fun. Keeping things loose & playful, chapters are broken up into crumbly, dippable, sloppy, smudgy, gritty and drippy. The book is beautifully designed by Amy King and the Rodale design team.

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Food Stylist: Noah Witenoff Prop Stylist: Madeleine Johari Retouching: Matt 'T-Bone' Gibson

The Book

Boozy Chocolate Torte

Brownies

Blueberry Lime Muffins

Basil Cheddar Scones

Poppyseed Bars

Profiteroles

Macarron Meringues

Fig Apricot Newtons

Almond & Fruit Florentines

Boozy Whipped Cream

Vanilla Palmiers

Chewy Ginger Cookies

Cranberry Orange Waffles

Roasted Strawberries

Gouda Dutch Baby

Spicy Cauliflower

Lavash Bread

Mushroom Leek Gruyere Tart

Oreo Cookies

Sweet Potato Samosas

The wonderful Charmian Christie

The Eyeball Test

We love new toys at the studio and we recently picked up a doozy - the Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 100mm F2.It's a beautiful manual focus macro lens that shoots incredibly well wide open. So we decided to test it out with a little eyeball photo shoot. It's really unbelievable how much intricate detail there is an eyeball, and how different each person's eye is from the next.

Me

Matt

Madeleine

Noah

Agnes

Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100

Family Meals

Last November, we packed up the studio, loaded the van and headed back out to Bay Fortune, Prince Edward Island to team up again with chef Michael Smith for his new cookbook "Family Meals". This book features 100 healthy, simple & delicious recipes straight from Michael's home kitchen. We shot this book over the course of 2 weeks. A personal favourite of mine is the Broccoli tofu with spicy peanut sauce.

Publisher: Penguin Group

Prop stylist: Madeleine Johari Food stylist: Noah Witenoff Retouching: Matt Gibson

Street Tacos

Flaming Banana Splits

Saturday Pancakes

Gingersnap Tiramisu

Breakfast Burrito

Fallen Chocolate Cake

Sweets & Treats

Soups & Stews

My Dad's Steak

Roast Beef Sandwich

Salt & Pepper Melon

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Kale!

Chocolate Chip Blondies

Brocoli Tofu with Spicy Peanut Sauce & Brown Rice

Gabe enjoying a Boston Cream Cupcake

Family Meals

Caesar Cookbook

The Caesar is my go-to cocktail at the bar. So when I was asked to shoot a cookbook of Canada’s iconic cocktail, it was a no-brainer - count me in!For this boozy little project we teamed up with Clint Pattemore, Chief Mixing Officer for Mott’s Clamato along with Chefs Connie DeSousa and John Jackson who created the food recipes. Over the span of 3 weeks we shot over 50 different kinds of Caesars along with 20 food recipes to pair with them.

Publisher: Appetite by Random House Prop Stylist: Madeleine Johari Food Stylist: Noah Witenoff

Here are a few of my personal favourites: