Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/106621
play in your free time Artist���s Corner: Tamara can sink your teeth into Kaufman Creating art you By Karin Wolf Many folks interested in culinary arts turn to cooking as a career, but Tamara Kaufman is not most people. While she has worked in many different culinary arts roles���from specialty cheese buyer and baker to caterer, cooking teacher, and food-column writer��� this artist, with a bachelor���s degree in art and design, finds working as a food stylist feeds her soul. Here, she combines her passion for aesthetics and cooking to create mouth-watering food photos for magazines and cookbooks. What do food stylists do that makes it an art? It is our job to make food look gorgeous but approachable. Solid food preparation skills, knowledge of food chemistry, and a strong sense of art and design are required. We have to make food appeal to the five senses, yet translate that via a single visual image. My goal is to present food in new and interesting ways so that it looks so good, the viewer wants to buy the product, prepare the dish, or eat it in the restaurant. What is the relationship between photographer and food stylist? The working relationship requires clear communication, and an understanding of roles as well as the end goal for the project. A typical food shoot is a collaboration between editors, advertising execs, art directors, prop and clothing stylists, and sometimes hair and makeup artists, and models. What is your favorite guilty pleasure? I have created a cake that embodies all the values I seek in a desert. It is a cream, butter, chocolate and espresso cake layered with fresh raspberries and soaked in rum. ��������� For more information on Kaufman���s work visit tamarastylesfood.com. Karin Wolf is the arts program administrator for the Madison Arts Commission. Find her at cityofmadison.com/mac/index.cfm. Book Club: Comfort food cookbooks for the comfort of your own home Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food By Alicia C. Simpson Can animal-free food match the tastes of fried chicken, mac and cheese or a bowl of chili? With the help of this cookbook, the answer will be a resounding: Yes! Published by The Experiment, $18. 72 BRAVA Magazine 150 Best Cupcake Recipes By Julie Hasson Cupcake lovers with a cookbook obsession will find life even sweeter with the bounty of recipes, including 25 bonus vegan recipes, in this book. Published by Robert Rose, $20. February 2013 Wisconsin Local Foods Journal By Terese Allen and Joan Peterson This 2013 engagement calendar featuring tips and recipes from some of Madison���s top chefs is a perfect companion for dishing up locally sourced, comfort fare. Published by Ginkgo Press, $18. Booked for Murder is located at 2701 University Ave., Madison; bookedformurder.com. Photo by John Cizmas How did you go from art school to food stylist? I was always tuned in to visual details such as the vibrant colors and textures of a vegetable when it is sliced open. I learned to cook professionally after falling in love with local, seasonal foods and being surrounded by creative cooks as a cheese buyer at a natural foods market. I ultimately choose this career because the possibilities for food photography are truly endless. Food is everywhere.