Food Styling for a Satellite Media Tour

First, I want to say a big Hi to everyone, and wish lots of happiness through some of the craziness going on in this world. We live in California, and yes the smoke is unbelievable. Thank God we are not that close to the fires.

This week, I worked on a satellite media tour for Ensure. Maybe you saw it on TV? It was broadcasted live all over the country at different times on multiple stations. Here is a link which defines a satellite media tour, if you are not sure what one is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_media_tour Here is another link to where you can watch one of the segments broadcasted in Austin: https://cbsaustin.com/features/we-are-austin/tips-to-boost-your-immune-system-as-we-head-into-a-unique-flu-season

Working as a food stylist on a satellite media tour can be complicated. It is so much different than working with a food photographer in a studio at a photoshoot. or creating a short vignette of someone picking up a slice of pizza. This is styling food for live tv. Styling food for a photoshoot can be complicated and have it’s own set of challenges, but styling food for live tv keeps me on my toes for sure. These sessions can last hours and the food has to look fresh at all times. A pepper can pretty much sit on set for hours with no problems, but fresh fish, sliced avocados, greens that wilt, etc… need constant attention. It’s lots of fun to figure out how to keep everything looking great with sometimes only 30 seconds between shows.

We did the work at Ohio HD (beautiful facility!), and I worked with some real pros. Mark Ganguzza from Pitching Monkeys Media kept everything moving smoothly. He was GREAT to work with…cool, calm and very organized! Pamela Nisevich Bede, MS, RD was the host of the segments. She did a fabulous job, and was very nice. I was also excited to get to work with Susan Gulcher for the first time. She is very talented. Jeff Warnement (a topnotch cameraman, and very nice person) captured it all with a very professional feel.

The whole Covid issue did cause us all to have to plan accordingly and change our routines, but we all did what we had to do, and it worked out perfectly. I felt very happy and satisfied that we got to work in a safe environment.

A huge thanks to Michelle and the Ensure team for having us. Thank you to the whole production team for your hard work and professionalism, making this a very successful project.

Hopefully you learned a few things by reading this blog and watching Pamela’s video. This was the first time I worked with a nutritionist. Isn’t that crazy? I’ve been cooking my whole life. Most chef’s mainly worry about taste and presentation, but you know, what we put in our bodies really shows. Seriously, the results don’t lie. I think we should all be more aware of the quality, quantity and combination of foods that we eat. OK ALREADY! I’ll get off my pulpit. Go get a nice hot-fudge sundae… LOL!

Fall is around the corner… my favorite time of the year. Let’s all hope for great things to come when we can all get together with our families, eat great foods together and live right.

Enjoy!