LIFE STYLED CHIC by Monica Garrett

For our February cover of OC Family magazine Best of OC for families issue. I sketched out this fantastic concept to have a little boy holding the biggest ice cream cone EVER. Well, at least with three scoops & some great depth-of-field in the shot. As with any great concept you must have an even better execution. The pressure was on.

I booked our photographer, Challenge Roddie (yes, his name is Challenge) & our Editor Suz Broughton’s son Ben for our model. Our first concern was the ice cream. I definitely didn’t have any food styling experience and really neither did Challenge. In the beginning I was all ready to buy loads of ice cream & all the fixings. But, how were we going to keep the ice cream from melting & how would we keep refreshing it throughout the shoot? I had no clue. We weren’t equipped to handle ice cream in that way.

I really wanted to see this cover concept come to life so I asked the question we all ask, WWGD? {What Would Google Do?}. I will say I’m sure there are plenty of books out there on food styling, but honestly, I wanted  answers fast.

Food styling is an art in itself. A food stylist almost never uses real food, unless it is something to replicate another item completely different. Think honey vs. syrup on pancakes. I quickly learned I wouldn’t be using real ice cream at all.

I want to share our behind the scenes of how our February issue came to life & how I disappointed so many people by not having real ice cream at all. In the end, it still was beautiful.

First, it’s simply powdered sugar & frosting. Yup, that’s it. This could put anyone is a sugar coma faster than you can say “Sweet!”.

Supplies:
• Frosting Tub(s): I used plain vanilla to create my own colors like mint, but you can also get chocolate & strawberry to get those colors instantly
• Large bag of powdered sugar
• Cones (your choice!)
• Electric mixer (a must!)
• Food coloring
• Small bowl & spoon
• Plastic bag
• Wood Skewers
• Ice cream scooper
• Hairspray
• Sprinkles (optional)

LET’S GO
I worked with our Director of Design Luke Hodsdon on this & I brought in my super heavy Cusinart food processor (that was fun). But during a trial run I found out quickly that mixing my hand was not going to cut it. I added one tub of frosting and slowly added powdered sugar as it was all mixed together. The goal is to have the frosting no longer sticky. Once we had a nice batch of white “ice cream” we tested small portions & added food coloring to get the eat colors we wanted in a small side bowl. We went for a mint green, pink & light cocoa chocolate.

Place the frosting inside a plastic bag & knead it into a ball. We wrapped ours in a plastic bowl so either option can work. Then, scoop out using the ice cream scooper. We placed each scoop on a paper plate but wax paper would be ideal. The “ice cream” hardens after it is exposed to air so you want to make sure it looks exactly how you want it to.

The day of the shoot, I placed crushed paper into the cones, inserted a skewer stick that was cut to the correct height to hold 3 scopes. Then I slipped each scoop on until I had three. They stayed perfectly! We then added sprinkles and they were complete. They looked exactly like real ice cream. I wanted to freshen the ice cream up for the photo, so I used a light hair spray to coat them. Viola!

Let me know if you have any questions or tips & tricks of your own!

Check out the issue now!