A Few Words About Photography and Styling

Cocolat received the Perrier Best Food Photography Award from the James Beard Foundation in 1991. The photography and styling are very much of their time. Today’s reader will notice a dramatic difference from the artfully casual, spare table-scapes or minimally propped close-ups with which we depict food today. By contrast, the lush layered sets in Cocolat were inspired by very structured, quite formal-looking desserts — each a big statement to begin with—putting them into contexts that might be whimsical, fantastic, opulent, graphic, or stylish. No one has ever had more fun with fabrics, ribbons, painted surfaces, toys, and petite objets d’art as Sara Slavin (art director/stylist) and I had with Patricia Brabant (photographer) in Patricia’s studio that year!