In the kitchen with Wolfgang Puck and Alain Ducasse
It’s been a while since this incredible evening happened, but thanks to a few nudges from you guys, we reached back into our archives for the images. What would we do without you amazing people? You keep us in check and encourage us to post regularly. Thank you for that.
You see, we were asked to photograph a private dinner party at Hotel Bel Air’s signature restaurant in Beverly Hills. When the request for a quote came in, we thought it would be a cool evening to shoot under the stars in one of LA’s most talked about historic hotels. We’ve shot all throughout Los Angeles’s prized restaurant jewels, so this seemed like one of our typical evenings of photography work.
The photo assignment included all the usual requests that an art director and photo editor would need to have. But then when there was the mention for portrait shots of Puck and Ducasse, we did a double take.
Alain Ducasse? Wolfgang Puck? Private Dinner Event. Ok, now this was something really special. That meant having to actually get dressed up (even as photographers), iron some wrinkled clothes, shine our shoes and strap up with our cameras for an incredible evening.
And what an incredible evening it was. Wolfgang Puck’s signature restaurant at Hotel Bel Air was having a special dinner event with special guest Chef Alain Ducasse. Both chefs are friends, both are respected in their profession, and both have an incredible sense of humor. All that, along with some fantastic food, wine, company, conversation and photographs made this one our the most fun photographic evenings we’ve ever been a part of.
Why we love our job so much is that much of our time is shooting in the field and on location. The talent, ranging from home cooks to established chefs, are always such a pleasure to work with. They bring us into their lives and allow us to capture those private, intimate and special moments that few get to experience.
Most importantly, they trust us to share and tell their story. That trust is a huge honor for us and we take our work very seriously.
So for this evening, we were requested to shadow both Chef Puck and Chef Ducasse during their time in the kitchen and with guests in the dining area. On top of that, our assignment was to capture food detail, restaurant detail, restaurant activity, motion, emotion, interaction, plating, staff activity, staff beauty shots, guest shots, guest activity………and the list goes on.
How did we do? We tried our best, shot like crazy, ran around property to capture every moment listed and made a lot of new friends. Then we made it home before midnight and passed out into a wonderful deep sleep.
Do we still love our job? Absolutely, positively, yes.
-diane and todd
Chefs Ducasse and Puck busy in the kitchen
Outdoor seating under the veranda. It was a beautiful afternoon.
Guests have arrived and the evening is in full swing.
Todd hiding behind the door and Diane backed up against the wall! The End.
More Chef shoots:
- Chef Charles Phan, The Slanted Door
- Chef Rick Bayless
- Chef’s Michael Symon & Marcus Samuelsson
- Chef Michael Cimarusti
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You really captured the awe and awesome of this event. I can’t wait for your portrait workshop and learn from you, again. Just stunning work.
Wow, such gorgeous photos! 🙂
It must be a great honor to photograph cooking maestros, portraits, in the kitchen and the entire party. Great work overall, wonderful pictures.
Stunning photographs. Really just beautiful. The food looks incredible. I hope you got to try some!
I could look at these series of photos all day. They are not only exquisite but you caught some true emotion that evening. Beautiful.
Wow! These are some AMAZING shots! They really capture the moment and make me want to whip something up in the kitchen… So inspiring! You do your job so well.
The photos are terrific. I can only imagine the excitement and adrenaline rushing through those cameras. I love the first black and white photo…something about the seriousness…and his swirling hair! Any tips on what lenses you chose for the portrait shots?
Sarah- we’ll use various lenses for portrait work, depending on the size of the shooting space we have. Our favorite is the 85mm.
You guys are such an inspiration to me and seeing photographs like these push me to better my work. I’ve learned so much about photography since I started to blog and never knew I would love doing it so much! One question..when or what forms the decision to present a picture as a black and white? I love them but I’m never quite sure if it can be just any photograph/personal taste or if there’s a rule.
Thanks guys..
Hi Gerry, thanks for the kind words.
There are many, many situations that will warrant a photo to be edited in b & w and it depends if you’re asking from a paid perspective or a personal perspective. There really is no “rule”.
1. Client request- some of our clients specifically request black and white photographs. So those images are edited in black and white.
2. Composition, story and moment— some photo moments–particularly candid, intimate, documentary or photo-journalistic styles, look great b&w. And photo’s having strong story/composition are nice in b&w.
3. Personal taste/decision- some photo’s just resonate something special to the photographer, so for personal reasons, a photographer ( or editor) will edit in bw. And some photographers just love their work to be represented in b&w.
4. Bad lighting- some photographers might have a photo with bad white balance or lighting, so to save a bad photo, editing in b&w is an option for some editors.
Thanks for the detailed response, all great reasons to use b & w. Maybe it’s the calmness or the virginal presentation that pulls me in.
Take care 🙂
You guys are stunning and amazing. Love you both!
AMAZING indeed!!! What an amazing opportunity and your photos are just perfect! 🙂
Hot damn… what a night! This looks like the most marvelous evening. And you captured it so beautifully!
great photos – always hard to catch chefs (and bartenders) in action because they’re always moving so fast : )
oh wow! Just beautiful! Just Beautiful! What a wonderful evening and the pictures that you capture make me feel like I was there!
Wow! How fun! Thanks for sharing! Stunning images. So happy and proud of you guys! xoxo
Stunning images, and what an amazing, fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime event. I can only imagine how cool this was for you guys!
Beautiful pictures! Looks like an amazing time. Your photos say it all. I really love the outdoor pictures of the two chefs. They seem to be having so much fun in the photos. The photos of the plated dishes bring me back memories of when I used to work at the catering kitchens of Wolfgang Puck (doing One Time Events as a culinary student). The first time I met him, he was in tight leather pants and a T-shirt. I was still a little star struck at the time. I can feel and relate through the photos of the action taking place in the kitchen….the intensity, the hustle and bustle, the screaming, swearing, and all that other madness (and he has some mean chefs on his team)…all to create a perfect event to be remembered.