Food Styling Tool Kit: Taming The Mess

When people find out what I do for a living - they usually exclaim "Food Stylist!? I wish I could eat for a living!" But truthfully, what appears glamorous in the final photography, is actually a big heaping mess behind the scenes. In fact, I don't always want to touch the food I've just spent a few hours playing with. But because of that...friends, neighbors and my husband's co-workers are quite thankful for my relentless food pushing.

So when method asked me to fear no mess...I jumped at the chance (seeing I'm constantly buried under a pile - or three - of dirty dishes). Working on multiple projects simultaneously often has it's cleaning consequences and I wanted to see if their dish soap could cut through the chaos.

Most days I am styling a mix mash of food and drink that don't often play nicely together. Piles of fresh ground spices next to sticky syrup infusions cause quite the caked-on mess both in the kitchen and in the studio.

Especially since each project doesn't always get immediate scrub down attention until later in the day...which is where food stylist turns professional dish washer - and where dish soap becomes a huge staple of my food styling tool kit (both at HQ and on location).

So with powerful suds in hand that help me start fresh at the end of the day, I wanted to share with you the other essentials in my tool kit that help keep the drips, smudges and unruly food items (I'm looking at you ice cream...and cotton candy) in check to create the perfect scene.

FOOD STYLING TOOL KIT: THE BASICS

|one|Glass Eye Droppers - Because a few drops of bitters on top of a cocktail or a drop of chili oil on your avocado bisque will make you look like an instant pro with little effort.

|two|Cotton Precision Tips - Wiping a plate with a paper towel is one thing, but getting into those small tight spots is another.

|three| Professional Chef Plating Kit - Tweezers and ladled spoons seem silly until you've used them - I promise you'll never turn back.

|four|Small Metal Dust Pan & Brush - Because clean up should be cute (since you're doing it allll theeee timeeeee).

|five|Metal Rolling Utility Cart - Speaking of cleanup, roll your props easily from set to sink without making multiple trips (or breaking anything).

|six|Professional Chef Towels - These absorb so much water and can be bleached back to perfection without showing any wear.

|seven|Brass Mister - Berries don't glisten on their own, now do they?

|eight|Stanwood Bonsai Tool - I use these to snip herbs and blooms plus they double as an excellent on-camera accessory.

|nine|Method Dish Soap - Did I mention being a professional dish washer? Soap is needed on hand at all times, preferably in packs of three.

|ten|Polished Stainless Steel Portion Cups - Prep, mix, organize...these little babies might never make it into the shot, but they are the star of the show.

Mess be gone! Layers of ingredients and prep dishes caked with goo - these powerful suds have created a blank canvas for me to start anew. I suppose the mess behind the scenes can be as beautiful as the final product - especially when you don't have to stress over clean up!

You know what else I like about method products? They are people & animal friendly, which means I don't have to worry about these suds or cleaning products hurting little feet and paws...because as you might have seen on snapchat, little Miss Ginger Rocket likes to boss around the production and stay underfoot. Which means it's an added bonus method doesn't test on animals. Making Ginger and I both feel good...especially when suds are a flowing nearly around the clock in our world.

So what's in your tool kit?! I'd love to know how you tame the mess in your life...details please!

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