TAKE FIVE: Sylvia Jemutai
Sylvia Jemutai, a Nairobi-based food photographer, food stylist, blogger and recipe developer. PHOTO | POOL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- My first passion has always been cooking and as an artist, I needed to find a medium to express this.
- Eventually I became so excited about food photography that it became a job.
She is a food photographer, food stylist, blogger and recipe developer.
1. What comprises a good recipe, in your opinion?
It needs to be simple, efficient and bold in terms of flavour. I am a huge fan of slow cooked meals because the oven or cooker does most of the hard work as I get on with other things.
2. What does food styling entail? Is that something you can learn in school?
Well, food styling is a form of art. It is all about making food look fresh and camera ready, whether the pictures are to be used for marketing or TV commercials. There is a lot that goes into creating the perfect burger for the camera. There are online educational sources as well as schools where you can get all this knowledge.
3. Did you have a passion for photography or did it just tie in with your blogging?
My first passion has always been cooking and as an artist, I needed to find a medium to express this. So I started my blog www.dinewithjemutai.com so that I could learn and practice food photography and also so that my friends could find my recipes. Eventually I became so excited about food photography that it became a job.
4. Do Kenyans have a national dish? If not, do you think there is need for one?
I think our national dish is good nyama choma, kachumbari and ugali. Chapati and beef or dengu stew, or ugali and sukuma wiki would also be somewhere on the list of most frequently consumed foods. So I chose chapati and beef stew even if it is more of an Indian dish.
5. What is the greatest book you have ever read?
Do cookery books count? I don't really read for pleasure. I prefer educational and self-development books. I am currently reading The Science of Cooking by Dr Stuart Farrimond because as a self-taught chef, I am constantly learning new things in my journey. I am also reading Blow the Lid Off by Robert Belle so that I can better master my creativity.
