What’s a sure bet in any restaurant these days?
More than a kale salad, line-caught fish, grass-fed beef or pork belly six ways from Sunday, there will be people snapping pictures of their meals and each other. Chefs and mixologists as well as diners are posting to Instagram, Facebook and other sites, eager to show off their newest creations or fab finds.
But how do you lift your photos above snapshot quality? That’s a challenge. Food Photography and Styling, a special educational event organized by Deborah Smith, founder of the Jersey Bites blog, will offer a one-day concentrated workshop using DSLR cameras.
It will be led by photographer Anne Herrmann and chef Natalie Maxwell, who last year launched Fish.Eye Design in Morristown. Their clients include many food companies; in addition, Maxwell is personal chef to Giants quarterback Eli Manning and his family. The workshop will cover the basics of shooting, including exposure, composition and lighting; being creative with props and backdrops; and food styling.
The workshop will take place Saturday, April 29, from 9 am to 3 pm at Sawtooth at the Red Bank Corporate Plaza, 141 West Front Street in Red Bank.
Shooting stations will be set up and participants will have the opportunity for one-on-one instruction from the leaders.
The workshop is limited to 12 people; per-person cost is $450. For questions and to enroll, email Smith at [email protected].
Spring Events:
Chef Challenge: Two chefs, Kevin Kelly of Steve & Cookie’s By the Bay in Margate City and Stephan Johnson of Dock’s Oyster House in Atlantic City, will compete in a fundraiser for the Southern Branch of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. Their task: prepare the best dinner using a mystery basket of FoodBank ingredients. The event starts at 6 pm Thursday, April 20, at the FoodBank’s Southern Branch headquarters, 6735 Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Township. Tickets for the fund-raiser to support hunger relief are $150 per person. For information call 908-324-2285 or email [email protected].
Paul Hobbs Wine Dinner: Matt Hobbs, representing the acclaimed winemaker’s international roster of grape-growing properties, will host a dinner at Blue Morel, 2 Whippany Road in Morristown, at 7 pm, Thursday, May 11. Price of the four-course dinner with wines is $130 per person, not including tax and tip. 973-451-2619 bluemorel.com
An Evening of Wine & Roses: A benefit for Newton Medical Center and Hackettstown Medical Center, this gala will be held Thursday, May 18 at the David and Carol Lackland Center at Centenary University, 715 Grand Avenue in Hackettstown. The VIP Room will be open from 5:30 to 7 pm and will be hosted by celebrity chef Daphne Oz of the TV series, The Chew. The tasting room, with food from 17 area restaurants as well as wine, will be open from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. For more info call 973-579-8309.
Participating Wine & Roses restaurants:
Andre’s Lakeside Dining, Sparta
Black Forest Inn, Stanhope
Café Pierrot, Andover
The Chocolate Goat, Lafayette
Cliffs Ice Cream, Ledgewood
Chatterbox Drive-In, Augusta
The Inn at Millrace Pond, Hope
James on Main, Hackettstown
Krave Café & Caterers, Newton
Mama’s Restaurant & Café, Hackettstown
Perona Farms, Andover
Pine Hill Pig Roasting, Wantage
Plan B Pub, Johnsonburg
Restaurant Latour, Hamburg
Upstream Grille, Lake Hopatcong
WheelHouse Kitchen & Bar, Augusta
St. Moritz Grill & Bar, Sparta
Please email information on events for inclusion in Table Hopping three weeks ahead of publication date to: [email protected].