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food envy
Whiskey, food and unbelievable cakes: Kate Packwood on her mouthwatering baking photos
The former owner of Wildflour Bakery shares some secrets.
INSTAGRAM IS FLOODED with photos of food. And there is a seemingly infinite number of accounts filled with delicious inspiration to make us all drool!
Kate Packwood, previously of Wildflour Bakery, aka @wildflourkate, is one of these.
While Kate has an obvious talent as a baker and passion for combining her skill in imaginative ways with fantastic ingredients, she is also very creative in making her account stand out, with beautiful photography of her work.
She also has a second account of her own @kate_packwood where she tells a more personal story and documents her discoveries of food and drink.
“My degree was in literature and that was always the area I wanted to work in, but I found myself taking an unexpected career diversion into food when I started Wildflour Bakery several years ago. I didn’t know how to cook until I was well into my twenties, but once I ‘discovered’ food, I was hooked.
“I set up Wildflour Bakery and through my work I became fascinated with flavour and designing cakes with really exciting flavour profiles. Because of this, a lot of Irish drinks companies would work with me to pair cakes with their drinks, for events and launches. I am passionate about whiskey, so this kind of work was an absolute pleasure for me.
“When I closed the bakery, I moved into food and drinks writing and flavour consultancy, which was an obvious marriage of my passions.”
“My Instagram accounts are quite organic, I post when I have something beautiful and interesting to post rather than planning and sticking to a schedule. While this isn’t the suggested way to post, Instagram is my favourite of all the social media that I use and I very much use it for my own enjoyment as much as anything else.
“I’m not a fan of soulless, overly-curated posts and much prefer a more personal and authentic approach.”
“Food can be so beautiful – so many colours and textures and shapes, and good plating can be joyous. Often simplicity in a dish can be devastatingly beautiful. Drink, on the other hand, tends to need more styling to sing in a photo.
“With both food and drink beauty and intrigue lies not just in the thing itself, but the people and place that made it. It tells a story: what we eat and drink is social, cultural, political and emotional, and I love trying to capture that in photographs.”
“I like to keep a good balance between food and drink on my feed. I love photographing both and I love working with both; it’s enormous fun pairing food and drink.
“I’ve recently taken on a regular column with Irish Whiskey Magazine on flavour, food and whiskey and I love taking shots of my research and tastings for that. I also do freelance writing on food, whiskey, gin and beer, so they all pop up in my feed.”
And what are her other food favourites on Instagram?
“Other Irish food Instagram accounts that I admire are @slicesofdublin (Ellen Lunney), who’s vibrant and elegant shots of her dishes are simply gorgeous; I could look at @blacksheepfoods all day, their food is as pretty as it is delicious, and the colour palette they employ is scrumptious; Similarly, luxurious shots of chocolate are an absolute joy from Irish chocolate makers @beanandgoose; I love following the adventures and travels of Irish food blogger Niamh Shields @eatlikeagirl; I also adore the pared back textural shots on @nualalondon, the gorgeous Irish restaurant and bar in London.”
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