Cooking and photography have always been two disciplines much closer than one might think. In addition to claiming both as arts that are not always recognized, photographing what we eat is one of those compulsive tics of social networks. And that the dishes look perfect in the photos, an elementary part of restaurant marketing. But in La Salita de Begoña Rodrigo they have gone further and together with the photographer Javier Corso they have just released what claims to be the first photographic pairing.
But what is a photographic pairing? We are all clear about the traditional version with wines, but it is true that one sits at the table ready to try the “Eat with your eyes” menu without knowing exactly what you are going to find. The name, we must admit, is unbeatable. But it doesn’t give many clues either, because this is not about food photography, nor about photogenic plating.
The project is, in reality, almost a challenge that the Xiaomi company has proposed to the two protagonists of this story. Haute cuisine and photographs united around the firm’s latest terminal, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, and its photographic capabilities. The agreement between Xiaomi and Michelin is, never better said, the icing on the cake of what promises to be the first of several gastronomic pairings.
But we still haven’t solved the mystery. Corso himself, a documentary photographer, admits that at first it was difficult for him to understand the proposal, because his thing is not to take photos of food, but to tell stories based on snapshots. And that is precisely what he does in this job in which his only tool has been this smartphone equipped with cameras signed by the prestigious company Leica.
Seven stories in 28 photographs to accompany Begoña Rodrigo’s seven dishes that make up this unique menu. The photos reach the center of the table with each pass and stay there so you can observe them – and touch them, Corso encourages us – while you eat.
A small text helps to locate oneself, but the dishes are presented only with a title, without the classic explanation of ingredients or techniques that is often styled in gastronomic menus.
It is about the images that, in a certain way, tell the story of the dish or the inspiration behind it, explain the chef and the reporter. The harmony between them as a result of the long work behind the project is obvious. As if, in a way, two artisans had met and discovered that they have a lot in common, even though the tools they use are as different as a camera and a pot.
And, precisely, craftsmanship is the common thread of this report in seven chapters, and where there are blacksmiths, fishermen, Fallas masters, artisans who make paper or wicker… Stories with first and last names – this detail is very important – that claim their prominence at the table between bite and bite, while the diner seeks the relationship between the image and the plate.
Sometimes it is obvious, like the eel fisherman and the delicious all i pebre that Rodrigo has cooked, or the brotherhood between figs and cheese in the dessert accompanied by some magnificent photos of a cheese refiner.
Others talk about territory, textures, or even deceptions. But it is better not to reveal the entire script of this kind of two-sided play. It would break a certain magic of this experience, which is now available at La Salita, with a price that with pairing will be around 300 euros.
Rodrigo, who is having a great moment after receiving his third Sol Repsol and with a clear and necessary speech that seems to be catching on little by little, tells us that, given the complex staging, he will offer this “Eat with the eyes” menu only two or three tables per service. The proposal combines dishes from his classic tasting with others adapted expressly for this occasion.
A project that also has its academic aspect thanks to the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The relationship between image, food and culture is something that José Alba Martínez, chef, passionate about photography and whose doctoral thesis focused precisely on how education and origin influence when seeing a photo of a food or a product, knows a lot about dish.
Now, together with Purificación García – a researcher at the UPV and co-founder of Food Design – they have decided to take advantage of this unique photographic pairing to discover how it affects the diner. Does it enhance emotions? Do you better understand what the chef wants to say with the dish?
For now there are no answers, but those who try the menu will eventually be able to fill out a small survey that over time will help to know if, really, we eat with our eyes or the photographs are simply part of the tableware on the table.
The truth is that it is difficult to imagine the second when seeing the magnificent work done by Corso, who has known how to play with light and locations to get the full potential out of this phone’s camera. “It is on paper when the photo comes to life,” he comments as we praise the excellent work of the colorist and the person in charge of making the paper copies. Again, more craftsmanship.
At the table they talk about Begoña Rodrigo’s dishes and, for example, her vegetable sausages. But also the photos, their quality. There is even silence each time a new sequence arrives and is placed almost ceremonially in the center.
But it is also true that those of us who, in a certain way, move on both sides of this marriage between gastronomy and photography, still err on the side of being intense, when in reality it is simply a matter of enjoying the good cuisine of La Salita and the excellent photos of Corsican. By itself, that is already a great pairing.
