I was asked to share 10 of my favorite food images that I have shot for First We Feast. They did an interview with me, and made a slideshow on their website. Unsurprisingly, when asked for my favorite food images, I chose mostly story-driven pictures: ice fishing; running around eastern Canada with the Joe Beef chefs; a foie gras factory, and more. Link to story here.
This little book that could just keeps rising. We now have a James Beard Award Nomination for The Art of Living According to Joe Beef.
The Art of Living According to Joe Beef: A Cookbook of Sorts. Written by Frederic Morin, David McMillan & Meredith Erickson. Foreword by David Chang. Photographs by Jennifer May.
And the Joe Beef Cookbook is the winner of the 2012 Food52 Tournament of Cookbooks. In the final round, it won against Momofuku’s Milk book, as judged by Alice Waters.
In the second round, some lovely words by the judges on the photos: “The photographs of the restaurant, its garden, and its cast of characters are lovely and real, and as we read the book, we spent lots of time looking at them and seeing how quietly they tell the outrageous story. Photographer Jennifer May captures it all. She understands the sensuality and beauty of food and never flinches as she shoots some pretty over-the-top dishes just as they come to her.” – Christopher Hirsheimer & Melissa Hamilton
The Huffington Post has named the Joe Beef cookbook as one of the Best 11 Cookbooks of 2011, and my cheeks are burning hot – hours after hearing the news. First Publisher’s Weekly, then Details, then USA Today, then Time Out New York… [Update: Bon Appetit magazine rates the book as one of the 8 Stellar Cookbooks of 2011; it is also a Chicago Tribune favorite; it is an editor's pick for a Best Cookbook gift idea at Martha Stewart magazine - along with the Fleisher's book I photographed] It’s amazing to watch the accolades build up for the book we made for that tiny restaurant in Montreal. I drove north over the span of a year, to chase chefs Fred & Dave around their restaurant, on fishing boats off the coast of Prince Edward Island, and around the outlying areas of Montreal. We didn’t even have a food or prop stylist, but we had Fred & Dave’s aesthetic genius. It was just the kind of location-based, food-based, character-driven project I love to work on. I’m just so thrilled I can’t contain myself. Here are a few of my favorite shots, and there are hundreds more in the book:
Images & outtakes from The Art of Living According to Joe Beef: A cookbook of sorts. Photography by Jennifer May
For the 2011 Butcher Blackout, Josh Applestone and the Fleisher’s crew traveled to the Joe Beef restaurant in Montreal, and they asked me to go along with them. Before the 12-course meal Fred Morin prepared, we had a six-hour picnic in sub-zero weather. Snacks included champagne and oysters on the half shell served from a snow bank and foie gras lobster poutine. Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods showed up with his film crew, so look for that on the upcoming Montreal special. Here are a few photos, and for more, visit this slide-show.
A rotisserie grill & spit as only the mind of Fred Morin could conceive
Butchers & bone-in rib eye steaks: Joshua Applestone (left) & Tom Mylan (right)
A little grinding, a little welding, Fred Morin modifies the grill
Fred Morin, Bryan Mayer & Josh Applestone
Bizarre Foods & crew
Andrew Zimmern, the host of Bizarre Foods, extols on the foie gras double down he just sampled
Another four-day shoot for the Joe Beef cookbook brings a year of regular visits to Montreal to a close. The book will be published by Ten Speed Press and will be out in September, 2011.
Back from another three-day shoot for Joe Beef restaurant in Montreal. We shot dishes in the restaurant, made excursions to the outskirts of Montreal for poutine and hamburgers, and then there was Chinatown to eat jellyfish (and other things “not for Canadians”) with the Joe Beef chef, sous-chefs, and bartender at 3 a.m.
A classic Montreal poutine with fries, gravy and cheese curds
A perfect bite
Drinking wine and eating aged cheddar in Montreal on the last of a four day shoot in Montreal for the Joe Beef cookbook… a great prelude to dinner at Au Pied de Cochon.
On Prince Edward Island, Canada, oysters are harvested today much as they were 100 years ago. Oyster farmers float above oyster beds in dories, and they use long forked tongs to collect the shellfish from the red sandy bottom below. On board, they sort the oysters by shape and size, and pack them into crates. Here is a glimpse into one oyster fisherman’s morning on the sea, when the spring season opened this May.
Audio Slide Show – Oyster Farmer (1 min)
Philip Buote, oyster fisherman
On location in Montreal, Canada on a shoot for the Joe Beef Cookbook we are doing for Ten Speed Press.
Signage and shadows
Updating the menu board is a daily task
Food looks beautiful on these white dishes with scalloped edges