Back in May something rather special went down: the legendary, award-winning food photographer, David Loftus, held his first EVER workshop here at Carousel.

In case you don’t know (where have you been?) David’s worked with all of the big dogs in the business: Jamie Oliver, The River Café, Nathan Outlaw, Niklas Ekstedt… the list goes on.

His workshop was part of a collaboration with resident chef Barak Aharoni who had been cooking up an Israeli storm all week. The restaurant was strewn with David’s pictures of a recent trip to Tel Aviv where he’d been photographing Barak in action and during which the pair had quickly become BFFs. And so, the perfect combo was revealed: a food photography workshop led by David alongside a bountiful brunch by Barak…

We began with a nosey of David’s kit, a surprisingly minimal bag of deflectors and reflectors, mirrors (from the ever-trusty Muji), a bunch of eucalyptus (used for dappling bright sunlight) and a few different backgrounds. Top tip from David: try making backgrounds at home to save yourself a few bob and create something really unique. Simply paint a few wooden boards with your favourite colours, chuck them out in the garden, forget about them, find them a few days later (hopefully after a heavy downpour or two) and you’ll be greeted with beautiful, weathered backdrops for killer foodie shots.

And, of course, the cameras…

This is David’s first ever camera, given to him as a young boy by his father. Throughout the years he’s toyed with different brands and models, always returning to his favourite Canon 50D (though he’s currently having a fling with a Leica). When it comes to lenses, his heart lies with his 1.2 50mm that he uses for everything from food and portraits to travel and interiors, though he also has a soft spot for a 40mm pancake lens, a gift from Jamie Oliver (naturally).

David is the best advert for following your passions and feeding an appetite for creativity. Everything he knows is self taught, developing his token style through years of consistent practice and allowing himself to be playful. Apparently amazing things can happen when you experiment with a pair of kickers and some lipstick…

Barak’s food speaks for itself: rich tomato shakshuka, crispy-on-the-outside, buttery-on-the-inside fried aubergine, a dip to suit all moods (cool labne, earthy beetroot and creamy tahini, to name a few), soft and pillowy challah for dipping and dunking and slices of sticky babka to round things off on a sweet note.

These beautiful shots below are from the attendees of the workshop, which, we think, proves it was an all round success! Credit goes to @her_dark_materials, @gritsandchopsticks and @oliviawilliamson_.

Thanks to David, Barak and everyone who came. What a morning.