This is my last non-recipe related post for a while, but I could not resist sharing this new video from Le Cordon Bleu Paris with those of you who may be interested or have ever thought of going to culinary school.  And while culinary school is certainly no trade off for experience in the kitchen and is not necessary for success in the culinary world, it is an enriching experience that will give you a good foundation to build on. Whether is Le Cordon Bleu, CIA, FCI or The Art Institute, your experience at any culinary school you may choose is what you make of it.

Le Cordon Bleu Paris School Presentation

A bientot!

I was looking at the blog this morning and realizing that (gasp) it has been a month since I last wrote…far from my  intention of a twice weekly recipe and photo posting. BUT, I promise the silence has been for good reason.  I’ve been cooking, catering and teaching some classes…all things that give me the inspiration and material to create recipes, take photos of them and write about them.  So, my mantra from now on?  Write once weekly, no matter what, so those who read will still read and those who don’t might come back more often!  Having said that, don’t be surprised for the occasional 5am entry.  With a 3 year-old serving as my alarm clock, I guess I need to start take advantage of the time while it’s there!

In the meantime, for those of you interested in the staging process, take a look at today’s cover story in the  Charleston City Paper , which includes a little about my own staging experience as well.  Until the next post…Cheers!

“I love food, and a while back, we published an over the top, detail image by Leigh Webber.  Luckily, this photograph led us to learn about Cynthia Groseclose, the creative chef and owner, of Canapé.  We did our research and it was all raves for this talented food artist.  So, of course we had too [...]“ click here to read full article…

Welcome to my blog and my very first posting! To tell you a little bit about myself, I am a chef.  I went to culinary school in France and did an apprenticeship in NYC.  It was in France that I fell in love with miniatures and small plates.  Everything is so dainty and precise…perfect really.  And coming from a long line of perfectionists in my family, it is only natural that I gravitated toward the concept of miniatures and small plates when I launched my catering company, Canape, in 2006.

Not too long ago, I had the amazing opportunity to get some work experience in food styling, going on magazine and cookbook photo shoots, assisting in preparing the recipes for the food we would be photographing that day, and then setting them up for each shot.  I had no idea what all was involved in this process and how we actually ended up with the pictures we see in magazines.  I fell in love with the art of it all…

I decided to start this blog to bring together my love of both small plates and food styling.  To really celebrate the beauty of small plates through food styling and photography.  Unless otherwise noted, all recipes and photos are original. I hope you enjoy reading and I welcome your comments and feedback anytime!

Special thanks to Lesley Unruh for the blog layout photos and Leigh Webber for the gorgeous photo below.