Yolène Dabreteau is a food photographer and blogger based in Dublin. She kindly accepted to talk about her blog Creme de Citron and share her recipe for Eggs Provençale
.
- Where in France are you from and tell me a bit about yourself?
I
come from the Vendée region in the North-West of France. I moved to
Ireland in July 2004 and after a detour of three years in Melbourne,
Australia, I came back to Dublin about a year ago and it is where I call
home. I am a freelance photographer and while Down Under, I got to
develop my career by doing many photo jobs for theatre companies:
publicity, actors shots and rehearsal photography. Photography and food together are a big passion of mine and even though I do a bit of baby
and children photography, my aim is really to grow my food photography
business and work with new clients in this industry.
- How did you come up with the idea of starting your food blog Creme de Citron?
Starting
a food blog is an idea that came to my mind while I was still in
Australia. Actually, a few friends of mine really pushed the idea into
my hands as they were really keen to have me sharing my recipes. At the
time, I was really focused on my photography job in the theatre world
but was getting very interested in the idea of food photography and food
styling. I thought a blog would be a great place to share my recipes
and food experiences, as well as my food photography.
- What is your food blog about?
My
food blog is about sharing my personal recipes, my food experiences and
food photos with my readers. But mostly, I use it as a platform to
create dishes that I photograph to build a portfolio of food images. So
far, it has helped me find new clients for my food photography business, so I could say it has been very positive for me. The recipes I post are (I hope) not too difficult
to execute, they require ingredients that can be found easily or that
can be replaced if needed. It is mostly food that has a sentimental
factor, with little pieces of life or memories to share.
- Being a photographer would you have any tips regarding food photography?
I
have a lot of tips regarding food photography, if I start speaking
about it all I probably won’t be able to stop. My most important tip is:
use natural light! I know it can be hard to get a lot of light in
Ireland on certain days but that should not stop anyone. I actually
think the overcast Irish sky is really perfect for photos as it works as
a giant diffuser, and you can bring more light into the composition by
playing with the ISO, aperture and shutter speed settings of the camera.
I also use a reflector to play with the light and shadows as it is an
important thing in food photography. I try different angles for
photographing too. All those factors in a food image give it depth.
- What do you enjoy the most about cooking?
When
I am in the kitchen cooking, I feel really relaxed. I can easily get
stressed but once I am making a delicious dinner, or trying a
complicated recipe, I calm down automatically. I do not practice any
form of relaxation exercises but cooking is my meditation time. My big
enjoyment about it is also to make food for others, I love feeding my
friends and family. The happiness I can read on their faces after having
eaten one of my dishes is a wonderful thing to see.
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Eggs Provençale (Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
I often use this recipe for a brunch or for a quick lunch when I am busy
processing and editing my images (when on my own, I only use two eggs
but keep the same amount of ingredients for the rest).
Ingredients (serves 2 people)
- 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 small shallot (thinly sliced)
- 1 garlic clove (chopped finely)
- 4 free range eggs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- salt, pepper
Method
- Heat
up the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and
stir until softened for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1
to 2 minutes.
- Pour in the chopped tomatoes and the dried herbs. Stir well and cook for 20 minutes.
- Break
the eggs in the pan over the tomatoes. Cover and cook for 7 to 10
minutes (time varies depending on the size of the eggs, make sure the
egg white is well cooked).
- Season to your taste with salt and pepper, and serve with some lovely crusty French bread.
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All pictures courtesy of Yolene
