Food Photography in New York – Blog – Francesco Tonelli

Master chef and food photographer and stylist Francesco Tonelli has been very busy on a lot of new projects.  Below is an image from  Food, Family and Friends,a cookbook he has been shooting for actor Stanley Tucci to be published at the end of the year. Tonelli did all photography and styling.

By Jennifer Kilberg

Photographer Francesco Tonelli has really shown a different approach to food. He is able to not only showcase food in still life, but capture the process from raw to cooked in motion. You can see his motion reels on his website, in which he truly treats food as a moving object.

Francesco is not just a food photographer. He’s also a master chef and a food stylist. Born and raised in Italy, Tonelli has cooked in kitchens throughout Europe, was a R&D Chef and Food Stylist for La Cucina Italiana in Milan, and worked as an Associate Professor in Culinary Arts at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.

For the past decade, Francesco has used his professional experience as a platform to interact with food experts and creative professionals at a new level. He has successfully stepped behind the camera, taking full charge of the design, styling and photography of food on set.

By Peter Weltman

Trip two was triumphantly underway, and the weather outlook was sunny and warm. As a group, we were determined not to fall victim to our trip one fallacy, which included Sysco sponsored Mexican food in Roscoe, New York and plenty of road side diners. We were ready to eat proper meals on our brigade through New York State.

If trip one was marked by famine, our steadfast dedication created a rebound experience marked by feast—perhaps gluttony. Before we even left for Long Island’s shores, we met brew master extraordinaire Garrett Oliver at his home base in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. After touring his stamping ground, Garrett joined us for pizzas, plates of antipasti, and pints of Sorachi Ace.

Satisfyingly satiated, we bid farewell and made our way to dig for clams in Southampton with fifth generation bayman Ed Warner. His title expresses a broad range of expertise—scalloping and setting conch pots to name a few—so don’t think about calling him a ‘fisherman.’ Effortlessly he rakes in the brackish water of Springs Pond, knowing exactly where to look for his beloved bi-valve.

Later that evening we ventured to the far reaches of Long Island to Greenport Harbor. Here we met Mike Osinski of Widow’s Hole Oyster Company. What does an Oyster farm look like? In this case it exists 500 feet from the shore in Mike’s backyard. This is bottom that Mike annexed upon buying his waterfront home. The sun began to dramatically set over Shelter Island, and Mike offered to host us for dinner—score! Oysters were the star of the meal: shucked minutes from being excavated from the water.

The next morning at 5:00 a.m., we continued our nautical theme by fluke fishing off the coast of Amagansett with two colorful baymen—Billy and Danny. Watching them fish using a Native American pound trap technique was captivating: large wooden leader poles direct retreating fluke into a set of netted traps. Here the fish swim around until the two men scoop them into their boat. These traps were filled with 10,000 pounds of fluke and local porgies, making for a bountiful catch. The morning was cool and we soaked in the salty sea air. Ah, good morning Long Island!

Feeling invigorated, our troop had a three hour drive back through the City and up-state to the Hudson Valley. Now, the dining precedent had been set—what would be our next indulgence? Determining that a minor detour would take us to New Jersey, Chef Daniel invited us to his abode. What resulted on the table was a restaurant worthy spread: insalta caprese with beautiful heirloom tomatoes and hand pulled mozzarella, rustic salami and soppressata, prosciutto, and loaves of crusty baguette. The setting was beautiful, and even more so when wine was pulled: 1999 Dom Perignon and 1998 Giuseppe Quintarelli Rosso ca’ del Merlo. The evening ended at Sycamore Farms grilling their fresh picked corn and local red onions.

As the adventure continues, we are truly amassing a worthy collection of New York State products while meeting the passionate practioners who grow/catch/create/cook them. Necessarily, we seek inspiration everywhere to collect great stories and capture beautiful light. We even go to work for the sake of shot. Bryce and I simultaneously harvested berries and weeded along side Franca Tantillo—bringing Francesco’s perfect image into fruition. Occasionally, we are also humbled by the sheer force of nature—reminded upon coming face-to-face with Mr. Right, the 2,700 lbs. bull at Rosenkrans beef farm.

I speak for myself (although I believe my colleagues will agree), that this year I have never been more in-tune with seasonality and the weather elements that affect it. We are farming along side our subjects, although our harvest is fulfilled in the form of their stories.

Ready for Trip #3!

Modular Food™ by Joia is has been an exercise in creating imagery that illustrates just how simple, cool and fun it can be to evolve multiple dishes from a few base products.  Joia™ is a new Hudson Valley-based company with a mission to bring locally-sourced and produced, hand-cut, slow cooked foods back to the table again. This 1+2=3 project was designed using loads of graphic food imagery to illustrate just how easy it is to work with Joia™ through its website and collateral materials. Whether heated and eaten as they are or used to innovate new dishes, Joia Modular Meals™ save hours of sourcing, preparing and cooking whole ingredients into healthy and delicious meals.

To learn more about Modular Food™ by Joia™, visit: www.joiafoods.com