A haunting image, Red Bean Paste Balls, by Chinese photographer Zhonghua Yang, has won the overall prize of Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024, the world’s leading celebration of food photography and film.
Overall winner (and category winner of Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration), Yang Zhonghua, China, Red Bean Paste Balls. In the rural area of Xiangshan, Zhejiang people are busy with preparations for a feast to celebrate Spring Festival, also know as Lunar New Year. This includes the tradition of making dim sum, such as red bean dumplings, steamed rice cakes and glutinous rice cake, each of which has a legacy of traditional craftsmanship.
The image, which had first won the Food for Celebration category, was taken in the rural area of Xiangshan, Zhejiang during busy preparations for a feast for Spring Festival, also known as Lunar New Year.
Australian photographers achieved great success in this year’s competition; from the thousands of entries submitted from over 65 countries across the world, they had a total of five finalist images, including three category wins.
Hotel Art Group Cream of the Crop, Tailai Obrien, Australia.Chestnut Season. Chestnuts symbolise Autumn harvest. In our family with strong Celtic roots, they are considered guardians of men and animals. The antique chestnut roaster is a family heirloom and a nod to our farming heritage. The crested dove symbolises harmony and virility. Chestnuts are highly nutritious and a delicious food for celebrations.
Tailai Obrien won the Hotel Art Group Cream of the Crop category with ‘Chestnut Season’ which features her family’s antique chestnut roaster.
Marks & Spencer Food Portraiture, Paul Dodd, Australian/UK. All The Cocktails on the Menu. A set piece showcasing the cocktails sold by local cocktail bar, Martini and Co.
Paul Dodd won the Marks & Spencer Food Portraiture category, one of the most competitive categories in the competition, with his vibrant image, ‘All The Cocktails on the Menu’.
World Food Programme Food for Life, Kristyn Taylor, Australia. New Life - New Potential. An elderly Rendille woman holds her newborn goat outside her house. She lives in Ngurunit, a difficult area to access in northern Kenya. The land is dry and access to water for people and animals is precarious.
Former Photographer of the Year category winner Kristyn Taylor won the World Food Programme Food for Life category with ‘New Life, New Potential’, a powerful portrait of an elderly woman clutching a newborn goat in rural Kenya.
Other finalists include Ben Cole for his mouth-watering image ‘Sticky Taste’, Claudia Anton for ‘Rainbow Jelly Mess’ and Brodie Nalywajko was Highly Commended in the MPB Food Film Shorts category for his piece, ‘Pancake Pour’.
Marks & Spencer Food Portraiture, 2nd. Photo: Ben Cole, Stylist: Sharon Kennedy, Australia. Sticky Taste. The concept behind 'Sticky Taste' was to create flavour for your eyes so the viewer could visually taste the image. Each ingredient was styled to its flavour characteristic, sweet and sticky honey, sharp textural cracker, creamy earthy cheese, elegant Prosciutto and subtle sweet notes of the fig.Food Influencer, 3rd, Claudia Anton, Australia. Rainbow Jelly Mess. An image of jelly chaos where the reflections and shadows of jelly in all stages of consumption merge to create a spectrum of rainbow colours.
The winners of the 36 categories were judged by food photographer, David Loftus, includes: Clare Reichenbach, CEO, the James Beard Foundation, Tom Athron, CEO, Fortnum & Mason, Asma Khan, Presenter, Chef’s Table, Cookbook Author and Founder, Darjeeling Express, Fiona Shields, Picture Editor, The Guardian and Rein Skullerud, Senior Photographer & Photo Editor, United Nations World Food Programme.
Phil Turnbull, CEO of APAL, owner of Pink Lady said the awards continued to tell "important food stories".
"Each year, the remarkable photographs serve as a reminder of the fundamental role of food in every culture and every people around the world," he said.
An exhibition of all the finalist images and films will premiere at the Mall Galleries, London. The free-to-enter exhibition runs from 5th - 9th June.
You can see a selection of the other category winners below, and all the category winners on the Pink Lady website.
Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year (The Gulf), Hein Van Tonder, United Arab Emirates. Market Lady. A woman surrounded by bananas at the fresh market in Pondicherry, India.Pink Lady® Moments of Joy, Debdatta Chakraborty, India. Breakfast with the Brokpas. The Brokpas are a small ethnic group mostly found in the union territory of Ladakh, India. The Brokpas traditionally claim themselves to be descendants of Alexander's lost army. The Brokpa diet is based on locally grown barley and wheat, prepared most often as tsampa (roasted flour) and Gur-Gur Cha, a brewed tea made of black tea, butter and salt.Production Paradise Previously Published, Photo: Max Jowitt, Stylist: Rosie French. United Kingdom. Would You Like Mustard with That? Shot as part of a series, The Hungry Traveller, a Gousto campaign celebrating cuisines from around the world.Student Food Photographer of the Year supported by the Royal Photographic Society, Elbe Vorster. South Africa. Sweet Dionysus. Showcasing the dynamic form and craft of an intricate glass decanter.Tenderstem® Bring Home the Harvest, Natnattcha Chaturapitamorn, Thailand. A Day in the Field. At the beginning of the rice farming season, a young farmer carries a rack of rice sprouts across a paddy field in Sakon Nakhon province, Thailand.Tiptree Cake Award Photo, Ming Tang-Evans, Stylist: Tarunima Sinha. United Kingdom. It's Raining Cake - Hallelujah! A celebration of cake with 'My Little Cake Tin's' signature colourful and stylish edible floral decoration.unearthed® Food For Sale, Azim Khan Ronnie, France. Tribal Farmers Sell Their Fruit Boats fan out across a stretch of the lake, creating a floating market selling an array of fresh fruit. This is a floating market of seasonal fruits such as jackfruit, pineapple, mango etc. at Rangamati, Bangladesh. The tribal farmers sell their fruit every early morning at minimum price on a wholesale basis.On the Phone, Hein van Tonder, United Arab Emirates. Fisherman. A man selling the catch of the day in the vibrant fresh market in Pondicherry, India.Claire Aho Award for Women Photographers, Delaney McQuown, United States, B.L.T. Contemplation. This photograph is part of my ongoing self-portrait project, urging women to find liberation through unidealized self-images. Excessive self-documentation fosters familiarity, enabling women to exist unapologetically in photos. Capturing myself eating a B.L.T. without inhibition felt fitting, given the complex relationships women often have with their bodies and food. I'm passionate about women embracing their cameras, leading to liberation and self-love.Food at the Table, Virginia Morán, Spain. Pork, Laughter, and Red Wine. Chef Antón bids farewell to his beloved restaurant, after 30 years of service, inviting his closest family and friends to a simple yet heartfelt feast. The main dish, sourced from a pig slaughter: liver with onions, served with sourdough bread and a fine Rioja. A poignant farewell to a culinary era filled with laughter, joy and good red wine.Champagne Taittinger Wedding Food Photographer, Lynne Kennedy, Scotland. Let Them Eat Cake! Lucy and Tony and their children made the long journey from Kent to the Isle of Skye to get married. They didn't want to transport a traditional wedding cake all that way, so their cakemaker produced these fabulous little 'cakes in containers' for them. We found a spot by the historical Sligachan Bridge and they tucked in!
