Secret recipe - Jack Monroe and Monica Galetti

It’s always impressive to see chefs at work.  Mixing up their magic potions and presenting it as if it should be in some art gallery.  But every chef has some secret, go-to ingredient.  Maybe its something to help the dish look good, or it could be to give the dishes that signature taste.  This feature for the Observer Food Monthly revealed what Monica Galletti and Jack Monroe had up their sleeves.  Monica’s go-to secret is charcoal.  She uses it to introduce a shock factor.  The look of the dishes differs and it gives a slight smoky flavour.  

Jack Monroe however, uses Sage and Onion crumbs to give that extra flavour to many of her homemade dishes.  

Not only did I try to show the chefs and their ingredients in this shoot, but I needed to portray the feeling of secrecy.  So I took the idea of using charcoal literally for Monica and I brought in the secret agent suitcase and a good few handfuls of Sage for Jack.  

Shot for Observer Food Magazine