The Life Of A Food Stylist: Olive Oil, Exotic Animals and Dave Lieberman
Posted By Greg on September 5, 2008
We have spent the last two days drowning in olive oil and Dave Lieberman. You know, Good Deal with Dave Lieberman Food Network cutie!
Drowning? Maybe not, but we did have an amazing time working with Dave and his gang and attending a party Dave hosted showcasing Olive Oils from Spain. It was a really cool twist on the party favorite Tapas. In Good Deal style, he was pimping olive oils from Spain that won’t break the bank. Affordable ingrediants for awesome cuisine, our life matra.
Yeah, we wish we could dine like Thomas Keller every day, but the reality is that we are young budding food writers/ entrepreneurs/ chefs/ food stylists/ prostitutes and so far, our good looks haven’t paid the bills.This is why we were so into the olive oils featured; Star, Pompeian, and Goya. Each had a very lovely distinguishable taste and each is very affordable, Greg and Michelle affordable. Star being my favorite. Of course it is. You can’t buy it in Tampa!
The folks from Weber Shandwick organized the entire Olive Oils From Spain event, from the 6AM local news spots to the party that evening. Three little angels by the names of Marisa, Kristina and Elizabeth transformed a Tampa hotel room into a staging station of olive oils, gift bags, give-aways, party decor, and prizes with professional ease. I will never forget meeting Elizabeth in the wee morning hours as she sat on the floor of her hotel room engulped in brown paper bags. We almost lost her in the brown entity. Marisa arrived with bright eyes at 5:30 AM to the first news spot, Dave Lieberman and Jeffrey (the actual client and an amzingly intelligent and charming man) in tow with nare a word of displeasure or fatigue, even though she had had the equivalent of two minutes sleep. Kristina greeted us with big hugs and big thank yous for being available last minute. The best team, ever.
Dave was very nice, very down-to-earth and very much stalked by hords of cougars at the party. Poor Dave, but celebrity status does have a price. Better cougars than chicken-hawks. Hmmm, maybe not.
During the Fox News spot, we were styling the table for Dave to demo. Unbeknowns to us, Discovery Cove was setting up in the set directly (like 4 feet) behind us. All of a sudden I looked up and saw some bird from Antartica, a sloth, and a tiny little owl. Of course, my camera sat firmly in the car! The South Pole bird LOVED Dave (must have been a girl South Pole bird) and hollered every time he spoke. He just carried on with professional ease. I can see why Dave is so well liked, he is a genuinely likeable guy.
(From left to right) Dave Lieberman, Michelle Baker, Jaden Hair, Greg Baker
He He. I had to scrunch down b/c I am so tall and well, Dave isn’t, not to mention I had my C.F.M. boots on. $300 dollar custom Van Eli boots that hurt more than toothpicks being shoved into my toe nails. Why wear them? Because they look fabulous.
Jaden got Dave to autograph TWO cookbooks and I think she is going to do a give-away on her blog!
BLOG UPDATE: FOR ALL OF THE RECIPES WE PREPARED WITH DAVE, GO TO Steamy Kitchen. JADEN HAS THEM ALL, ALONG WITH VERY PRETTY PICTURES AND SHE IS DOING A COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY!!!!! THE POTATO CAKES ROCK!
Stumble it!
hi! the goya olive oil really is not bad. olive oil is one of those things that is worth spending a bit of money on if you are going to use it within a few months. no one needs to buy expensive olive oil to cook with, but on a salad, or drizzled over stuff, it’s worth it to have the good stuff (in my opinion!). I feel the same way about parmigiano cheese - buy the good expensive stuff - it actually goes a long way!
i’ve been very on the fence about dave L. this was a nice post about him. i’m sure he’s a good guy and he seems likable.
Absolutely - there is a time and a place for everything. Cooking oils and finishing oils should never cross paths.
What a great piece! Love it!
Thanks Chez US. I bet you can find the Star olive oil in your neck of the woods.
Hey, how cool that you got to meet Dave Lieberman. I like him for exactly the reasons you named–down-to-earth, at ease, and for goodness sake, actually features food that’s not like, “Oh, just picked up these two inches of cheese for $50.” Nope, not me, either. Nice to hear from a foodie who wants realistic ideas, too. I hear ya about food writing and such not exactly being the wealth-amasser at this point. Same here! Keep up the good work.
p.s. Found you on Twitter–you’re following me! Like I have a groupie or something…
Oh and. I’ve done both Pompeiian and Star olive oil, but frankly, I just got a half gallon of Bertolli at Costco for an even better price! Might be worth a look.
Hey Sprout! I just thought your blog name was soooooo cute! Sprouted In The Kitchen, love it!
Bertolli is a good one, too.
It was nice working with the Weber Shandwick people and Dave. Good people all the way around.