Kathleen Kent's Guest Blog From Southwestern France
Kathleen Kent, copy chief of Martha Stewart Living, shares her experiences at a food styling and photography workshop in southwestern France.
Last winter, while reading The Martha Blog, I came across a link to Cannelle et Vanille, the blog of Aran Goyoaga, announcing a food styling and photography workshop she was teaching in the Dordogne in September. As a major Francophile and an aspiring food photographer, I thought this sounded like the perfect opportunity. As I settled in on the plane to Paris, I opened up the latest issue of Whole Living and discovered to my great surprise a feature story all about Aran and her cooking. I took it as a sign that I had made the right choice when I decided to go. There were just eight participants, but we were a diverse group, coming from the United States, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, and Jordan, with backgrounds as varied as food blogging, wedding and interiors photography, and investment banking. And we all quickly became friends. We also got to spend quite a bit of time getting to know Aran and her co-organizers, Stephanie Brubacker of Stephmodo and Nadia Dole of La Porte Rouge, all three of whom are talented in so many ways.
The workshop was based in the Manoir de la Malartrie, a magnificent French manor house turned B&B. The Manoir is located in La Roque-Gageac, classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Aran guided us in cooking the foods we were to photograph, using her own gluten-free recipes. We were mesmerized watching her work, selecting the right dish, placing the foods on the plate with care and adding garnishes just so, situating props, and then working with the light and camera angle to get the perfect shot. She also showed us her postproduction techniques and provided valuable feedback on our photos. Though the workshop was demanding, in such a setting it never felt like work. And we had plenty of opportunities to explore the region. On our first day, we visited the Jardins de Marqueyssac, a huge garden in Vézac renowned for its intricately carved boxwoods. It provided an ideal backdrop for photographing the desserts we had prepared. We also took a break to enjoy delicious local ice creams in such unusual flavors as daffodil and poppy flower. Though I was unaware that daffodils—or jonquilles as they’re known in French—are edible, I loved the ice cream, which was sublime and floral. On our second day, we picnicked and photographed in the walnut grove at the Ecomusée de la Noix, in Castelnaud, where we learned about how the region’s famous walnuts are grown and processed into walnut oil. Geese, chickens, and a dog graced us with their presence and had us all chasing after them with our cameras. We spent another morning at the farmers’ market in the charming town of Sarlat. The selection varied widely, with such tempting treats as walnut tarts, foie gras, sausages of all kinds, cheeses - both pungent and mild, the freshest fruits and veggies, and crusty breads. On the last day of the workshop, we toured the Château de Beynac, which has been featured in several films, including Ever After and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, and strolled along a nearby road that was used in the movie Chocolat. And we had lunch en plein air: quiche, creamy yogurt, salad, and chocolate. Below are some of my photos from the classes and activities that were part of the workshop.
1 This is the Manoir de la Malartrie, my home base in the Dordogne.
2 A breathtaking view, one of many, of the Dordognene River and its scenic banks - this one from the Jardins de Marqueyssac
3 A view of the perfectly preserved medieval village of Beynac - golden in the evening sun
4 A potato peeler at work in a restaurant kitchen in Beynac
5 Quail eggs with salad
6 Another view - As part of the class, we photographed the settings and dishes from different angles to see which worked best.
7 A still life with cheese and fruit
8 The Ecomusée de la Noix
9 The Manoir, as seen from cliffs above
10 At the walnut grove, this flock of geese kept us amused. The region is known for its fine cuisine featuring goose, including foie gras.
11 This adorable dog crashed our picnic.
12 I was fascinated to see how walnuts grow. Green hulls surround the nuts while on the trees.
13 Here you can see how the hulls compare in size to the nuts within.
14 We were about two or three weeks early for the walnut harvest, but bowl of the previous season's nuts seemed to be everywhere we turned.
15 Another vignette for our photography
16 Can we offer you some apples?
17 Another group prepared these apple flan tartlets, made with brown-rice flour and millet flour.
18 Nadia, who raises chickens, knew exactly how to handle this hen, who decided to stroll over and join our picnic.
19 These are speckled cranberry beans.
20 Back at the Manoir de la Malartrie - one of the staff shelled cranberry beans for dinner.
21 This market offers the freshest meat and fish to the locals.
22 The rose garlic almost looked too pretty to eat. One vendor actually used it as a decorative element and interwove it with dried flowers.
23 Aran Goyoaga prepared tomato-and-goat-cheese tartines as her first demonstration.
24 This vendor sold me the baguette I ate for lunch.
25 A wide variety of sausages were available, including ones made with duck, nuts, cèpes, cheese, and boar.
26 No French farmers’ market would be complete without cheese. These were made from goat’s milk.
27 We learned that natural curves, such as those of these beans, add interest to food photos.
28 More staged food photography
29 These are Blonde d'Aquitaine cows - a very old breed that can be traced to the Middle Ages, when the cattle were used to pull carts carrying weapons and goods.
30 A stand of poplar trees, as seen from the Château de Beynac
31 The chapel at the Chateau de Beynac and the awe-inspiring countryside beyond
32 One of the many narrow streets of Beynac
33 Old wooden canoes in Beynac
34 Figs were abundant and played a large role in the local cuisine.
35 For our picnic lunch in Beynac, Stephanie packaged delicious quiche slices in individual boxes tied with thick Dutch baker’s twine. Delectable La Fermière yogurt with chestnuts and berries was a welcome treat afterwards.
36 Stephanie “modeled” the yogurt for us.
37 Also on on a hill overlooking the Dordogne River are the Jardins de Marqueyssac, known for their exquisite topiaries, with plantings dating from the 19th century.
38 A pathway at the Jardins de Marqueyssac
39 The daffodil ice cream was as delicious as it was unusual.
40 My cooking partner and I made these gluten-free chocolate financiers with red currants. Almond flour took the place of regular flour.
41 Rich and creamy La Fermière yogurt in glass jars made a nice visual accompaniment to the financiers. I wish I could find this rich yogurt in the U.S.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
What beauty!!
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | October 11th, 2012 at 12:20 am
Very beautiful photos - well done and ever so inspiring. Thanks for sharing! Ruti from Switzerland/Holland
Posted by: Ruti Hausherr Kruidenier | October 11th, 2012 at 1:26 am
A dream!!!!!
Posted by: JUANITA IMAGINA | October 11th, 2012 at 4:47 am
very chic
Posted by: Serge Baete | October 11th, 2012 at 5:38 am
Martha,
I just read your pumpkin post and thought you might like the cutest idea I saw last month in a garden last month in the French countryside. They enhance their pumpkins with messages during the growing season. I wrote a blog about it: http://the2seasons.com/2012/10/09/personalize-your-pumpkins/. I think you would love to do this and so would your readers.
Janette
Posted by: Janette@The2Seasons | October 11th, 2012 at 6:36 am
Thank you sooo much for taking the time to share. What a wonderful experience you have had...and what beautiful photographs you have to stimulate memories forevermore.
Posted by: Burndett Andres | October 11th, 2012 at 7:07 am
Kathleen, the photos from your workshop in France prove you're more than an "aspiring" food photographer, they're stunning. You obviously have a talent! I can usually pick a favorite photo but I love everyone of them. Thank you for sharing your lovely trip to France attending Aran Goyoaga's fabulous workshop.
Posted by: Cindy F | October 11th, 2012 at 7:27 am
Hi Martha and Kathleen, Martha, sure hope you have a great time at Home Depot in Chicago with Kevin! Can't wait to see your blog about that trip and the London one, too! Hope you have a great day! Kathleen, WOW! You sure did share a great blog with us today! Your photos and comments are absolutely wonderful to enjoy about France where I have never been! How great it it to take your tour and learn a lot about the fun things you did there! Everyone of those websites you shared are stunning! All of the homes and other buildings are fascinating! The beautiful views of the country side are as breathtaking as you said! Thanks so much for sharing this delightful blog and hope you have a great day, also! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | October 11th, 2012 at 10:16 am
What a great workshop and how lucky you were to be able to travel to Paris. The minute I saw picture #1, I was ready to pack my bags. I WISH! But the view of the rivers, countryside and the narrow streets in Beynac are also enticing. Your pictures are wonderful and I love the one of the geese. It looks like they are trying to convey, “We are nothing but foie gras to you so stay away!” Their stance looked a bit defensive to me! ha-ha What an unusually wide door in picture #4 which kind of dwarfed that potato peeler you mentioned, and in another picture I imagined Martha making daffodil ice cream. I bet it tasted great and thanks for the teasing close-up, #39. By the looks of your photos, I think you’ve learned quite a bit already. All of the food ones are very attractive and to boot, you even got the cows to pose beautifully. Hopefully in the future we will see Kathleen Kent in photo credits somewhere, maybe Martha Stewart Living magazine. Best of luck. Trish
Posted by: Trish | October 11th, 2012 at 11:45 am
could find no other way to leave you a compliment, im hoping someone tells you this. just want you to know how much i like you and your show, etc. you make things doable, for those of us who love to create, and entertain. i love your scrapbooking punches, especially the all over ones. your attention to details, make them come out perfect every time ! thank you for that. Keep up the great work, and my God bless you.
sincerely ,
Leah Cole
Posted by: leah cole | October 11th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
What a beautiful blog post, and gorgeous photos. Had me swooning! Sounds like a dream getaway.
Posted by: Vicki McLeod | October 12th, 2012 at 12:02 am
What a lovely post - thank you for sharing
Yolanda
Posted by: Yolanda Seguro | October 12th, 2012 at 12:24 am
Kathleen, This sounds like a wonderful experience, all round! I wish I'd been there. I'm a Francophile too and enjoy my 'visits' each year via Le Tour de France on the TV, as it's a live telecast for the three weeks, as I am unable to travel now. Thank you also for your fine photos; my faves are Nos. 5, 11, 28 and 41. I wish you much good luck with your goal of becoming a food photographer; you have great potential, going by these photos. If you wish some further inspiration, here's someone's work you may enjoy, also a foodie -- her name is Helena Ljungren, a Swedish photographer, and the website is helenaljungren.com. I wish I could photograph like her!
Martha, thanks for sharing this post. I enjoy everything you do.
....Janina from Melbourne, Australia
Posted by: janina | October 12th, 2012 at 2:11 am
Hello Martha,
The pictures of France are gorgeous. I was amazed. Thank you.
Posted by: Maria Lúcia | October 12th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
WOW! Inspring!
Posted by: Teresa Touey | October 14th, 2012 at 9:39 am
Thank you for sharing these Kathleen! A visual treat indeed. I am so glad you enjoyed our workshop. It was unforgettable and we were so glad to have you!
Posted by: Stephanie | October 15th, 2012 at 12:16 am
Stephanie was great to participate in this blog. Nobel could offer Martha prize in many categories as she has changed the world. Homekeeping around the world is better because Martha Stewart teaches.
Posted by: ann | October 15th, 2012 at 10:05 am
Thank you so much Kathleen for sharing our workshop with so many of Martha's readers. It was fantastic to have you there and so great to see you at the Whole Living party the other day!
Posted by: Aran | October 15th, 2012 at 7:15 pm
What beauty! I love those quiche boxes with the wooden forks. A spectacular post.
Posted by: Karen | October 20th, 2012 at 11:15 pm