take 5 with...kitchen m

 (all photos in this post are by Em from Kitchen M)

In case anyone was wondering - yes, I'm still alive. There's a bunch of posts I need to finish, write and process but school is le suck right now from all the tests and I've just been busy with life in general. By no means have I forgotten about my T5W series and I'm particularly excited about today's because this happens to be one of my favorite food blogs.

Kitchen M is a creative and beautiful food blog run by the talented Em. Kitchen M is special...because it's one of the first food blogs I started to follow when I got into this whole food blogging thing. I still remember running into her croissant post over 2 years ago (my pre-blogging days) and being fascinated by how tasty a simple picture of a croissant looked.

When Em's not making people salivate and smile through her food blog, she's out saving the world as a dietitian. I'm also convinced she knows almost every single food item on the planet. If you ever need an ingredient identified - she's your go-to girl. Thanks for all the hard work you put into the blog, your friendship and being such a big inspiration these past 2 years Em!

Take 5 With... Em from Kitchen M

1. Hi Em! Would you like to introduce yourself to our readers out there before we get started?

- Hi everyone! This is Em from Kitchen M. I'm a dietitian and freelance food photographer living in the Bay Area. 

2. What inspired you to start Kitchen M?

-  I used to live in the mid-west for a long time where ethnic food meant Chinese buffet and Tex-mex. There were absolutely no Japanese restaurants and people thought sushi was fish. When I was a student, I did my food service internship at UC Berkeley one summer, where I discovered the beauty of foods and culinary art. (Yes, the Bay Area restaurants, chefs, and people are the ones who inspired me to start my food blog called “Kitchen M.”) I never thought that food could be so entertaining and fascinating. Every time I went out, I naturally started taking pictures of what I was eating. By the time the internship was over, I realized that I took more food photos than anything else, which inspired me to start a food blog.

3. I’m sure this is a question you get asked a lot – what kind of camera and lens(es) do you use to take your photographs? 

-  I'm currently using Canon 50D. My favorite lenses are the 100mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.4.

4. What’s it like being a dietitian? Does your job influence the blog at all?

- I love being a dietitian. Nutrition is something that I enjoy learning for myself, so when I get to share my knowledge with others and help their well-being, it's absolutely the best feeling. Though it's not easy at all to motivate people and to change their lifestyles. I pretty much check nutrition facts on every food item instinctively, but that's just my habit. Although I wouldn't have a post about McDonald's fries or KFC's tempting biscuits, I try to feature a wide variety of items on Kitchen M. I want people to realize that healthy diet shouldn't look like prescriptions or formula. Being able to enjoy eating food is quite important. 

5. Being a dietitian, food photographer and a food blogger – it’s like having 3 jobs. How do you do it??

- Simply because I enjoy them all equally. I sometimes stay up till 3am writing and processing photos.

6. What’s your favorite thing about living in the Bay area?

- The food scene for sure. I'm very fortunate to be living so close to beautiful wineries and great restaurants including fine dining, ethnic cuisine and even street foods!

7. Now…you live like 30 minutes away from Bouchon bakery. How do you tell your patients to cut back on the sweets while living so dangerously close to a bakery like that?

- Portion control and moderation are the keys! Don't eat them all at once. Save some for later or share with others. :)

8.  I’ve talked to you about this in the past but each one of your posts has so much work and effort put into it. Could you describe for our readers the planning, writing, cooking and shooting process that takes place for each blog post?

- I know, it's a lot of work. I don't know how other people have a post almost everyday! (You too, Sean!) If you don't know, my posting schedule is once a week, usually Sundays. Typically, I think of ideas during the week, cook/make it on weekend, take pictures and write as I edit my photos. (me: I usually set aside a time block on the weekend and knock out a bunch of posts for the rest of the week. Then there's the Wordless Wednesday thing I've been doing...which is kinda a filler but it's also so I can get better at taking pictures too!)

9. What’s the most important advice you can give to people who are looking to improve their photography skills?

- You really should learn the technical stuff (i.e., ISO, f-stop, shutter speed, white balance, etc). Even if you have a perfect image in your head, it's not good enough if you can't transform the image. I read the entire manual front to back when I bought my camera and I've been only using manual mode since then. And of course practice... Duh!

10. What kitchen tool can’t you live without?

- Chopsticks. Am I too Asian? LOL (note: stir frying with chopsticks = win)  

11. Food that evokes the greatest childhood memory?

- Definitely Japanese home cooked food. There are so many and I just can't think them all right now.

12. Any food in particular you hate/won’t eat?

- No worms or insects. Also fetal duck eggs and organ meats are something that I would be completely satisfied without having to ever trying.

13. Any guilty pleasure foods?

- Hahaha. I answered this already. Please skip. :P (me: it's 'seirtsap, for those wondering ^^)

14. Drink of choice?

- Sparkling water or wine. I don't like juice and am just not a fan of beer, either.

15. Favorite cookbook (or food related book) that you think everyone should have?
- For food photography books, I like Donna Hay and The French Laundry - they are so beautiful! I don't really try to make the food from these cookbooks, but I get inspirations and ideas from these. For good recipe cookbooks, I like The Art of Simple Food (Alice Waters), Tartine (Tartine Bakery), Professional Baking and The Professional Pastry Chef (both CIA), Salute to Healthy Cooking (The French Culinary Institute)