The Food Issue
2015
Grains
West
16
Every time you see a Tim Hortons sandwich on a billboard, watch a McDonald’s commercial on TV or
buy a box of frozen chicken strips because of how delicious the picture on the package looks, you are being influenced by the work of a
food stylist. All around us are compelling images of food—each carefully selected to market a product to a specific end user. Whether
the food in question is a pork chop or a pot roast, getting the perfect shot requires tremendous preparation, skill and creativity. Sue
Spicer is one of the best in the business.
Spicer has been in the food-styling business for more than two decades and holds a bachelor’s degree in food and consumer studies
from the University of Guelph. Her career began in Toronto with photography apprenticeships at
Canadian Living
magazine and Mc-
Cann Erickson. She then moved to Calgary in 1986 to work with the marketing and advertising department of Calgary Co-op.
Today, Spicer is the owner of Food by Design, a food marketing and communications company she started in 1996. Through her
company, Spicer runs sampling demonstrations, assists consumer education programs, develops recipes, and markets products at trade
shows. Her work has appeared in countless print and television advertisements, cookbooks, public relations campaigns and education-
al videos. Spicer’s clients have included large food-service companies, such as Subway, TacoTime and Edo Japan, as well as a number of
agricultural organizations, including Alberta Barley, Alberta Wheat Commission, Alberta Pork and Egg Farmers of Canada.
Entering themind of a food stylist
By Tyler Difley • PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRYCE MEYER
Graphics courtesy of freepik.com
