10:00 a.m. Cooking for the camera
Cooking in your own kitchen vs. a studio or temporary kitchen
Plating and garnishing food to show it at its best
Edible and inedible styling methods
Temperature, safety and sanitation
Holding and refreshing food

Food styling tips, tricks and techniques

10:30 a.m. Drop-Kick Jell-O Mold: secrets of making

11:15 a.m. Shrimp bisque: plating, designing and garnishing

11:45 a.m. Yam and Potato Au Gratin: building and garnishing

12:15 p.m. Lunch

1:00 p.m. Brussels Sprouts: undercooking, plating and garnishing

1:30 p.m. Spiral-Cut Ham: working with layers, refreshing, garnishing

2:15 p.m. Candy Cane Cheesecake: working with frozen product, garnishing

2:45 p.m. Un-molding Jell-O Mold – plating and garnishing

3:15 p.m. Project brainstorm—discussion and selection  (each student will have their own project to complete on Day 2)

4:00 p.m. End

DAY 2

8:45 a.m. Breakfast snacks

9:00 a.m. Christina speaks on how to improve your food photos
Starting with the basics: f-stops, shutter speed, ISO and other camera settings explained
Camera settings
White balance explained
Camera angle and selective focus
Using tripods
Composition – building your shot around your camera
Natural light vs. studio light
The use of fill cards, reflectors and diffusers

12:00 p.m. Students begin preparing projects with Cindie
*Students bring lunch with them on Sunday.

1:00 p.m. First project shoot scheduled. Issues covered are:
Shooting with available light.
The use of fill cards and reflectors – supplementing available light
The use of props.

5:00 p.m. End

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Denise Vivaldo

A seasoned food professional with over 27 years of experience, Denise Vivaldo has catered more than 10,000 parties and has cooked for such guests as George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Prince Charles, Bette Midler, Suzanne Somers, Merv Griffin, Cher, Aaron Spelling, Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Maria Shriver. She began her culinary training at the Ritz Escoffier and La Varenne in Paris, and then graduated Chef de Cuisine from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Denise spent numerous years as a professor at UCLA’s Culinary Program and at her Alma Mater, The California Culinary Academy.

In 1988, Denise founded Food Fanatics, a catering, recipe-development, and foodstyling firm based in Los Angeles, California. Since that time, she has catered for such events as the Academy Awards Governor’s Ball, Sunset Magazine’s Taste of Sunset, and Hollywood wrap parties. She has also styled food for countless local and nationally syndicated television shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NapaStyle with Michael Chiarello, and Access Hollywood Live with Billy Bush.

Denise is the author of How to Start a Home-Based Catering Business, which has sold more than 150,000 copies and is in its 6th edition, and How to Start a Home-Based Personal Chef Business. She is also the author of The Food Styling Handbook, Perfect ...

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Culinary Arts / Cooking