Great article about us in this weeks Bucks Herald. Click on the picture to read in full!
Imaging Essence in the Bucks Herald 16th Feb 2011
Article by Sally Dorling at Marketing Foods, photograph courtesy of Jay McLaughlin
It’s been crazy busy at Imaging Essence since the beginning of the year and I have so many blog entries stored up in my head, so expect a few to appear this month! We’ve been working both in our studio and on location and I thought I’d share some of the highlights from a recent shoot featuring lots of recipes using healthy yoghurt options. Enjoy!
I was delighted to have been invited to be the official photographer for the third annual Thame Food Festival last Saturday, and spent the most fabulous day snapping lots of local food producers and suppliers, entertainment, cooking demonstrations and interesting food talks.
Considering the weather had been pretty grim leading up to the Saturday, the day, whilst a chilly start, proved to be glorious. So much hard work by Alison Isherwood from Thame Council , Sally Dorling from Marketing Foods, Sally from local foodie haven What’s Cooking? and Sonja Francis from thamenews.net really paid off. A huge visitor turn out resulted in the overall feedback from all the stall holders about how busy and successful the day had been for all.
Thame in Oxfordshire is such a lovely market town and is surrounded by all sorts of independent food suppliers and restaurants, all getting involved in the festival. Particular highlights of the day were not only the talks in the Stable at the James Figg public house but also the hands on cooking activities for the kids, including Whoopie Pie making, cake decorating at the Aga Shop, pasta making in the Town Hall and “Tortoise Dough” making at the Cottage Bakery.
A few highlights of the day and the full pictures can be seen at www.imagingessence.co.uk/thame_food_festival
Just a little update, a video from scissorspaperstone.tv about the Thame Food Festival with the highlights, look out about 1 minute in for a comment from yours truly!!
For those of you following me on Twitter, you may be familiar with the occasional excitement I’ve been tweeting through my discoveries in growing our own vegetables this year. The idea to “grown our own” was first met with severe cynicism from my other half @spurssimon (twitter name, I don’t generally call him that) as he thought it would be another casualty of the infamous Debbie “enthusiasm curve” (go out, buy everything, spend a day going mad gardening then lose interest and leave him to keep everything alive). This “fad” however is a tad different for a number of reasons:
The biggest thing however I really really didn’t reckon on happening was how possessive and proud I would be of the produce, I can honestly now see why competitions can become so fierce at local country shows, I’ve even scared myself by discovering maternal instincts for baby cucumbers and the excitement as the first baby beet pushed it’s way through the earth from seed – really, I need to know, I am certifiable is it just I’ve finally succumbed to the (late) 30ish something way of life???
Anyways, as is my mantra of a picture can speak a thousand words, I thought I’d share some of the latest additions to the imaging essence container garden, and I warn you, the baby cucumbers are seriously cute!!
Enjoy!
So I blink and it’s Easter – seriously where is this year going?!
Anyways we went out to shop at PE Meads Farm shop near Tring yesterday in order to stock up for the Easter weekend, main shopping purpose was for their home reared meat and fantastic chiltern rapeseed oil. Whilst there I picked up some black pudding as a cooked breakfast bank holiday weekend treat, when I came across these monster mushrooms in the veg section – bloomin’ MASSIVE, one of them actually weighed in at 0.25kg, probably not a world record, but certainly biggest ‘shroom that’s seen the inside of my kitchen! So the monster mushroom breakfast plan took hold, picked up some lovely free range and eggs to create a breakfast with the mushroom as the hero, it would have been rude to do anything else!
Me being me just had to capture it on camera – so here’s a few shots of the Monster Mushroom Breakfast – hope you enjoy looking as much as we did eating!!
Monster Mushroom weighing 0.25kg
Not one but two monster mushrooms
You don't get texture on eggs like that from a supermarket!
Okay, so maybe getting overly arty - but I love this job!!
About to cut into the stack, huge mushroom baked with butter and a balsamic & wholegrain mustard dressing, black pudding and poached eggs
If I'm being critical then the egg is slightly over cooked 
and the overall feedback from mr imagingessence was lots of oohs & ahhs (have to confess I thought it tasted rather good as well)
So you’ve made the effort, cooked a delicious valentine’s meal just for two, and want to wow with a great cheese course, you won’t get far wrong with one of these beauties from our friends at the West Country Cheese Co
Perfect valentines cheese course
Valentine cheeses
Who says valentines shouldn't be cheesey....
After I took the pictures I managed to bagsy myself one of these, but don’t tell the other half, it’s supposed to be a surprise!!
So, on Monday this week I was lucky enough to win a box of brownies from @gowercottage on Twitter. Firstly, I was shocked as I never generally win anything, secondly I was delighted as I happen to have the sweetest tooth, thirdly it was a really good reason to fall off the January Weight Watchers band wagon.
Today, my box of Brownies arrived as promised, and I have to say I was altogether so impressed with the packaging of them, that I was prompted to share with the world my chocolate brownie “Out of Box Experience”.
Sooo…here goes my photo account of the steps leading to sticky chocolate heaven – hope you like!
Today's arrival of Gower Cottage Brownies
The front view of the box
Useful info on the back
First glimpse in the box
The Gower Cottage Brownie story
First glimpse insided the wrapping
Beautifully tied package appears
At last, the Brownies themselves
What's in the middle?
On closer inspection...
Who me? Take a bite?
