Ep. 191 – How to Create Beauty in Food and in Life with Payal Gupta, Food Stylist

Payal Gupta’s journey to becoming a food stylist was a wild one. She quit her standard corporate job, in which both her ex-husband and her family disapproved of, but through years of persistence,e she now owns her own food styling studio and is flourishing

Though you'll learn some fun tricks and tips to style food, and how to work with clients, this episode is more than a peek inside being a Food Stylist, it’s much more about the journey of finding your passion and working hard at it. It takes a long time and you run into a lot of obstacles!

That’s the most inspiring thing about Payal’s journey. She worked hard, used her resources when she needed to, asked for help when she needed to, and did not give up even when people said it was not a good move. Now she is flourishing with her own practice. So it’s a great story about achieving your dream, the lesson of being patient but persistent to make it happen.

Payal Gupta – With a foundation of Economics Honours from Kolkata University, I tuned into my entrepreneurial spirit in IIM B (MPWE). Further I was intrigued by consumer behavior in the field of food so I pursued it through my stint in qualitative market research. Having gained an insight into the decision-making process of customers over years, I went on to focus on the food itself. To achieve it I started to build upon my childhood passion of cooking artistically and started studying food professionally.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to polish my skills in the world of food by educating myself across premier institutes globally and working with esteemed chefs and hotels some of which are mentioned below:-

Le Cordon Bleu (LCB), Bangkok

Sophia College, Mumbai

Institute of Hotel Management(IHM), Mumbai

World Pastry Champion Eric Perez, Bangkok

Chef Rohit Sangwan and Chef Aniruddha Roy (Taj Lands End)

The years of Culinary education was combined with the artistic aspects of Food photography and Floral design by educating myself at:-

Institute of Floral Designing (IFD), Mumbai

National Institute of Photography (NIP), Mumbai

We’re excited to be partnering with Smart Kitchen Summit {SKS}, the leading food tech event bringing together leaders across the food and cooking ecosystems.

Now in its fifth year, #SKS2019 is *the* conference shaping the future of food, technology, and the kitchen. Well-known leaders within the food tech industry will all be speaking on engaging topics such as food robots, alternative protein, and connected kitchen devices such as smart refrigerators.

Trust us, you’ll want to be there. Use code FOODJOB15 to get a 15% discount on tickets and I’ll see you there on October 7-8 at in Seattle. Just go to smartkitchensummit.com to register. For easy access, just click on our link for this episode’s show notes.

When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you do?: I’m a makeup artist for food. I beautify the food-based off of the client’s parameters
Any tips on how to make food look good?: It depends on the product, it takes time to know the components of the product and apply it.
How did you learn the craft?: I apprenticed for two and a half years. I didn’t cook but I watched and read. When I branched out on my own, I found the same problems. So I spoke to a ton of different people and helped learn about it. It’s been 7 years since I was independent. The best way to learn is to get yourself into a problem.
How did you get into this?: Since I didn’t have a  food degree, I got a stable job but hated it
Ratatouille - “Anyone can cook”
Chef Jacob (famous Indian chef)
How did you find out about being a food stylist?: sabbatical lead me to a movie, a movie led me to search the net, and then I called approximately 40 food stylists
Mentors: Mentors who are confident and know when it’s time to leave are the best mentors to follow.
Book Mentioned: The Last Lecture by Randy Posh
Do companies contact you?: Ad agencies get contacted, then tey find the right fit
TedEx Talk: Ordinary Ingredients for an Extraordinary Life
What is your dream project?: I actually had the chance to meet the Prime Minister of my country
What’s your favorite quote?: Nike Tagline: Just Do It
Favorite Book: Eat Pray Love
Favorite Kitchen Item: I just need one knife. My knife is from Singapore gifted from my boss
Favorite Food: Rasmalai (softball of cottage cheese)
How can we contact you?: [email protected]