SOME PEOPLE ARE born with a natural talent for something and others learn their skills as they go. Erica Drum is both of these people – a born-to-do-it cook who has worked incredibly hard to make her dream a reality.
In a professional capacity, Erica is a private chef, a restaurant consultant, an event manager, a private caterer, a food stylist, a teacher, a kids cookery camp leader… the list goes on.
But spend some time exploring her many food shots on Instagram and you’ll see that Erica is also a passionate home chef who loves cooking for friends and family too.
“I grew up in a house full of food lovers,” says Erica.
My mum is a cookery tutor and caterer and my sister is a cake maker. My entire life revolves around food at this stage.
When it comes to recipe planning, Erica usually lets the calendar do most of the deciding for her. “I have been really inspired lately by, and appreciative of, local and fresh produce,” she says.
Instead of deciding what to cook and going to the shops, I do it the other way around.
If the thought of cooking without a recipe strikes fear through your heart, Erica recommends sourcing a copy of The Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit, a handy guide for pairing ingredients. “It’s my trusty go-to,” she says.
Erica’s food shots are bright, vibrant and endlessly appealling, but she says it wasn’t always that way.
When it comes to styling food for a photo, I feel like I am still a total beginner. Once I learned that natural light was the most important component, I felt like I started improving day by day.
Her favourite types of shots to frame? “I love shooting food from above, making a flat lay with different crockery or flowers.”
If she’s struggling to make food shots look appetising, Erica turns to garnishes or olive oil to add a mouth-watering touch – but she says the food usually does the work by itself:
I try to cook healthy and colourful dishes, which look good in photographs anyway – so that’s a plus. Picking the right dish or bowl for the food is important too. I like to use contrasting colours whenever I can.
Erica’s own home cook hero? Self-taught food photographer Shilpa Razniewska. “Shipla takes all her pictures with her phone, makes her own backdrops and cooks everything from scratch,” says Erica.
“She’s an inspiration.”
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