Test Shoot With Janine Kalesis and Penelope Bouklas

2024 started off with a bang! I collaborated with food stylist Janine Kalesis and prop stylist Penelope Bouklas to create these vibrant scenes incorporating cannabis and some indulgent food. Each environment had a color scheme which was complimented with accent props sourced by Penelope. Each food component was styled and created by Janine. This was a super team!! We were able to work around the scenes and capture all sorts of variations, crops, and angles. Can’t wait till the next one.

Check Instagram for more shots from the shoot!

@perrettiphoto

@foodstylistnewyorkcity

@penelope_props

B.T.S. Cheese Connoisseur and Grana Padano Cheese

What a great crew to work with. This past shoot working with Cheese Connoisseur and Grana Padano from Italy was such a blast. These type of projects remind me how fun my job is! We created various recipes using Grana Padano cheese product for the next issue of Cheese Connoisseur and for use directly with Grana Padano. These recipes showed how versatile a savory cheese can be. Some of the recipes we photographed were quesadillas, farrow salad, and apple galette. The mixture of the melted cheese with these acidic foods really worked well. The cheese itself was good on its own and created beautiful toppings to the dishes. For the photo shoot these Grana Padano cheese wheels and cuts were hand picked from Italy and delivered to the states for this shoot. They take their product very seriously and are proud of what it is all about. That type of passion for food really speaks levels and made the day all that much better. The beautiful cheese rinds were apparent in every photo, so you know to use the best when making these recipes. To finish out the day we did a gorgeous stack of cheeses with a rich slate as the background and a huge rustic chopping block as the base. This translated to authentic Italian.

I was able to try and practice my Italian at the end of the shoot, and sure enough I still need practice.

Ironically the next day Food and Wine Magazine featured Grana Padano cheese as a good way to prevent high blood pressure.

Food Styling: Jen Beauchesne

Prop Styling: Deb Donahue

Assistant/BTS Photos: Kat DeLeon

Studio: Neo Studios

Travel Plans: Italy

I've been enjoying the end of the summer and just getting ready for my trip to Italy. My boyfriend (whose is also a commercial photographer: www.josephmkitchen.com) and myself will be leaving first week in September traveling to Venice and Rome! I feel you should really do international travel at least once in your life and while your younger. Traveling through the states I plan on doing when I'm older.

I enjoy traveling because it gives me time to explore new cultures and recharge my creative process. Seeing the world differently where you cannot always get that in your own country. I look forward to hearing new languages and trying to speak them too ;) French and Italian are certainly on my list of languages to learn. I can speak a little of both but nothing fluent... yet!

Stay Inspired!

Italian Market Street Festival 100th Anniversary

This past weekend marked the 100th anniversary of the Italian Market Festival in Philadelphia. Originally from Philadelphia and being Italian(oh! and to continue my after-birthday shenanigans) it made complete sense to come out for the weekend to walk the crowded 9th street to drink and eat my way through! The Italian Market has evolved tremendously including more of a Mexican inspired neighborhood while still keeping to its roots and classic Italian food. Some staples you can find along the street are Sarcones, Ralph’s, Monsu, Di Bruno Brothers, Claudio’s, and Fante’s (the original William and Sonoma.)

The festival kicks off on Saturday May 16th at 11AM and closes Sunday May 17th. The streets are packed with people hustling through trying pulled pork sandwiches, grilled mango and corn on a stick, indulging in elaborate pineapple Pina Colada drinks. This is just naming a small portion of what you will find. Among the food vendors on the streets the produce stands are also open as well as the brick and mortar retail shops. Artists are also invited for the weekend selling their hand made goodies whether a scarf or a flask made out of clay! At certain intersections were stages with live bands playing covers of the latest hits or a DJ playing tunes. You could be drinking a beer and standing around having a good time. This year was certainly a fair not to be missed.