Flashback

Old images from the family albums of celebrities replicated today. This month I feature Justin and Dan Hawkins from The Darkness, Gareth Thomas, Jayde Adams and Anastacia.


Shot for The Guardian Saturday Magazine

Cook's Christmas Dinner

It is always a pleasure getting to work with the team from Cook Magazine in Italy.  We have been on many trips and photographed many of the world’s best chefs together.  However, this time I was commissioned to photograph the team behind the magazine having Christmas dinner.  The dinner consisted of a meal that each member of the magazine associated with Christmas.  

For this shoot I arrived in Milan late on the Sunday, Monday morning, bright and early, we took over a section of the exclusive Ginori Chinaware store and got to work dressing the Christmas table.  A full team of set designers, flower arrangers, hair and makeup and food stylists were there to help create this feast.  

Everyone sat down and I started to photograph.  I wanted to suggest that they all raised their glasses and said ‘cheers’ - and I got some blank expressions back.  I repeated myself a couple of times before I realised that they all thought I was saying ‘cheese’.  The look of disappointment, ‘What has this pandemic done to the photographer - reverting to the good old classic cheese phrase?!’  A look of relief came across everyone’s faces when they realised that I was just trying to get everyone to raise their glasses.  Glasses were raised and laughter washed over the uncomfortable quiet caused by the one minute confusion.   

A large group shot, 6 individual portraits and 6 plates later - I jumped in the taxi and headed for the airport, back to London….

Shot for Cook Magazine, Corriere Della Sera

Massimiliano and Raffaele Alajmo

I have too admit that the introduction to this trip to Padua didn’t bode well for an amazing meal.   We rocked up to a roadside hotel on the side of a semi industrial district of Padua, Sarmeola di Rubano, at about 11pm.  The hotel, only a few hundred meters from our final goal and objective of the trip, the acclaimed restaurant Le Calandre.  The hotel had closed and we had to call and wake up the staff to come and let us in.  There we were met with a hotel that felt like Miami Vice on a budget.  I eventually got to my room quietly hoping that the Le Calandre, a couple of hundred meters down the road, would be considerably better.

When I first saw the restaurant from the outside it didn’t look like we were up for much of an improvement.  The restaurant entrance and windows looked good, but the building looked more like a mix between a South of France building estate and an industrial warehouse.  However, as soon as we walked into the bistro that is in front of the restaurant itself, we realised we were somewhere special.  Le Calandre restaurant is run by the two brothers Massimiliano and Raffaele Alajmo.  Max (Massimiliano) is the chef and took the restaurant in 1992 and took it from one to two Michelin stars in 1996, making Max the youngest ever chef to get two Michelin stars at the age of 22.  At the age of 28 Max gained the restaurant its third Michelin star, making him the youngest ever chef to get that accolade.  The restaurant has maintained its three Michelin stars ever since and Chef Alajmo has been given the nickname “Il Mozart dei fornelli” (The Mozart of the stoves).

The restaurant is a family business run by the two brothers Max and Raf.  The adjoining bistro is run by their sister Laura.  The restaurants were previously run by their parents Erminio Alajmo and Rita Chimetto.  The family now run several of Italian and international restaurants as well as having a bakery section that supplies food to external shops, bistros, restaurants and cafes.  

So - when a chef like Max, receives me with open arms and insists that it is a true pleasure to be photographed by me, then it is a true sign of his humility and generosity.  We did not only get to eat the taster menu at Le Calandre, which was exceptional! - but we were also invited to dine in the Bistro and their new restaurant on St Mark’s Square.  For the latter we were transported on a wooden speedboat, not unlike what you see in a James Bond Movie.  

The restaurants run by the Alajmo family do not only provide excellent food, but also an experience that makes you smile and laugh, makes you excited and stimulate all your senses.  So - to call Max the Mozart of the stoves may be an understatement.  

Shot for Cook Magazine

 
 

Anoushka Shankar

Anoushka Shankar is not only the daughter of the world’s best known Sitar player but she is also an incredibly talented Sitar player herself. There was an incredibly calm aura about Anoushka as well as being friendly, fun and kind.  Am I right in saying that the feeling of calm goes hand in hand with the image of Sitar?!  Although I think that’s the case, the complexity of playing an instrument like the Sitar should surely make one wired, and not calm.  The sitar, is hugely personal, often custom made, and has an almost religious aura about it.  I had a blanket for this shoot and had to stand above Anoushka to photograph her.  To be able to be on the blanket where Anoushka was playing the sitar, I had to take shoes off.  Not to preserve the state of my blanket, but because I was on the blanket with the Sitar.  A respectful way to treat such a complex instrument.

This shoot was for the Observer Food Monthly so an element of food needed to be included.   As well as turning lettuce leafs into a pattern that would correspond with the pattern of my blanket, I also made a Sitar out of a Squash and had the lettuce leaves on Anoushka’s shoulders, almost like the base of some angel wings. 

Shot for OFM

 
 

Sheku Kanneh-Mason

Sheku is a Cellist who won the 2016 BBC Young Musician award.  Young and funky looking guy with a Cello!  A nice, gentle man, who has enjoyed a lot of fame since 2016, most noticeably for playing at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding. 

This shoot was for OFM magazine and therefore included food. I thought of putting fruit and veg as notes on a piece of paper that he could play.  Maybe the music play out loud is not the most appropriate, but it was the first that came to hand when I searched online.  

Shot for Observer Food Monthly

 
 

Hargobind Tahliramani

Just over 2 years ago I got a call from a man who called himself Gavin Ambani.  He said that he was a big fan of Honey and Smoke, and the founders and main chefs, Itamar and Sarit had recommended me as a photographer.  He claimed to be a part of the wealthy and influential Indian Ambani family and was looking for a photographer to take some portraits of himself, in a few selected restaurants and with a few selected chefs.  He was the man behind the instagram page ‘Purebytes’ and was making himself out to be an influencer in the British and American food industry.  

His initial email didn’t make much sense to me. He wanted to commission me to have some pictures on his instagram page?  I said that it was not a job for me, but he suggested to come to near my studio, and buy me a coffee to discuss this further.  I agreed.  He said he wanted to have several of portraits and I could just name my price.  

I therefore gave him a quote that would make it worth my while.  He immediately agreed and we kicked off with two shoots with only a couple of days between them. One was done at Honey and Smoke and the other one at Xu Teahouse and Restaurant in Soho, London.  Gavin arranged for the shoots to take place and I came up with the concepts of the shoots after having been given a few key points that he wanted to come across.  The first shoot at Honey and Smoke was to show how they are a symbol of breaking down cultural barriers.  Gavin wanted to be a part of this as he said he felt that the Honey and Smoke team were like a family to him.  (I have recently realised that this was a feeling that was not reciprocated). I came up with the idea of having a large table and people breaking bread.  The large table was to represent religions and culture, and the bread was to represent the breaking down of barriers and making peace.  To make it playful and give a sign of family, I thought of the idea of pouring flour and water on Gavin.  

The second shoot was meant to deal with the issue that Gavin is gay and was bullied when he was young.  He said that tea was what gave him comfort when he returned home from school. His mum would always serve him a cup of tea and make him feel at ease.  He also said that the instagram posts and success was a way for him to gain his parents recognition:  a way for them to become proud of what he has achieved.  I therefore suggested rainbow coloured tea streams to be poured into his cup, creating the colourful symbolism of being gay.  Another shot I did was him floating mid air with a cup of tea, making the tea into something that allows him to escape the real world and find comfort. 

Time and effort was put into these shoots.  I also had expenses.  “Gavin” also tried to commission me for a 3rd shoot, but after discussing the ideas for this third shoot, I said I needed to get paid for what I had already done first. This started a process of him stalling and delaying payment.  He talked of, and sent emails from his “aunt” based in California. He promised several of times to pay me but never did.  The excuses boarded on ridicules. I had my suspicions then that Gavin Ambani might not be who he said he was. One part of me thought that his name might not be Gavin Ambani, and he was not a part of the Indian Ambani family that he had claimed to be. I google searched Gavin Ambani, and although there were many images of the Ambani family, “Gavin Ambani” was never present. I called Itamar at Honey and Smoke once to ask if he was able to get his name from the bank card he pays with when going there to eat.  But I was told that this was not possible.  When I explained to Itamar why I asked, Itamar was furious with “Gavin”.  Itamar, (without me asking him to) contacted Gavin and asked him to pay me. (Gavin said - although this may be completely untrue - that Itamar had called him a lot and shouted at him to pay.)  “Gavin” was then furious with me for breaching a ‘confidentiality agreement’ that should supposedly have been between him and me.  (Anyone who knows me knows that I keep any bad experiences of shoots to myself at all times, even without an agreement in place.)  He said he was close to committing suicide due to this experience, blaming me.  I had lost my patience with Gavin and had to leave it all for a while as it was making my blood boil. 

I started to think of reporting him, but soon figured that any law enforcement would just brush this off as insignificant and ask me to go to small claims court. I considered taking him to small claims court, but having done this before I knew that this could be expensive and would be stressful. In return, if his name was not Gavin Ambani, he could just slip away and I would end up with more frustration and expenses. 10 months after he commissioned me I then contacted him again with a last desperate attempt to get my money.  I said I was in touch with a journalist and we were going to write an article about my experience of dealing with him. The images I had taken of him would serve as supporting images.  He then asked me to give him 3 weeks to get the money together. I never heard back from him again.

I never received any money from him. I left it, and considered it to be a loss of income and expenses. But in October 2020 I get a call from an American journalist called Josh Dean.  Together with another journalist, Vanessa, they have created a podcast called “Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen”.  The podcast is now a 10 part series uncovering a con artist who has conned people in the Hollywood film industry since 2011.  It is revealed that this con artist has managed to make people believe that he is a multiple of characters; woman, man, American, English, Indian, Indonesian, Chinese and the list goes on.  He has been a film producer, production assistant, screen writer, actor, director and more.  As Josh and Vanessa slowly expose this character, it becomes clear that he has also been an influencer in the UK, fooling people in the hotel and restaurant industry.  I was contacted as they told me that this man was the man I knew as Gavin Ambani, and they wanted to hear my experience of dealing with him in order to help expose him.  

The investigative journalism of Josh and Vanessa makes an incredibly good listen and I recommend you all to check it out.  This has also made it into a big story in Vanity Fair where my images of Gavin Ambani, a.k.a Hargobind Tahliramani were used.  He is now arrested in teh UK and awaiting extradition to the FBI in USA.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/11/how-we-unmasked-the-hollywood-con-queen-suspect


Published in Vanity Fair

 
 

Twin Gardens

Last time I went to Moscow I was about 16 years old. A very different place, but also a very different experience.  Back then I was young, on a trip with other international students and youngsters. This time I was on a trip for the Italian food magazine Cook, Corrier Della Sera to photograph the twin chefs behind the restaurant Twin Garden. Last time I probably ate crisps and cheap sandwiches, this time I ate exclusive Michelin star food and crabs with champagne.

The idea and process of traveling to Moscow is more intimidating and different than actually being there. Apart from a taxi service on the airport with drivers aggressively approaching you, trying to trick you into paying extortionate prices, (which can remind a little of traveling to a country that relies on tourism,) apart from the blatantly apparent class difference, and apart from the size of the buildings, Moscow actually reminded me a little of Norway.  It was a cold December week, but as there was no snow, it was dark most of the time.  People tend to wear similar outfits to what we wear in Norway - practical navy, grey and black winter clothes.  Although the architecture was grander than in Oslo - it had the same colouring and texture.  

We were well taken care of in Moscow by the team behind Twin Gardens. The Michelin star restaurant (19th best in the The World's 50 Best Restaurants awards) served up vegetarian taster menus (a first in Moscow?!) with wines made from Mushrooms, tomatoes, beetroot to mention a few. Although I have to admit that the wine is not the type I would enjoy on its own whilst watching a long film, the small tasters of it served with accompanying meals - worked perfectly.  Oh - and the tomatoes!  Grown locally on their farm Twin Farm - they were so tasty they even made the Italians give an impressive nod. 

Impressed by the restaurant in Moscow, we had a second day where they took us to their restaurant on the outskirts of the city. In the middle of a Luxury shopping mall - (and by luxury I meant LUXURY Russian style,) was the twin brothers Ivan and Sergey Berezutskiy’s second restaurant Crab and Wine.  This restaurant serves only crabs and wine/champagne as indicated in the name.  Here they had a large crab aquarium in the restaurant (as well as several filled aquariums with crabs in the basement).  The aquarium in the restaurant was probably around 2m tall and 8 meters wide. Here the guests could get a PS4 remote to control a claw, and pick their own crab using the remote (as if out of a James Bond villain scene in a James Bond film).  We were served 7 different types of crabs, on three tables pulled together to fit them all, and champagne to accompany.  An experience you’ll find hard to replicate.  

The chefs Ivan and Sergey were identical twins by looks, but were very different in behaviour. Sergey was the more introvert, softly spoken and didn’t speak much English, and Ivan was the opposite. (That Sergey also had the flue when we were there made it easier to know who was who when I spoke to them - not always easy when you don’t know them well).  They were extremely hospitable and introduced us to the modern and traditional Russia through food.  As many surprises as expectations were met.   

Shot for Cook 

 
 

Skye Gyngell

Experiencing the serene and calm environment of ‘Spring’ restaurant in Somerset House, London, is like a breath of mountain air in contrast to the busy street (The Strand) just outside.  The pure light and white tones are like the Greek sun in comparison to a grey London day.  This is not just the feel of the restaurant, but as Skye Gyngell walks in, I realise that this look and feel is a true reflection of the head chef herself.  Skye is Australian, trained in France and has previously worked as the food editor for Vogue.  She is also known for getting a Michelin star at her previous restaurant Petersham Nurseries.  All previous experiences have now come together it the perfect harmony which is Spring Restaurant.  

Oh - and to make it a little bit more perfect, it also prides itself in being a plastic free restaurant.  (That is, all apart from the bin bags, which there is no current alternative for.)  

Shot for The Observer Magazine

Gary Usher and Danny Wallace

This year’s Observer Food Awards saw Danny Wallace win the Young Chef of the Year award.  Danny works in Gary Usher’s restaurant in Manchester and the two of them ended up on the cover of the awards issue.  

The idea of the shoot was to have Gary and Danny clap some flour together to create this celebratory puff of smoke.  As I travelled up on the train my mind started exploring the idea of flour and what more we could do with it.  Such a playful prop to have at my disposal.  I thought that flour could be a symbol of time, like an hourglass.  If we had Danny stay in one place then Gary could sift flower over him, one bag at a time.  The time reference could also serve as some indication to their relationship as apprentice and mentor.  I therefore stopped by a Tesco near by the Manchester studio and bought up all their flour, both self raising and plain.  I contacted Danny and Gary and asked them to bring a sieve.  

When Danny and Gary turned up, they’d brought a sieve that looked more like a Peaky Blinders cap than a sieve.  

I did a series of shots of the two of them on their own and together, sieve and no sieve, before I prepared for the mess.  Gary loved the idea of poring KGs of flour over Danny and Danny didn’t seem to object either.  

A lot of laughs later Danny was covered with a layer of flour on his head and down his neck and pants.  His feet had disappeared, almost like someone caught in a snow storm and decided not to move until it was over. 

Shot for the Observer Food Monthly

 
 

Asma Khan

The first time I met Asma was when I sat down for delicious lunch at Sabrina Ghayour’s place, after having completed a shoot with Sabrina. I remember clearly that Sabrina was boasting about how good a chef Asma was, and told me of her pop up restaurant in Soho.  A few years later, Asma has not only got her own restaurant in the middle of Covent Garden, a restaurant that is packed full every day, but she is also the first British chef to have appeared on the popular Netflix TV series  ‘Chef’s Table’.  Not a bad undertaking at all!

I have since worked with Asma a couple of times, but this shoot for ‘Cook’, Corriere della Sera’s food magazine, was the best one.  We had two days with Asma, eating at her restaurant, being introduced to her flat where her dinner club dining experiences all started, but best of all - experiencing Asma!  Asma is warm, genuine and very funny.  Her restaurant is made up of a team of chefs that she is personally connected to, all women whom lived in London but missed a community and a connection with their home countries.  Asma gave them a community in the kitchen and they together created a cultural experience through their food.  

My biggest regret with the shoot was that I had a massive cold, so I could not get the full experience of the food.  So it’s now a case of queuing up in a line with celebrities such as Keira Knightley, David Schwimmer and more to get the full experience again.  Unless - (“Asma - are you reading this??? - nudge, nudge…”)

Shot for Cook Magazine

Giorgio Locatelli

I have worked with Giorgio Locatelli on several occasions, but never had the chance to hang out with him for a couple of days and to dine at his restaurant.  When I take portraits of a chef I get a good feeling of who they are and the connection they have with food, (especially when food is incorporated in the shoot).  However, when I have a chance to spend a day with a chef, at his or her restaurant, taste their food and hear them talk about it, I get the full impression of the passion they have for the food they make.  Giorgio is very much one of those chefs that is eager to share his passion.  His love for the bread they make on the premises was shared alongside his love for fresh ingredients and pasta.  

This shoot was also working with a team from Italy, which meant that I didn’t understand much of the conversations, but in return Giorgio’s passion was worn even more on his sleeve than normal. 

Giorgio has recently seen an increase in popularity in Italy as well as UK as he is now one of the judges in Italian Masterchef.  When I stepped outside, his fans from Italy were pacing up and down in front of the restaurant hoping to get a glimpse of the great chef.  One stopped me as I was taking some exterior shots and asked me, with eager eyes: “Is the chef inside”?  I said I didn’t know, trying to allow Giorgio some privacy, but she took that as a ‘yes’, and continued to pace up and down in front of the restaurant, in the hope that he would come out - and she could look like she was casually passing by.  As Giorgio came out, she jumped at the chance to get a selfie with the Chef.  Giorgio agreed, and she walked away happily, glancing down at the image on her iPhone.  Just another sign to prove my theory that the true passion for food is engrained in all Italians.  

Shot for Cook Magazine

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

 
 

Vitantonio Lombardo

I have been very lucky in my career and had the chance to travel all around the world to work with some of the world’s best chefs. This trip for Corriere Della Sera’s ‘Cook’ magazine took me to Matera in the south of Italy, right in the middle of Spaghetti Western country.  The town Matera is a city built into the mountains in the middle of this desolated landscape.  The houses and hotels are basically caves.  The town had only recently been made into a modern city.  It previously didn’t have a modern plumbing system which meant that the town had been left to disintegrate, considered poor and nobody wanted to live there.  It became a dumping place for rubbish and a playground for drug users until the government put a lot of money into it and modernised it.  Work began in the 1970’s and it is now one of the ‘must see’ destinations in southern Italy.  The houses, (or caves,) are still there but now they have built in plumbing and are desirable to locals, businesses as well as tourists.  The town has been the backdrop to many films, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ being one of them.  

The Michelin star chef Vitantonio Lombardo packed down his Micheline star restaurant in Salerno and opened up shortly after in Matera, getting a Micheline star almost immediately, being the first restaurant in Matera to get one.  

I spent 2 days in Matera, photographing the town, but also Chef Vitantonio Lombardo and his restaurant.  Lombardo invited us to a 2 hour lunch experience which ended with a dish where we had to snog a pair of lips up from a plate, not using any cutlery, wearing earphones with an Italian love song on.  It’s not many exclusive restaurants you see the diners pushing their whole plate into their faces, licking up a lipped shaped cake - but it was strangely nice…. Almost like being a teenager abroad, experiencing your first holiday romance:  Slightly unsure how you approach the ‘lips’, the fear of the unknown, but when the lips (desert) meet your lips, you can’t stop…

Shot for Cook Magazine

Michael Caines

I travelled to near Exmouth to photograph the chef Michael Caines at his hotel/restaurant/vineyard.  His boutique hotel, the Lympstone Manor Hotel is a grade II listed building built in the 1760’s and looks out over Exmouth and its own vineyards. As you look out over the river mouth, you can imagine the owner of the manor, back in the late 18th century, standing on the balcony looking over the boats filled with silk and tobacco coming in.  An idyllic setting and a first class manor house and restaurant.  

Michael Caines was trained under Raymond Blanc, was head chef at Gidleigh Park when it got its second Michelin star and has been awarded an MBE.  Caines lost his right arm in a car accident in 1994 but that hasn’t stopped him.  A man with determination!

This shoot was in collaboration with BA and their ‘Love Letters’ series, a celebration of 100 years in aviation.  

Shot for Bridge Studios and BA

Refugee Community Kitchen - Calais

Last time I found myself at the refugee and migrant camp in Calais, then commonly know as  ‘Calais Jungle’, I was taken to the camp and the community kitchen.  The camp has now been shut down by the French authorities but the kitchen still stands.  Due to numerous attempts by the French government to shut this kitchen down they have had to make massive improvements to make it into a professional kitchen.  The operation is run by Steve Bedlam, Sam Jones, Janie Macintyre and Paula Gallardo.  The kitchen has fed 2.5 million refugees in 3 years and is 100% reliant on volunteer work and charitable contributions.  They provide healthy food for all refugees as well as the community.  Respect to everyone involved!

Shot for the Observer Food Monthly

Nigella Lawson

This is the second time I have worked with Nigella Lawson.  She’s known as a domestic goddess, she’s the queen of home cooking, and she’s the empress of deserts - (the latter is a title I have made up).  She’s known, respected and appeals to the young and the old and the rich and the poor alike.  She is the image of Britain that is adored in the UK and loved abroad.  So, when Nigella turns up at a shoot she knows what to do, and she know’s she’s in charge.  The rest of us fall in line.  If she were to be Prime Minister, then no-one in the UK or abroad would dare to question.  Her titles as ‘queen’ and ‘goddess’ are not titles that are just thrown out there without reason.  They are titles that she’s earned but through hard work, determination and total control.  If a cake was a currency, then it would have a picture of Nigella on it!

Shot for Waitrose Food 

 
 

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson has released a new book. Her book is about simple but good home cooking and is called At My Table. This shoot for Waitrose Food was aimed at toning it down and keeping it real. So real that we even had the luxury of including a tray of small home grown red apples. (The type of apples I spent many of my younger years scrumping. - Sorry old neighbours…) A linen table cloth and a casually dressed Nigella - all spell out home cooking as far as I am concerned. Nigella is the queen of cook books and this new book will be like having the queen herself in your own home, in a kitchen sharing all her home-cooking secrets, (without the corgis).

Shot for Waitrose Food Magazine