Behind the scenes at Khoollect: on a food shoot with the team

With our Creative Editor Lara Messer behind the camera, and professional food stylists (like Food Editor Frankie Unsworth) on hand, a picture of perfectly plated, temptingly styled and finger-licking delicious food looks as though it calmly fell together that way.

But, a lot goes on behind the scenes of a food shoot here at Khoollect HQ, and we thought we’d let you take a little peek behind the velvet curtains to see a little of the action that goes into a Khoollect food shoot.

This week, the team has been working on an exciting project (foodies will love this one!), which we will reveal next week. To make this beautiful collaboration come together, the team have been (happily) locked up on shoot for two days, with the smells of festive-season-inspired foods filling the air. It’s filling work, but somebody has to do it.

In a small space, with limited hours of daylight here in London, cooking through a wide range of dishes is a race against the sun. With a long list of recipes being created by Sophie Mackinnon, featuring some very special ingredients, we’ve been surrounded by a fort of produce, props, cooking equipment and (naturally) washing up!

To get our dishes looking the part, Lara and Deputy Editor Sonya head to a warehouse filled with props of all shapes and sizes, called Backgrounds in North London. There, an overwhelming selection of colours, styles and textures of the many plates, cups, cutlery, linens, backdrops and other props on offer are a little frightening, but our creative team manage to make a decision and head to the shoot on time.

From there, the full team faces a flurry of deliveries and works quickly to transform our little London kitchen space into a fully fledged studio. Ladders, camera equipment, and people usher in for a big day where all hands are on deck.

Our Partnerships and Marketing Manager Hannah is at the helm with checklists and schedules at the ready (often taking calls on multiple phones), with Creative Content Assistant Sami providing full support to everyone in sight (while also making sure we meet deadlines on Khoollect in the meantime). Visitors pop in and out, and mouthfuls of cupcakes are consumed whenever the opportunity arises.

Once the props are paired with their dishes, and our shoot plans are all mapped out, it’s an early start for the team (to catch the first sign of light). The cooking begins and a fast-paced day ensues. At the end of the day, nothing goes to waste and we (reluctantly) ensure every last morsel is devoured by the people around us. We caught some sneaky snaps of the latest shoot on our phones that you can take a gander at.

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