What is the word for it?: Kismet
This winter, I spent a week sewing white muslin curtains and listening to Chef Dan Barber’s book, The Third Plate, on audio cd. I was so entranced by the ideas in the book, that I brought the cd with me on extra trips to the fabric store, and on the short drive to pick my daughter up from school. For a few weeks, I became obsessed. I told everyone about the book, and the ideas in it. I was interviewed for a podcast on food photography, and I talked about the book. I bought seeds from Row 7 Seeds, a company Chef Dan Barber co-founded. I considered going to an expensive dinner event, hosted by Chef Barber, to meet people who would talk about food and farming, and the future of these things. I bought copies of the book to give away, and thought about taking one of the winter farm tours at Stone Barns.
And then I got a call from an editor at the Washington Post Magazine. “We are doing a feature review on Blue Hill at Stone Barns for the magazine’s Luxury edition. Are you available to do the photography?”
The day did not disappoint. Chef Barber couldn’t have been nicer. He plated food for the shots. He graciously allowed me to take multiple portrait set ups. I was invited to photograph anything: the kitchen, dining room, farm, greenhouses, chefs grilling, bakers baking, the front-of-house pre-service meeting, and a little secret courtyard garden where lucky diners are sometimes escorted. The day reminded me of all the things I love about being a food photographer.
I had brought my husband, Chris, with me. Years ago, we used to enjoy drive-traveling together, chatting, and meeting interesting people. Recently, we are just so busy with life to take a day to work together. We have a daughter now, and hours on the road are more of a grind than relaxing. But, I told him this was a treat: It is not every day you get an invitation to have a fly-on-the-wall experience at one of the top restaurants in the world. He agreed, and I enjoyed glancing at his face as he watched the back-of-house kitchen scene. It is like being inside of an episode of Chef’s Table, but it is live. Heat and movement are everywhere.
Chef Barber presented us with an arrangement of foods to photograph – things I have never seen before, although some I had read about in his book. Everything related to what we had just seen in the greenhouses and on the farm.
I am not allowed to receive gifts, or eat for free, when I work for the big national newspapers. Although, we had half an hour to spare at one point, and Chris and I sat in a corner of the bar, as the first diners arrived. We drank water, and when two small yellow drinks appeared before us, we sipped them. Fermented tumeric soda. Delicious.
The review was published in the Washington Post Magazine last month. I took more photos than they could print. And it was a bigger experience than I could relate in one image on Instagram. Now that it is nearly summer, my attention has shifted to other things. The curtains are up in my kitchen photo studio, and I have been busy photographing food in there. But, when I pause and reflect on the seemingly random timing of things, I am amazed.
This summer, we will be visiting my family on the west coast of Canada. I can’t wait to see if my brother planted some of the Row 7 seeds I sent him.
