Hi!
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We are Angela and Craig, founders of At The Kitchen Studio - a photography and videography studio built and realised after years of working in the food industry.
Come and find us…
Nestled behind the high street of Cheadle Hulme, South Manchester, you’ll find our studio - a light, open, airy space with a fully equipped prep kitchen, studio kitchen and props store. The perfect environment to create all manner of content for our diverse collection of clients.
Our story
Our story begins in London, where we crossed paths on several projects, Angela as a food stylist and food writer, Craig as a food photographer. Our creative personalities and our shared passion for food was apparent from the get-go and together we enjoyed everything London had to offer.We made lifelong friends and experienced incredible career opportunities.But years later, with a young family we made the move back North to start our business together.
We wanted a space that was ours, where we could focus on our passions, where we could experiment, be creative and where it was all about the food.
At The Kitchen was born.
Introducing Craig…
Born in Cumbria, Craig has come full circle when it comes to his passion for food.
Growing up in the countryside on a small holding it was his parents’ decision to live ‘the good life’ that sparked Craigs lasting love for farm to fork food.
“I would spend my time on the farm when I was growing up helping to look after the small collection of animals including bantam chickens, cows and pigs and a pony, Tommy, thrown in for good measure!
I watched and helped my mum cook, bake, plant up the kitchen garden; Fresh seasonal ingredients and food cooked from scratch I just took for granted.
It was my world. My earliest memory making food is sitting in the yard churning butter ready to be slathered on my mum’s homemade bread. It was inevitable I was going to end up working in the food world in some capacity. “
Craig went on to study at Art College then later photography.
He initially divided his time between photography and TV commercials assisting food photographers and directors alike. Armed with the knowledge he needed, Craig began his freelance career. Over the next 20 years, he worked for countless top brands, retailers and publishers. His photography featured in books, campaigns, packaging and commercial work across the food industry.
“Moving to London after college, as fate would have it, my first position was an assistant photographer to one of the top food photographers in the industry. I was really fortunate; being part of a team of like-minded creatives who were working together to bring these concepts and images to life was really enlightening. Here I learnt that above all else it is ‘all about the food’. It is this grounding mantra that bond Angela and I and I think it is apparent for all to see in the images and videos we create for our clients.”
Introducing Angela…
Angela, born of Italian heritage, had an appreciation of food instilled in her from a child. The culinary talent was strong on the female side, with her grandmother and mother, both passing on their recipe tips, providing inspiration and feeding Angela’s passion for cooking. ​Life was kitchen-centric and revolved around good food; the next meal was always in the planning, the kitchen table was always set, everyone was always well fed and guests would never go home hungry.
.“My favourite memories are always in the kitchen – which fed into the naming of ‘At The Kitchen’ – the place where good things happen. I love the creative process of cooking and making food look and taste amazing. You know you have done your job as a food stylist and food writer when people want to recreate your dish for themselves. They should want to lick their screen/page it looks so tasty. That is what we strive for and that is why we put all our efforts into always making it ‘all about the food’.”
“It was as Food Editor on Delicious magazine where I spent 5 happy years. To be at the helm of a beautiful, new, all-food magazine was an offer which I simply could not refuse- it was my dream job, being right there at the forefront of all that was happening in the food world.
Craig and I have been so lucky to have worked with some of the best writers, chefs, photographers, and creatives in the business. Our passion and enthusiasm for the industry is as it has always been, we are constantly excited about what’s next”
“My work has been incredibly diverse from writing and styling beautiful features for the likes of Olive, Good Food and Sainsburys magazines to working on commercial creative briefs for clients such as Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsburys.
Additionally, I was lucky enough to work with the likes of Nigella Lawson on her first 3 series of ‘Nigella Bites’. Working behind the scenes with a production team provided great insight and all added to my ever-expanding knowledge of the industry.”
Angela also collaborated on cookbooks and programs with inspirational chefs and writers such as Giorgio Locatelli, Gennaro Contaldo, Mark Hicks and Diana Henry. She helped to perfect recipes and style the food ready for the photography. This insight later gave her the impetus to take the plunge and write and produce her own books; following her passions she authored an Italian ingredients cookbook, ‘30 Minute Italian Meals Made Simple’ and an award-nominated book called, simply, ‘Pie’!
