London Meal Kit Archives - Dash and Splash

HelloFresh Recipes — *Behind the scenes: Food Styling for the latest HelloFresh ad*

Whether you've tried it or not, you've certainly heard of HelloFresh. This meal-kit company has taken the world by storm. Founded in Germany ten years ago, HelloFresh now boasts operations across the world - from the United Stated to Australia. I was recently hired by Pink Banana Studios as a food stylist for the latest TV ad. If you've ever wanted to look behind the scenes at a commercial, this is your chance!

Food styling for the latest HelloFresh ad: The creative brief

The brief was to shoot a 30 second spot, highlighting the ease of using HelloFresh. In particular, the spot shows the entire process: from placing your order to serving the meal.

As a result, there were four set ups:

The living room
The pack shot area
The kitchen
The dining table

Food Styling HelloFresh — *From left to right: The living room, the pack shot area, and the kitchen*

The food styling brief

Since HelloFresh targets people with no professional cooking experience, the styling on their recipe cards is minimal. It should look like what anyone can achieve in their kitchen!

In the same way, the styling brief was to match the recipe card as closely as possible. The recipe I was recreating was the Fillet Steak & Fries with Lemony Greens & Béarnaise Sauce.

On the recipe card, the dish was clearly split between three equal parts:

The sliced fillet steak with the béarnaise sauce
The fries
The lemony greens

I therefore kept the styling minimal and maintained the same structure to the plate.

Little touches everywhere

Equally important was to convey the idea of freshness with the styling for this shoot. We therefore added fresh fruit and veggies that matched the brand colours, as well as drinks and a salad on the table.

In order to make sure they looked fresh, I sprayed them with a mixture of water and glycerine.

Food Stylist HelloFresh — *So fresh and inviting. Can you spot the use of the brand colours?*

Shooting a food commercial

Have you ever wondered if there's a kitchen in studios? The answer is often no! For this reason, I created a makeshift kitchen area on set in order to cook the food. I brought an air fryer and a portable induction plate, as well as all my kitchen essentials. And then I cooked the same dish again and again for different takes!

The HelloFresh Explainer ad

You've read about it, you've peeked behind the scenes. You can now watch the ad below!

The nitty gritty

The shoot took place in a London studio over a day. The ad has been released in Australia and New Zealand.

Director: Ben Spilling

Production Manger: Cait Lyn Adamson

Account Director: Emma Masding

Food Stylist: Naf Castanas

Production Assistant/ Art Director: Verity Kett

DOP: Anthony Lucas

Gaffer: Jasper Clarkson

Spark: Jon Prentice

Camera Assistant: Nicolas Stylianou

Sound Recordist: Andrei Leskovski

Cast : Jeffin Kunjumon

Production Agency: Pink Banana Studios

Stay in touch

I hope you've enjoyed this behind the scenes look. I'd love to know whatell me what you think below!

If you want to see more of my recent food styling work, check out my shoot with Kimberly Espinel of The Little Plantation. You can also read at my post about sourcing food styling props on a budget - it's really useful if you're just starting out.

For more of my work, have a look at my portfolio or my previous shoots at Chuku's in Tottenham, SlowBurn London, or at The Haberdashery in Stoke Newington.

Lastly, don’t forget! You can always connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest.

Published by Naf Castanas in Behind the Scenes, Food Photography, Food Styling, London Brand Photography

Tags: Behind the Scenes, Food Photography, Food Styling, London Food Photography, London Meal Kit

Patrick and Uberto grew up in Italy. After moving to London, they started Scarpetta Pasta to replicate the Italian experience of sharing food. They now boast three locations, which are truly beloved. This year, they launched their wonderful Pasta Meal Kit.

Scarpetta's Pasta Meal Kit

In 2020, Scarpetta Pasta launched their Pasta Meal Kits, with pasta made fresh every day. If you're craving pasta, all you need to do is visit their website, order your box or start a subscription and BOOM! Pasta is on its way.

I had the chance to taste and shoot some of the vegetarian options. There's so much to chose from; I had the Pici Cacio e Pepe, the Conchiglie Gorgonzola & Walnuts, and the Pesto & Mozzarella Gnocchi. There's also a selection of starters and desserts, so you can have a full meal delivered - from start to finish.

The Scarpetta Meal Kit Experience

I love this box for so many reasons. It’s easy to make and requires no cooking skills. That means that it’s accessible to literally anyone. You’ll get the sauces - which you need to reheat, the fresh pasta - which you need to boil as per the directions, and the individual garnishes for each of your dishes. For me, the garnishes are what take this kit from good to great. You get restaurant quality food in the comfort of your home.

Pasta Photography

On a personal note, it’s always such a treat to shoot pasta. It comes in all shapes and sizes, and there are endless possibilities. Pasta is also so photogenic just on its own, which makes macro shots so appealing. Lastly, it’s a food that requires specific finishing touches – like grated cheese and maybe herbs like basil – and I love to capture those.

As a photographer, I’ll never say no to shooting more pasta.