“I always knew I wanted to do something with food,” Lizzie Kamenetzky, one of London’s majorly successful food writers/stylists, opens up on her experience in the food industry. Kamenetzky attended the University of Edinburgh and later Leith’s School of Food and Wine where she promptly discovered her passion for food styling. She has written four books of her own and ghost written over ten for various celebrities and top chefs. In addition to this, Kamenetzky also occasionally works as a private chef.
Raised in Kent’s countryside, a county in southeast England, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Kamenetzky came from a bustling little farmland plot. Immediately exposed to gardening, caring for livestock, and growing produce, Kamenetzky had a childhood developed by nature. Her family, she recalled, often would “grow their own fruit veg” and “had sheep as well.” She added “occasionally there would be a baby lamb that we had to feed with a bottle and it would be like your friend.” She and her two younger sisters spent most of their early years running chores throughout the garden and assisting their mother in cooking. When I asked Kamenetzky of the first time she started to develop her culinary passion, she said: “Making brioche at Christmas… I was probably about four or five. I just think food has always been a huge part of growing up and my life because mum is an amazing cook.”
Who have you worked for? Which media companies have you worked for?
Recently “I was shooting a cookbook for a Michelin star pastry chef. It was very high end Michelin star. It was Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons.” The menu features seven course dinners that can be up to £999 per guest, with all farm to table dishes. “I started at a company called Family Circle. I worked on the Food Hub across all their titles like Loaded, Ideal Home, Essentials, Women at Home, um, Living etc., Homes and Gardens, all of those magazines. And then I worked for Sainsbury’s magazine and Delicious magazine. And then I left and went freelance.” She’s also produced two Bake-off books, two cookbooks of her own, and has ghost written over ten others. Most of these recipes can be found on Amazon, Waterstones, World of Books, and Goodreads. In addition, Kamenetzky has trained under professional chefs, been on food shows and programs, and worked as a chef for private events.
What do you enjoy about working as a chef?
”In the food world everyone is very generous… there’s no rivalry. Food has always been a lovely area to work in.” Kamenetzky’s love for her career is very apparent. Throughout the interview, it was clear her fond memories of the culinary world still inspire her. “Food is the biggest part of my day.” Her rustic, spacey kitchen is full of family heirlooms and well-loved cookware. She explained that her “style of food is more comforting than fancy” which is reminiscent of her first years in the kitchen in Kent. She confidently added that free food is the best part of the job. Somebody else pays for all the ingredients, and around 5 to 6 recipes are tested a day. After concocting new recipes, leftovers are given to staff or are donated to charities.
Can you tell me some of the barriers this career has presented?
“Everyone thinks they can do it [food styling] these days because of social media. Social media has had a huge impact because it’s amazing to reach more people, but it makes your work about yourself because you have to put your face to your work now in a way that you did not used to.” Kamenetzky went on to explain that when she first started in the business, making a strong portfolio and going to clients for business opportunities was a way to step up higher in the industry. “They would hire you on the strength of what you’d done. Whereas now a lot of it is who are you, how many followers do you have, like, what influence can you give us? When I wrote my first cookbook, I was really lucky. It was before all of this huge amount of social media, so I had good cred, I worked as a food editor for a magazine, like, I knew my stuff. Now one of the things they purely look at is how many followers you have. It’s not necessarily can you cook? Do you write nice recipes?” She added “the pressure is always there” to have a big following. “It just takes so much time and effort. It’s just ridiculous. It definitely would make life easier if I had like… fifty thousand followers.”
