Have you been to Pourhouse yet? My other half is scheming to steal a bar stool and imprint his name on it before returning it he loves it there so much. Ok so he’s kidding (kind of) but last week I photographed food, cocktails and the interior for them and I was thrilled because not only are they dear friends, but also because they’ve done such an impressive job at, well, everything.

© 2009 jackie connelly

Gold Fashioned. © 2009 jackie connelly

Dining area. © 2009 jackie connelly

Shortribs. © 2009 jackie connelly

Key Pourhouse players are also catching on to the social media world:

• • check out Jay Jones’ blog for a lot of the backstory to the Pourhouse getting up and running (love the story about the actual piece of wood that makes up the bar) and of course the cocktail side of things which he is known for
• • have a boo at Brian Grant’s blog to become familiar with his recent experiment into making bitters
• • also visit Chef Chris Irving’s blog
• • If you’re a tweeter, follow Jay here, and Pourhouse here

What to eat? I would suggest the Pourhouse Salad (pictured above), the Pork & Beans and the chocolate cake for dessert. Don’t leave without ordering the chocolate cake, I’m serious. My other half enjoys partaking on a variety of tasty items from the cocktail menu, and he’s told me the Grilled Cheese is pretty darn delicious.

Pourhouse Salad. © 2009 jackie connelly.

Prospector. © 2009 jackie connelly

Centennial. © 2009 jackie connelly

Congrats Jay, Brian, Chris, Nick & Jen ~ so proud of you guys. See you for dinner soon!

Campagnolo is a somewhat new restaurant just a short jaunt away from where I live, in the Main Street neighbourhood. Recently Chef Rob Belcham and I had the most efficient food photography session ever, producing some new shots for their restaurant promotions. I would officially like to welcome Campagnolo as a new food photography client, it was a pleasure.

One reason I like Campagnolo (besides the delicious fried chick peas from the appy menu) is because they’ve involved themselves with the new Main Street Farmers Market that happens every Wednesday from 3pm-7pm across the street in Thornton Park. Executive Chef Rob and Chef de Cuisine Alvin Pillay purchase from local farmers every Wednesday, from which they create a feature menu item. Combined, this definitely makes for a quaint Wednesday outing: stroll through the market and pick up some local veggies, flowers, free range and grass fed chicken, and whatever else your fridge might be lacking; then cross the street to get some inspiration from what Rob and Alvin have done with the menu for the day. How very locally minded of you.

I hope you enjoy the photos, and Campagnolo’s creations.

This week a welcoming round of applause goes out to a new client: La Petite Souris. La Petite Souris and chocolatier Amber work hard to create fairly traded and delicious chocolate, with may of the ingredients coming from local suppliers. Hailing from the Sunshine Coast, Amber’s chocolates are easy to order through her website for any special occasion, or even if it’s a Tuesday and you’re craving chocolate, because we all need a continuous supply of chocolate in our lives, don’t you agree?

Considering the late 19th century/early 20th century Arts & Crafts movement designer William Morris, Amber’s No.1 inspiration, we decided to shoot her chocolate with two goals in mind:

1. simple photos with minimal styling and props to work with any Morris-style patterned backgrounds she might use in future print or web promotions
2. rich, saturated colours; luxurious feeling

Yes, we did get to eat the chocolate after the shoot, and yes it was superbly deelish. Thanks Amber!

Wow, did I really just allude the title of this post to a popular and ever-so-cheesy boy band of my youth? I guess I did. Oh well, moving right along to more relevant topics of the day…

While shooting my latest photo column for Urban Diner, Value Meals Part 2, I got to meet the guys and gals at Gastowns newest diner, Deacon’s Corner. Last week I returned to shoot a few more breakfast and lunch dishes from their menu, as well as interiors, all for their website (soon to be updated).

Here’s the scoop about Deacon’s: if white linen tablecloths, condiments served up in delicate ceramic ramekins and a dash of snootiness during your breakfast is what you’re used to, get ready for a severe dose of…well, basically everything except that.  And in a good way.

The definition of what a diner should be, Deacon’s Corner is casual, screams of that good ol’ neighbourhood feel, and Tyson and his crew serve up home cooked meals that won’t leave you feeling hungry. Seriously, look at the size of that french toast breakfast plate. I was full just shooting it.

For more info, and photos coming soon, visit their website here. And head to Deacon’s next time you’re craving eggs and sausage, french toast, a burger and crispy french fries…anytime between 7am and 3pm during the week and 10am-3pm saturday and sunday.

I begin this blog post with some little known facts about tea:

• Tea is the second most popular beverage in the world (curious what #1 is? No, it’s not beer…nor wine…#1 is water).

• All teas come from the same plant called camellia sinensis (this is super interesting to me, since the delicious, healthy and flavorful teas I love to drink come from the same plant that makes my Grandmother’s tastes-and-looks-like-dirty-dishwater tea… I love you Grandma, really, but that tea is so horrid)

• According to Chinese legend, the ancient Chinese emperor and inventor of Chinese medicine, Shennong, was the first to discover the pleasant flavor and medicinal properties of green tea. One day, as he was boiling water over a fire, a breeze swept a few leaves of a nearby tea bush into his kettle.

*Tea facts above courtesy of DōMatcha

Right before the holidays I got a call from Calli, marketing extraordinaire at DōMatcha, a tea company providing the matcha style of green tea rich in tradition for their customers.  By partnering with Shohokuen, one of the oldest and most established matcha suppliers in Japan they are able to bring DōMatcha directly from Kyoto, the magical place where matcha originated.  Calli needed some product photos of  DōMatcha’s packaging, and amidst our city’s unusual large amount of snow we were still able to get together one afternoon, make some matcha, and photograph the product. It was relaxing, just as a tea shoot should be.

The goal: the product must be center focus, the logo be prominent (I love the logo! Designed by their graphic designer in Japan), and only simple props that have a traditional, natural feel would be included.

The lighting here was a large softbox pointing down on the product from above left, a large window to the right and a reflector bouncing light back onto the front of the product. The above shot needed room on both the right and the left sides for possible text and logo, and the flexibility for cropping by the client depending on the media and layout. What you don’t see is my fabulous assistant Naz holding up the back of the tatami mat as it wouldn’t stay clipped to the backdrop crossbar.

This is a fairly standard product line-up shot, besides a bit of fiddling with the baby blue whisk stand and the two bowls, we were able to get this full line up shot that the client was elated with.

Fabulous to work with you Calli, I look forward to the next opprtunity, and thank you for all the tea!