Between the Lines with Picture Perfect Meals

Today, we get to know the team behind Picture Perfect Meals, Cheryl Beverage Barnes and Adam V. Barnes.  PPM celebrates their love of life and good food.  In late 2009,  they took on the daunting, but delicious, challenge of compiling  a Christmas cookie cookbook.  Cheryl  and Adam have over 15 years experience  specializing in food photography and recipe development, so they were certainly up to the task.

What first attracted you to food blogging?

It was a former magazine art director that gave us the nudge into the blogosphere. When we moved here from Nashville four years ago, Adam was crazy-busy with freelance work. The economy took a nosedive and, of course, contract photography was the first thing to go. We had always talked about moving here (to Adam’s family summer Shangri-la, 30 gorgeous rhododendroned acres with a waterfall in the western mountains of North Carolina) and building a food photography studio and doing cookbooks. So, that was the push to really reinvent ourselves. Plus, when you live in the boonies, your employment choices are seriously limited. I was tossing around a few ideas for our concept on a lazy Sunday afternoon when the proverbial light bulb went off. I scribbled “Picture-Perfect Meals” on a small scrap of paper. It’s in a frame by my desk to remind me of how far we’ve come. What I really love about being a part of the blogging community is that I get to write and share stories about my family, friends and food (and make photographs with my husband). My parents are just happy that my journalism degree wasn’t a total write-off.

What keeps you inspired on an ongoing basis?

Many years ago, as a recipe editor and developer for American Profile Magazine, I published my recipe for a classic tuna salad. A few weeks later, I received a hand-written note from a sweet lady in the Midwest, profusely thanking me for the recipe, explaining that her husband was a diabetic and that tuna salad was one thing he could eat and loved. And added that my tuna salad recipe changed their life! I was moved to tears by her kind words. I couldn’t believe this woman took the time to put pen to paper to tell me that my food had made a difference. Well, that was it–I was hooked. When someone makes a lovely comment, tells me that I make them want to be a better cook or thanks me for a recipe, I feel such an overwhelming sense of humbled satisfaction. Food is that powerful. So, people inspire me–and my husband is my greatest inspiration of all. Well, that, and a nice glass of Pinot.

Where did you passion for food come from?

Oh, I grew up a Southern girl. Food was a way of life and so much more than something on a plate. It was how we lived, how we loved, how we celebrated, how we comforted, how we healed. When I’m in my kitchen, I look around. I see my parents, my grandparents, my uncles, my sisters, my brother, my nieces and nephews and all my friends and family who have ever gathered and cooked together, laughed together, dined together, cried together, washed dishes together. They’re all always in there with me. It’s a little crowded, but I don’t mind.

How would you characterize your approach to cooking?

I think most people want food that’s accessible–familiar and easy-to-prepare. I know I do. So, you’ll never see a recipe for über-foodie stuff, like sous vide or some kind of foam. I guess you could say that my approach to cooking embraces my Southern roots with a contemporary flair, with an emphasis on using quality ingredients. One of the hallmarks of PPM is product purity—all my recipes are made with items free of what I call the UnFab Four: high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, added MSG and hydrogenated oils. Wait a second, though. PPM isn’t about “diet” foods. It’s about a passionate food lifestyle dedicated to making food that tastes as good as it looks. My food philosophy is simple: Make great food. Use the best ingredients possible. Make it look fabulous!

What inspired you to take on a cookbook project?

Wine. We were having drinks one night with our dear friends (also some of my recipe testing guinea pigs) when “The Enterpriser” threw out, “Hey! Why don’t you guys do a little Christmas cookie book? The 12 days of Christmas cookies?” Well, that avalanched into an all-consuming, huge 25-recipe project. (Of course the escalating number of recipes had absolutely nothing to do with that third bottle we opened…) Since we’re still speaking to them after the issued challenge, the book is dedicated to them.

Why did you choose the Christmas cookie theme in particular?

Christmas is pure magic! Nothing brings out the kid in us like a warm cookie straight from the oven. Who doesn’t want to bake during the holidays? All those delicious aromas wafting out of the kitchen, making your house smell so fantastic and inviting. Plus, calories don’t count in December anyway.

What was your approach to writing the book?

Have you ever thumbed through a cookbook and thought to yourself, “I wouldn’t make that. Or that. Well, I might make that?” Maybe two or three recipes in the whole book that you’d actually try? I wanted our book to be the “little black dress” of cookies. Each recipe perfect for any occasion. Of course, if you eat too many cookies, you won’t be able to zip up that little black dress. But that’s what January’s for.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing a cookbook? Most rewarding?

The most challenging? The fact that we shot, produced and designed the book in three weeks. That’s recipe development, recipe testing, styling, shooting, writing, editing and more editing. It was insane! And taxing, to say the least. It was very, very demanding—emotionally and physically. I had never worked so hard in my life. And I had never been in a month-long sugar coma before.

The reward? Meeting that deadline and producing a book that we are so proud of. When he had uploaded the final revision, Adam Skyped me and told me to go to the link and see my book. It was surreal. There it was in cyberspace with my name on the cover. I wept like a small child as I flipped each page with my mouse—from pride…from exhaustion. It was one of the best moments of my life.

Overall, how would you characterize the cookbook experience?

Successful, since Adam and I are still married.

Would you do it again? If so, are there any other books in the works?

Yes, if I were properly medicated. Producing a cookbook is like childbirth. You look at your baby when it’s all over and you eventually forget all about the pain…eventually. We’re in the process of doing another boutique-style appetizer book. But our bosses are being really nice this time and giving us an epidural. And a little more gestation time.

Cheryl, your skills and experience in food styling are very apparent in the gorgeous look of the book. How did you get started in the field?

Aw, thanks! It started with a salad when Adam and I first met. He looked at it and said, “You know, that’s a really gorgeous salad. Have you ever thought about being a food stylist?” My response? “What the heck is a food stylist?” He convinced his magazine editor to give me a shot. My first gig was Beef Wellington. It was awful. I look back on some of that early stuff and cringe. It’s like looking at your high school annual senior picture and saying, “Oh, God, what was I thinking?” But, you learn and you keep pushing yourself to be better, hipper. My big thing is that the food has to look real. It has to tell a story. And it really helps if you have such an awesome photographer to make it look amazing. Speaking of…

Adam, your photographic skills were essential to creating a beautiful product. Were you always drawn to food photography?

Not that I was aware of. I began my career in Italy (Rome) shooting fashion. I frequently worked with a stylist who came to me one day and asked me if I knew anyone who could shoot food as Australian Vogue was coming to Rome to do a story. Naturally, I lied, and said “Me.” I felt I had some claim to it as my mentor in photography had been a still life photographer and he had instilled love of it in me over the years we worked together. Fast forward to a May morning in Campo dei Fiori where I learned the meaning of nervous. The client was the SENIOR art director for the magazine and a very gruff and impatient lady. Immediately, she criticized my choice of camera (4×5 in those old days) as being too slow and cumbersome and looked around for the rock she assumed I had crawled out from under. “Well at least you can show me a Polaroid then!” she snapped. I have no memory of setting up the camera, composing or focusing. The next thing I remember was her beady eagle eye looking me slowly up and down. “Not bad, I think we’ll consider it for the cover.” I simply assumed this sarcasm was her abrasive way of giving me the go ahead and not throwing me out on my ear. I recovered from the shot and went on my merry way, a wiser man. Some months later I received a package. Sure enough, she had not been kidding. There on the cover of Vogue was my beautiful photo of figs and parmigiano. The stylist and I decided we were a good team and so a food photographer was born. Since then I have always enjoyed shooting food. Food shooting has a lot in common with fashion photography.

Huh? Yes. In both cases the idea is to create an image that is evocative. Food generally belongs to the very emotional part of our lives: Romantic dinners, family memories, adventures shared. I look to create images of food that will evoke a response in the heart as well as the taste buds. My approach is to create food that is real, accessible. So many images are so perfectly styled as to be intimidating to the viewer or reader, which to me is counter-intuitive to creating a recipe you hope someone will cook. So I try to make the photography about the reader and not the photographer.

You and Adam have complementary skills which form the makings of a “picture perfect” partnership. What are the pros and cons of working together as a couple?

[Cheryl]  The pros? Besides getting to sleep with each other? We literally spend every waking moment together. We work together; play tennis together, grocery shop together, you name it.

The cons? See above.

[Adam] There are really more pros than cons. We communicate well, and support each other. I stay out of her way and she lets me do what I need to do to make the photograph. We know how each other thinks, and what to expect, so while not hassle-free or unencumbered by disagreement, we both have the same goal and pull in the same direction. There really aren’t any cons. It’s a good situation on all fronts!

Is there anything else that you would like our readers to know?

We’re working on a pilot for a television show but (ssshhh!) don’t tell anyone.

Thanks to Cheryl and Adam for taking the time to conduct this interview!  Please visit them at Picture Perfect Meals