In my travels shooting the hit tv show, “The Chefs Plate” (airing on WBIN Saturdays at 3pm), I often get introduced to restaurants in New Hampshire I otherwise wouldn’t ever know about. Which is the point of the show, to help others find the great restaurants of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. A couple of weeks ago Scott, Helen, and I braved the frigid temperatures of New Hampshire to head up to Keene. Yes, it was cold at one point this month! We stopped at 5 different restaurants, Kristin’s Bistro & Bakery, the Elm Street Brewing Company, Michele’s Ristorante, Joe Peanuts house of Wings, and Fireworks Restaurant.
Shooting food photos for a living, I love being able to go to new and exciting places. They prepare their best food and I get to plate things just the way I want to make every shot perfect. The only downside is most of the time I am shooting video b-roll of the food and not photos. We have a pretty tight schedule, especially when we are shooting five places in a day. But every now and then I can squeeze in enough time to get some food photos.
Our third stop was at this beautiful little italian restaurant called Michele’s Ristorante. The owner, a stunning woman, was a former model as well as having been Kenny Loggins personal chef. As I setup I got to hear her recount some of her best stories to Helen and Scott, and it was, to say the least, quite interesting. And that is one of the really cool things about my job, I find these amazing places run by the most interesting people with the most incredible stories. Right there in Keene NH you have a chef who used to be the personal chef for the guy who sang the song to “Caddyshack”!? As Scott would say. “thats awesome”.
Our last stop of the day was at a restaurant called “Fireworks”. This place was amazing! When you step inside, you feel as if you are in an upscale restaurant you would only find in a large city. The inside is elegant yet inviting and casual. My favorite part was the large community table in the center, its a large rustic wood high top table that seats 20 people. It was absolutely beautiful with a sky light over head. And when I saw them bring out the food I had to grab a few select shots because it was a perfect food photography setup. This restaurant is hands down worth the drive to Keene.
It really was a great day in Keene shooting The Chefs Plate. If I could I would do food photos at all the restaurants but alot of time there just isn’t enough time in the schedule to switch between photos and video. But I hope you all enjoy a few of the select shots I was able to get. Look for more food photography blogs from The Chefs Plate coming soon.
