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132: Luisa Brimble: Photography, Food and Relationships

July 20, 2016 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

Luisa Brimble on The Dinner Special podcast talking about keeping posted with her.
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Luisa Brimble on The Dinner Special podcast talking about photography, food and relationships.

Luisa Brimble

Luisa is a food and lifestyle photographer, based in Sydney, Australia, who strives to capture images that exude warmth, simplicity, honesty, and connection. Her work has been published in numerous print and online publications, including Kinfolk magazine, Frankie magazine, and Food & Wine magazine, just to name a few. When she is not photographing, Luisa is collaborating with other creatives to hold food photography and styling workshops.

I am so happy to have Luisa Brimble of lbrimble.com joining me here on the show today.

(*All photos below are Luisa’s.)

On Her Photography Journey:

Luisa Brimble on The Dinner Special podcast talking about her photography journey.

(Photo by Hugo Sharp)

I basically started at being a wedding and portrait photographer. When Kinfolk magazine came along in 2011, that’s when I fell in love with the whole gathering and all the food. I started shooting food and mainly gatherings. It basically started when I started doing the Kinfolk gatherings in Australia and organizing workshops here and there. Since then, it just fell in and then I started shooting for Broadsheet in Sydney. They’re like the guide to where you want to eat around Sydney and Melbourne. They didn’t pay me a lot of money, but I actually did say to people that I think it’s like baptism by fire. If you wanted to get your foot in the door in photography, you do this stuff to get your name out there. I would not have gotten my first cookbook photography, without the experience of working with Broadsheet.

This is really amazing, and kind of story that I actually tell people every time I do workshops. This is the very first cookbook that I photographed, Community by Arthur Street Kitchen cookbook. Actually, I met Hetty McKinnon. This is the first cover. There’s only 1,000 copies of this being printed. I think in a space of three weeks or a month or something like that, the book was sold out, and then it was picked up by a publisher called Plum Books. This is the second edition of the book, and I think it’s about 60,000 copies now that’s been printed in Australia. So we photographed the cookbook, and her second cookbook in New York, which is called Neighbourhood. It’s actually going to be released in September, which is really exciting.

Anyway, because of  the Community cookbook, because of love, I said to Hetty when I first met her photographing for Broadsheet, and we just started talking. We hit it off. We talked about…and I think the one common thread that we talked about is because we love Kinfolk. I loved it, and she loved the aesthetic, too, at the time. We were talking about it and then all of a sudden she said, “I really want to publish my own cookbook.” I said, “My God! I would love to shoot it. I will shoot it, I will shoot it for love.” There was money involved when we photographed this. It was both our time, her time and she paid for all the ingredients and her time cooking it. Anyway, I think when the book was released and it was sold out, it was just the biggest opportunity that I’ve ever had.

Then all of a sudden I started shooting. I shot a cookbook for Penguin, Lantern. It was one of the MasterChef guys. I’ve never been in such a legit photo shoot, where we had a stylist and we had props. It was an amazing experience. Since then, that’s when I just said, “No, I’m not shooting weddings anymore and I just want to concentrate on food.” So since then, I’ve just basically done cookbooks, shooting cookbooks and shooting food or shooting for small businesses which I love. Just doing lots of personal projects.

On Cooking and Food:

Luisa Brimble on The Dinner Special podcast talking about cooking and food.

I could never be a food blogger, and the only reason for that is because I can’t concentrate on doing two things. I would definitely prefer to be behind the lens. This is why I was so glad I met Sarah Glover because I kind of could blog through her because she cooks all the food and I shoot it. I always wanted to have a food blog, but now everything is just that way. But I do cook at home, but I can’t create recipes. I get inspired, but it’s only to share around the house. If I do have a recipe book in front of me and I don’t like one of the ingredients, I would usually just swap it or kind of change a little bit of the method.

On Hosting Styling and Photography Workshops:

Luisa Brimble on The Dinner Special podcast talking about hosting styling and photography workshops.

I think the first workshop was kind of initiated by the fact that I just wanted to collaborate with other people. My first ever workshop would’ve probably had been with Beth Kirby, Local Milk, which I organized here in Sydney at Glenmore House. That’s probably about three years ago now, and we did probably about three workshops. So she came back to Sydney. Since then Aran Goyoaga from Cannelle et Vanille invited me to teach a workshop in Seattle, which is like, “What? Are you serious? It’s like, Aran. Why would she even ask me to come to Seattle? Then since then, we’re like…I collaborate a lot with Sophie Hansen, Local Is Lovely, because they have a big property where she grew up with her mom. She’s got this property about two hours’ drive from Sydney, and she actually teaches art classes as well.

But it actually accommodates probably about 15 people, and we were able to do the workshops there. That’s how I  started doing a collab. The one thing that Sydney is really hard to kind of organize a workshop for is finding the right venue. It’s really hard because it’s very expensive. By the time you organize a workshop and work out all the logistics and the people and the food, and the scenes and the props and everything, to really make money off workshops, you should be charging about $3,000. But we were charging half of that, especially for a Local Is Lovely workshop. Because, obviously, we didn’t have to pay so much with the accommodation, and that really helped a lot.

It’s basically giving people the chance of going to a workshop that is so affordable, and it’s three days. I like that workshop, because I feel like if we do two and a half days, we’re kind of giving people a lot more value for their money. And it’s really nice to get to know everyone. It’s like I say this a lot to people, I meet the next person I’m collaborating with at a workshop. I’ve met so many already that’ve been to a second shooting with me or I mentored them and all that sort of stuff. I do a little bit of a workshop now with Annabelle Hickson of The Dailys where it’s actually 10 hours’ drive. It’s all the way down to the country, 10 hours’ drive from Sydney, but yet, people still go there.

I think one part of why we do workshops is, this isn’t money making. We’re not making money off it. We have a big team of people and only because we like to hang out with people that we really like working with. I think it’s all about relationships as well. So collaborating with a lot of people is what I love doing best. This is why workshops happen. I only have two left this year. Next month we have Molly Yeh coming. This is with Local is Lovely with Sophie Hansen. So we’re now in full swing to kind of plan what we’re going to be doing next year in 2017. I think the plan is, hopefully, fingers crossed, there will be workshops in Europe. And that’s the plan. So we’re working on that.

The Pressure Cooker:

Luisa Brimble on The Dinner Special podcast answering The Pressure Cooker.

Which food shows or cooking shows do you watch?

Chef’s Table! But I do love the local ones, the Australian local ones. The ones that I really love is, I know there’s River Cottage and there is also Mathew Evans’ show, Gourmet Farmer. Gourmet Farmer is my favorite show.

What are some food blogs or food websites we have to know about?

I love following Hugo and Elsa and Local Is Lovely, obviously Sophie Hansen. I love her food blog. My Darling Lemon Thyme, obviously. Also Cook Republic. I also do love Local Milk, Lean & Meadow is great. Matters of the Belly, obviously, Noha.  There are so many out there. I think once you can go from one place, it just spreads out. Those are some of my definite favorite blogs.

Who do you follow on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat that make you happy?

Number one is Lisa Marie Corso. She’s the editor or managing editor of The Design Files. I know it’s more interior. It’s not really food. But her personal Instagram makes me laugh all the time. I love it. Just really good with the way, with her words and all that. The Dailys, really beautiful aesthetics and country life and all the things that she shares. Amelia Fullarton, amazing work. Again, it’s not food. I find my inspiration not necessarily with food, and I think I feel like Instagram is so bombarded with so much food now.

I just want to get away from so much of that, and then follow people who are actually amazing at capturing the light and the shadows and all that. Saskia Wilson, she does fashion.  She does a lot of fashion, but again, I follow them because of the way they work with the lines and the elements of design. Oli Sansom, again amazing portrait photography. Tim Coulson because of his family and the way he just shares his life and love of life.

What is the most unusual or treasured item in your kitchen?

I would probably say this one plate. The plate that…when my mother-in-law passed away probably about five years ago now when they sold everything, and they sold the property, and I said the only thing that I want from that house is the dining, everyday plates. Whenever we come and visit, an everyday plate. I think there was only one plate that was left. It was rescued and that was it. It’s this really simple floral, and I love eating from it.

Name one ingredient you used to dislike but now you love.

Brussel sprouts. I’ve never really been introduced to that, only quite recently, actually. But Hetty McKinnon made me love it. I think when we were shooting for her cookbook, she made me look at it differently. It’s such a bitter vegetable, but she just put it in an oven, roasted it and comes out and it’s just really amazing. It just brings out the sweetness in it, sweet and bitter kind of thing.

What are a few cookbooks that make your life better?

Oh my gosh. Nigel Slater. When I buy cookbooks, though, I only really look at it for photos. Sometimes I do read…I read the recipes and just go through. I really like the way he just explains it. It’s just straight to the point. No beating around the bush, simplicity. I like it, just simple. It doesn’t have to be complicated. This is A Table in the Orchard by Michelle Crawford. I love it because it’s all about her stories and also her favorite recipes. It’s a beautiful book. Again, can’t go past Arthur Street Kitchen and Emiko Davies’ cookbook, Florentine. She now lives in Italy. And yes, there are some amazing, really great recipes there. Some of the pastas and some of the really nice cakes and biscuits. Again, also photographed by one of my favorite photographers, which is Lauren Bamford.

What song or album just makes you want to cook?

You know what? I don’t have a favorite album or a favorite theme, but I do listen to Spotify and then I put like a playlist on the 80s. Just listen to the 80s music. You know what? When I’m cooking, I actually don’t listen to music a lot. But I listen to podcasts like, The Dinner Special podcast. Boom!

On Keeping Posted with Luisa:

Luisa Brimble on The Dinner Special podcast talking about keeping posted with her.

Definitely Instagram. I’m always just posting. If not, Snapchat. Same name, Luisa Brimble.

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Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: A Table in the Orchard, Amelia Fullarton, Arthur Street Kitchen, Australia, Broadsheet, Cannelle et Vanille, Chef's Table, Cook Republic, cookbook photographer, Emiko Davies, Glenmore House, Gourmet Farmer, Hetty McKinnon, Hugo and Elsa, Kinfolk magazine, lbrimble.com, Lean & Meadow, Lisa Marie Corso, Local is Lovely, Local Milk, Luisa Brimble, Mathew Evans, Matters of the Belly, Michelle Crawford, Molly Yeh, My Darling Lemon Thyme, Oli Sansom, Photographer, River Cottage, Sarah Glover, Saskia Wilson, Sophie Hansen, Sydney, The Dailys, The Design Files, Tim Coulson

042: Valeria Necchio: How Following Food Seasonality Leads to Tastier Eating

May 29, 2015 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

Valeria Necchio of Life Love Food on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to keep posted with her.
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Valeria Necchio of Life Love Food on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how following food seasonality leads to tastier eating.

Life Love Food

Valeria grew up in the Venetian countryside, and grew up eating local seasonal food most of which was home grown. She has a Masters Degree in Food Culture and Communications, and her recipes on Life Love Food are simple, wholesome, and inspired by her Italian roots.

Currently living in London, she chooses healthier ingredients and enjoys eating a balanced diet that just so happens to be naturally plant-based, and the recipes on her blog reflect this.

I am so excited to have Valeria Necchio of Life Love Food here on the show today.

On the Food Culture in Italy When She Was Growing Up:

Valeria Necchio of Life Love Food on The Dinner Special podcast talking about the food culture in Italy when she was growing up.

I was born in Venice, in the city, but really quickly, we moved in the countryside as my father found a job. He’s a teacher, so he found a job in a school in the Venetian countryside. And my grandmother happened to be there and my grandparents as well. They had a really, really beautiful vegetable garden, and that was definitely not an issue for that generation. Everybody was, to some extent – especially when living in the countryside – just growing their own food, mainly vegetables. Sometimes they would have some livestock.

So for me, that proximity to that vegetable garden, just the proximity to my grandparents, has had a really, really big influence in regards to my way of cooking and eating. And the way they were growing the vegetables, the way they were bringing the vegetables to the kitchen, how they were transforming that and creating meals out of those. Somehow, growing up, I absorbed this concept of seasonality.

Everything was really bountiful. I learned the skill of preserving from them, because they obviously embraced modernity, and indeed had refrigerators, freezers, and things like this. But still, that kind of culture of preserving was really strong. And coming from the past, it was just something that they’ve always done and they kept doing.

For example, lots of tomato preserves and really classic Italian tomato sauce. That was definitely the first food experience for me and what really had a big impact on my way of cooking and eating.

Now it’s definitely this cycle of seasons and respecting the natural growth of vegetables that are brought to the table, and are really so fresh because they have been grown in their right season. And also, this concept of trying to preserve it for the months to come simply because tomatoes, they were not available in the winter, but then they’re really not that tasty in the winter.

So try to enjoy what summer has brought to you in such abundance and just carry on with that. Definitely seasonality is a crucial point for me, and also the fact that we’ve been eating out of this vegetable garden for so long. It has brought so many cheerful meals to our family.

For me, eating mainly vegetables, having vegetables as the core of my meals is just a really natural way of eating. It comes really effortless for me.

On the Seasonality of Food:

That’s a really really important factor, the awaiting for the ripe strawberries, especially things like strawberries that you find available year-round and most of the time are so tasteless. And not only do you miss that feeling of saying, “Okay, it’s May, June, the strawberries are ripe, so great. You just go and pick them,” but also the fact that they really don’t taste very good at all. So yeah, it’s a double miss.

On How Food Culture in Italy Has Changed:

Valeria Necchio of Life Love Food on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how the food culture in Italy has changed.

I think it has changed a lot. Not very many people grow their food anymore.

My generation doesn’t have access to their own vegetable garden. Maybe they still have relatives that do that, but more and more, that kind of skill has been lost.

And definitely, obviously, like modern life, everything is much faster.

There is the culture of the supermarket everywhere, a lot of convenient food. People still tend to have some sort of basic knowledge about food. Somehow Italians, because of osmosis or I don’t know what, they absorb some sort of skill that helps them navigate the kitchen, the food world, and try to prepare some decent meals for themselves.

At the same time, not very many people do tomato sauce from scratch anymore. You just open the bottle and just pour it on your pasta and that’s how it goes.

On When She Realized that Food is Her Passion:

Valeria Necchio of Life Love Food on The Dinner Special podcast talking about when she realized that food was her passion.

I think it happened when I left home to go and study at my university and I started to cook for myself mostly. Because before, really, I was fed rather than cook, so really lucky.

I started to experiment in the kitchen more and more, and share meals with people that were not my family, so my roommates, friends, really different types of mechanisms that go beyond the classic family meal.

For me, it started to become quite interesting to see the different dynamics that happen around the table and how food really brings people together. There were people from different nationalities at that point. So anything can trigger a conversation about food memories or traditions from other countries.

I had really started to become quite passionate about how food can play a different role, yet a really, really crucial one in all different cultures, and so I wanted to dig deeper for sure.

On a Simple Dish that is Very Traditional Italian:

Risotto is, again, a really obvious answer, but it might sound very intimidating to most because they say, “Oh, it’s so complicated. I don’t know how to make it as an Italian makes it.” But in reality, you just need to nail the basic steps and then it really comes together very easily.

Starting from the onion fried in oil. Then you toast the rice and add in the wine. And then you put your ingredients, then you keep cooking it really slowly. You keep stirring it until it comes together into a smooth cream, but the rice is not mushy. And the risotto is not too solid. It needs to be really running still. That’s it.

On Food Culture in London, UK Versus Italy:

Valeria Necchio of Life Love Food on The Dinner Special podcast talking about the food culture in London versus the food culture in Italy.

London is a really, really exciting place for food in general. In terms of the food scene, it’s extremely diverse, so it’s really hard to categorize it. But in terms of daily cooking and daily living, I think families rely a lot more than Italians on convenience and just prepared dishes.

I also think that there’s generally less of a knowledge about basic cooking skills. You just notice it from the type of offering that you find in supermarkets in general.

Other big difference is I noticed, as soon as I came here, that most of the fruit and vegetables that you buy at supermarkets is all prepackaged, which is really strange because in Italy, even supermarkets, you just pick up your lettuce or your carrots and it’s all loose. And then I think also in terms of seasonality, there is not a lot of culture related to that. And it’s just a different way of conceiving a meal.

For Italians, vegetables are very much part of a dish, whereas here, for example, vegetables are conceived as a side. You have the protein, and then it’s like a “meat and three veg” type of culture most of the time. This a huge generalization, of course. But just in terms of feeling of how meals are constructed, I think it is pretty much how it works.

On a Food She Was Introduced to in London that She Now Cannot Live Without:

It’s definitely brassicas. We don’t use them very much in Italy just because they grow better in colder climates.

Going to the markets and finding this huge variety of brassicas, for me has been really eye-opening. You can find various types of kales, a lot of different cabbages, little sprouts and all these brassic-y things that make at least the winter a bit more colorful. It’s just not potatoes and beetroots, so there is at least something else.

It’s quite nice and I really grew fond of them besides kale, obviously, which is the big thing. But also other things, as I said, like savoy cabbage, just really, really nice ingredients to cook with and quite versatile.

On Her Blog:

Valeria Necchio of Life Love Food on The Dinner Special podcast talking about her food blog.

I started the blog in 2010 in spring time, so it’s almost five years. It was just after I knew that I was accepted for this Masters in Food Culture.

I wanted to start sharing recipes from my family, or just recipes that I really enjoyed from Venice, from the region, as well as my experience throughout the Masters of just moving to a different town, living this experience, one year with this really international group of students and the trips that I was doing. And so it just all went from there.

After the end of the Masters, I just realized that I really enjoyed doing it and I just wanted to keep doing it. And so I just kept going.

It has been good thus far. But now it’s just hard to find the time, because London is quite busy too. It’s something that there’s no way I’m going to give up. I just cut some corners and find some time for it.

The Pressure Cooker:

Which food shows or cooking shows do you watch?

I watch No Reservations, obviously, which now became Parts Unknown.

Here in the UK, I don’t have a TV, so I don’t really watch very many shows anymore.

What are some food blogs or food websites we have to know about?

I love Orangette  for the food writing. It’s absolutely stunning. And one called Rachel Eats. She’s an English woman based in Rome. Her writing is stunning. Her recipes are absolutely fantastic.

One blog I always always read is written by an amazing lady and friend – Emiko Davies.

And probably one called Hortus Cuisine, for the really, really lovely photography and also because she portrays the Italian countryside in a really romantic way, which is always nice to see.

Who do you follow on Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook that make you happy?

On Pinterest, I follow Local Milk. She is quite an inspiration for things like interiors and things. And I think her eye is really interesting. I don’t know if she makes me happy, but she makes me inspired.

On Twitter, that makes me happy, Bruce Bourdain is quite interesting, and also whoever has created the account for Queen Elizabeth is quite hilarious as well.

And on Facebook, there’s an Italian satire website called Spinoza, who has always quite a sharp pen in regards to news and things. It’s quite fun.

What is the most unusual or treasured item in your kitchen?

Unusual, I have a really old mill that you use to mash basically anything, mash boiled vegetables and potatoes. Or you can mash grapes and make a grape pudding. I have that.

And then the most treasured, I treasure my food processor quite a lot. It helps save my arm and it just does the meringue better than I could ever do myself.

Name one ingredient you used to dislike but now you love.

Cilantro. Italians really don’t have a palate for cilantro. It’s not an ingredient that we ever, ever use or you’ll ever find in an Italian kitchen.

The first time that I was invited to dinner by my Thai friend back during Masters times, I thought everything was tasting quite soapy. But then, I definitely developed a palate for it. So much so that now I really enjoy salads that are basically made just of cilantro and something else.

What are a few cookbooks that make your life better?

Jane Grigson’s, The Vegetable Book. It’s a bible and it’s absolutely fantastic for tips on how to choose vegetables, how to clean them, and just simple ways to prepare them.

I have been using Heidi Swanson’s book quite a lot, the blogger behind 101 Cookbooks. Her book, Super Natural Everyday, is just something that we pull out very, very often for a quick week night meal or just simply inspiration.

What song or album just makes you want to cook?

Lately, I’ve been listening to The National quite a lot. I know they’re quite obscure, but I really like them. They have a good mixture of relaxing and cheerful that gives it a good rhythm in the kitchen.

Keep Posted with Valeria:

Valeria Necchio of Life Love Food on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to keep posted with her.

Definitely Instagram. It’s where I share things that I cook that I don’t have the time to blog about, and where definitely I spend most of my time when it comes to social media. Because it’s really visual and it’s just really fun. So Instagram, @valerianecchio.

 

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Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: 101 Cookbooks, Countryside, Emiko Davies, Food Blog, Food Blogger, Food Culture and Communications, Heidi Swanson, Hortus Cuisine, Italy, Jane Grigson, Life Love Food, Local Milk, London, Masters Degree, No Reservations, Orangette, Parts Unknown, Plant-based, Queen Elizabeth, Rachel Eats, Seasonal Food, Spinoza, Super Natural Everyday, The National, The Vegetable Book, Valeria Necchio, Venice

Hello! I'm Gabriel Soh, home cook, food enthusiast and your host of The Dinner Special podcast.
Everything here on The Dinner Special is an experiment, just like with cooking. Thank you for listening and being part of the adventure.

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