Flavour profile: Lucy Cottle, food styling assistant and recipe developer
For our first Flavour Profile, food styling assistant, recipe tester and developer and good friend of mine, Lucy Cottle (commonly known as Lu), sat down with me to share tales of supper club nerves, hunting for the perfect star anise and finding her feet in a very different world to the one we first met in.
Lucy on a styling shoot, photographed by Nina Oliinyk
"I can’t believe I never knew this career existed. People actually get paid to do this, maybe I can too?”
If, like me, you’re tempted by expensive food magazines, pick up every recipe card, and have numerous dishes saved on your phone, then you’ve most likely been drawn in by the mastery of food styling. Photos good enough to eat are composed by stylists who swaddle trays in tea towels, place the perfect sprig of rosemary and leave a sultry spoon to encourage you into the shot.
This art, it turns out, is something that takes years to perfect, and one that Lucy has been learning over the past year or so.
At the same time, she’s been honing the recipes we’re then tempted to make, working with food magazines like Waitrose to entice the taste of Christmas into a cookie, or, as she was a few weeks ago, testing 14 dishes suitable for 4-6 people in one day so that we can be the perfect host.
Some annual leave, a well-timed post on Instagram and a lot of intrigue led Lucy to book a food styling course run by renowned culinary creative Esther Clark. Such luck has led Lucy to where she is today. After spending a day learning from some incredible professionals in the food world she reflects “It was just this revolutionary day. I came away thinking; what the hell, I can’t believe I never knew this career existed. People actually get paid to do this, maybe I can too?.”
The reality is, of course, a much longer story. Lucy was lucky enough to grow up in a family surrounded by cooking and food knowledge. Learning from her mum who trained and worked as a dietitian, and having such fond memories, particularly of both her grandmothers and aunties who were great cooks also - "there was always a cake, freshly baked scones, a feast at Christmas; all the traditional things”. It’s clear this is a family built on a meal shared.
Despite Lucy dreaming of training as a chef throughout her teenage years, a future in the culinary world wasn't one she pursued after school. Instead, studying International Development at university (whilst keeping her toes dipped into front of house work) and then a press career in the humanitarian sector followed.
It was working for a charity that I first met Lucy. Over food-stall falafel wraps soggy with warm London rain, we shared recipe book recommendations and dreamed of dinner at Padella. Not much has changed in our relationship (our most recent meet up was at Akub – we both urge you to go and try).
As the world closed down outside during the pandemic, the online cooking community opened up. Never thinking anything of it, Lucy, along with the rest of the food loving world, started a separate food-focused Instagram page; @lucotkitchen was born on Instagram. "It was when everyone was sharing their hobbies on separate accounts, and now I love it more than my personal one."
“I really don’t have many followers and I still hate social media” but she now realises how important this is to build a portfolio and connect with people. "It's another way to share food with people. You might not be able to cook for them, but you can offer something." Now, instead of cooking for one, she's sharing what she makes with her followers. Lucy's latest Instagram reels reflect this completely. Chill recipes based on people's requests - a cookie recipe for kids, a cake for a small wedding.
Tajin-crusted tofu, peach salsa tacos, cooked and styled by Lucy, shot by Rae Finn
"It's a bizarre contradiction"
As Covid subsided we could share meals again around a table rather than through our laptops. Constantly wanting to push herself, it’s perhaps no surprise that Lucy recently hosted a fundraising supperclub for 12 friends in her London flat. We laugh, realising that we both adore cooking for a crowd, but the moment of putting food on the table is mind-bendingly terrifying.
"It's a bizarre contradiction" she says "As soon as people started to arrive, I felt sick. I was bringing the food out and I was thinking, I don't want to be in this room when you're eating this. As much as that's the reason that I like cooking, to share it with people, I like sharing it and I like running away!"
I wonder, then, how Lucy held her nerve when working on shoots with the likes of the incredible Anna Jones, Meera Sodha and cooking recipes for Imad Alarnab and TikTok stars.
"When you think about plating something up, the amount of overthinking that happens is huge. Every single step of each ingredient has to be thought through, and that was all stuff that you have to learn through just doing it."
It's clear from a mouth-watering series of photos released this summer by Lucy and the talented photographer, Rae Finn, that the learning is paying off. Astoundingly, these two are both assistants in their respective areas. I, for one, am excited to see what comes next.
Salted honey thyme ice cream, cooked and styled by Lucy, photographed by Rae Finn
"I must find the nicest looking star anise ever"
Looking at these stunning shots it would be easy to forget that there is a huge amount of process behind the lens. I ask Lucy about her first-ever shoot.
"Honestly, I didn't actually know what a shoot meant and what I would do." Most editorial shoots take place in a photography studio, and this one was in London, Kentish Town.
On the way to the shoot, the stylist texted. “I was asked if I could get a star anise and a bag of ice on the way. Totally normal things to get. But I remember getting off the train at Kentish Town, anxiety rising thinking I must find the nicest looking star anise. I went into a fancy whole food shop and hunted down the most beautiful start anise I could see; one that wasn't chipped, a perfect colour, a singular one."
"I remember turning up with this lone wrapped star anise and water dripping through my bag up the stairs from the ice which had melted (don’t walk on a warm day for 15 mins with ice in a tote bag). They must have thought, who is this person?!"
Despite this slightly soggy start, the shoot was a delicious success.
I look forward to hearing where, who and what Lucy is working whenever we catch up. More than anything, I've been impressed how she has adapted to the freelance world. It's a far cry from the form-filling, job interview-heavy humanitarian sector we first met in.
"I’m still learning a lot, mainly through making monumental mistakes. But, the most important thing that I've done is spoken to as many people as possible. This creative world is so different. I quickly learnt that messaging people, being honest, having open, passionate conversations is one of the most important things. It's terrifying and sometimes exhausting. But it's completely worth it."
The credits:
Instagram: @lucotkitchen
Lucy's going to be launching a website in the coming months. Keep an eye on her insta and I'll also share on @theflavournarratives
Rae Finn https://www.raefinn.co.uk/ Instagram: @raefinnphoto
Nina Oliinyk https://ninaoliinyk.com/ Instagram: @two_inspirations