Olimpia Davies, Photographer, Artist and Foodie

Emilie Zaoré June 29, 2021 Our Team

Many of you have been curious to learn more about the SOSCuisine team. Behind the website, recipes, newsletter and professional services, there is a multitude of talent and expertise to inspire you and help you to eat better. This week we introduce to you Olimpia, one of our most talented photographers.

How did you become a photographer?

In the beginning, I studied chemistry in Poland, which is where I come from. I then moved to the UK and found my dream job there: a job as a chemist in a large laboratory in England.

In 2010, I got pregnant and everything changed! When I had my daughter, I realized that I didn’t want to go back to my job in the lab. I didn’t want to miss those special moments with my child. So, I had to find an occupation that suited me, and that I could do from home, with my baby. It was my husband who suggested that I start a food blog. After all, I had always loved to cook, and I already had a talent for design and styling. Initially, I was quite intimidated! I had to write, yes, but above all I had to learn how to take beautiful photos. I had never done anything like this before. In spite of all this, I began: I bought a good camera, and then took six months to learn everything and study photography on my own. I discovered that I had a good eye and that I had talent. I also discovered I was really interested in Photoshop and the various techniques that are available to enhance a photo. The positive comments on my blog multiplied and over time, I began taking photos for magazines.

In 2016, I won the Pink Lady Food Photographer award, my first culinary photography competition! Winning this increased my confidence and confirmed for me that I was where I should be. Over time, I put my blog to the side and focused more on my photography for different publications and companies.

How did your collaboration with SOSCuisine start?

About six years ago, a photographer friend contacted me and offered me a mini-job with SOSCuisine. If I remember correctly, it was for a recipe with meat, and my friend was only photographing vegetarian cuisine. So, she recommended me, and I discovered SOSCuisine through this first mini-job. It began like this and since then I’ve been available to help whenever the team needs me.

What are your tasks as a photographer for SOSCuisine?

First of all, Cinzia sends me the recipe. Just by reading it, I am able to visualize it and imagine it in a photo. Then I have to do my shopping and prepare the dish. Personally, I prefer to follow the recipe line by line and not make any changes. Some photographers will adapt the recipes to change the appearance of the dish, but personally, I prefer to stay true to the original recipe. Besides, SOSCuisine always gives me a lot of freedom when it comes to styling the dish. It’s a very creative part of the process. Then I take my photographs, and, at the very end, I taste it! I discovered some very good recipes while working with SOSCuisine. In addition, the fact that the recipes are simple, with easy-to-find ingredients in the supermarket, makes my work much easier!

What is your biggest challenge as a photographer for SOSCuisine and in general ?

I would say that it would be the differences between the growing seasons. Because I work with companies around the world, sometimes it can happen that a food that is available in Canada or France is not available at my home in England. So, I have to be creative and find a different way to properly represent the recipe. But this is not a big problem because I love taking on challenges! Obstacles make me even more creative.

Olimpia in the kitchen

If I were a food, I would be…  it depends on the season (laughs), in summer I would be a pineapple: full of flavor, full of colors, with an extravagant hairstyle!

My culinary specialty is… vegetarian cuisine. I love the creative challenges that come with it.

I would never taste… a beef tartare. You know, with the raw egg in the middle? It doesn’t inspire me at all! It’s probably because I’ve been a vegetarian for years.

My preferred SOSCuisine recipe … Orange Tofu and Vegetable Stir-Fry

Orange Tofu and Vegetable Stir-Fry

Author

Emilie Zaoré

A graduate of UQAM and the University of Montreal, Émilie has been a freelance communications expert since 2012. A foodie and passionate about new technologies, she's always on the lookout for trends and loves to share fascinating tidbits on social media.