Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024 Winners Announced
Chinese photographer Zhonghua Yang wins Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024 with a stunning image capturing Lunar New Year feast preparations.
Image credit: Yang Zhonghua 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.
An evocative photograph titled "Red Bean Paste Balls" by Chinese photographer Zhonghua Yang has clinched the overall title of Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024. This prestigious award is widely recognised as the leading celebration of food photography.
The winning image initially secured the top spot in the Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration category. Captured in the rural region of Xiangshan, Zhejiang, it showcases the bustling preparations for the Spring Festival, also called Lunar New Year. This includes traditional dim sum making, featuring red bean dumplings, steamed rice cakes, and glutinous rice cake, all crafted with time-honored techniques.
Caroline Kenyon, Founder of Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year, described the image as "a wonderful, perfectly balanced composition full of light, shadow, mystery, and poignancy." She continued, “It is clear a celebratory feast is being prepared. The food is exquisitely made, its circular shapes contrasting with the angularity of the fretwork screens, through which the light pours. Meanwhile, the woman who has made the food, weary, carries in yet another tray. Her role is to labour and to serve, while the guests party and enjoy.""
The winners across 36 categories were revealed by renowned chef and broadcaster Andi Oliver during an awards ceremony at the Mall Galleries in London on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. The event was a gathering of luminaries from the food and arts world.
Phil Turnbull, CEO of APAL, owner of Pink Lady® and headline sponsor of the Awards, remarked, "Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year continues to tell important food stories from across the globe through the very best photography. Despite the challenges of an ever-changing world, we never cease in growing, gathering, cooking, eating and celebrating with food. Each year, the remarkable photographs serve as a reminder of the fundamental role of food in every culture and every people around the world."
Once again, I was delighted to join this year’s international judging panel, chaired by legendary food photographer David Loftus. The panel also included notable figures such as Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation; Tom Athron, CEO of Fortnum & Mason; Asma Khan, presenter, chef, cookbook author, and founder of Darjeeling Express; Fiona Shields, Head of Photography at Guardian News & Media; and Rein Skullerud, Senior Photographer and Photo Editor at the United Nations World Food Programme.
Together the judges had the formidable task of evaluating thousands of entries from over 65 countries.
An exhibition showcasing all the finalist images and films will debut at the Mall Galleries in London. This free exhibition, touted as one of the must-see photography events of 2024, runs from 5th to 9th June. It is part of the inaugural Plate! St James’s festival, celebrating food, drink, and photography across the historic St James’s area of London from 5th to 23rd June.
Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024 Category Winners
Champagne Taittinger Wedding Food Photographer
Image credit: Lynne Kennedy 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!
Claire Aho Award for Women Photographers
Image credit: Delaney McQuown 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.
Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year - Overall Winner (and Places)
Image credit: Gaudillère Thierry Harvest in Volnay, Burgundy The domaine is harvesting a vine in Volnay, Burgundy with the help of a horse.
Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year - People
Image credit: Jonathan Thevenet Les Liens du Vin A Moment captured at the Aegerter estate in Burgundy, France. The children, the family, all gathered around the harvest. The transmission is running.
Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year - Produce
Image credit: Guenhaël Kessler In the Tank During Alcoholic Fermentation Xavier Vignon - Wine Globe fermentation - Rhone Valley, France.
Food at the Table
Image credit: Virginia Morán 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.
Food for the Family
Image credit: Ren Xiuting New Year in Old Cave Dwelling Photographed in Licheng County, Shanxi Province. During the Chinese New Year, families gather around to make dumplings and have a good time talking and laughing.
Food in the Field
Image credit: Teo Chin Leong Mangrove Fisherman A Burmese fisherman attempts to make a catch in a mangrove forest. The early morning rays of the sun create a magical atmosphere.
Food Influencer
Image credit: Matteo Alberti Hanging Buri (Yellowtail) Buri is Japanese for the fish Seriola quinqueradiata, known in English as 'yellowtail'. For centuries, fishermen filleted buri, salted them, dried them for about ten days, and finally wrapped them in leaves and long rice-straw ropes before hanging them in front of their houses, exposed to the sea breeze.
Food Stylist Award
Image credit: Barbora Baretic Rhubarb Puzzle Love Rhubarb is so fascinating to me. I adore its colour and texture. It also means spring is near.
Image credit: Barbora Baretic Blood Orange Cardamom Cake Creating this image as a symbol of long-awaited spring was pure joy. Blood oranges are incredible by their texture, colour and shine and that's what I wanted to capture.
Image credit: Barbora Baretic Canneles I find canneles so inspiring. Crispy on the outside and soft and yellow on the inside. I had so much fun styling these.
Image credit: Barbora Baretic Summer Nectarine and Lavender Tart The smell of lavender in my garden inspired me to create this photo. I believe the juicy nectarines complement the lavender well and the colours are complementary too: purple and yellow.
Image credit: Barbora Baretic Summer Tart Nothing but a gorgeous strawberry tart highlighted by a beautiful summer side light. It's crisp, fresh and I can almost smell the strawberries and mint.
Hotel Art Group Cream of the Crop
Image credit: Tailai Obrien 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.
Marks & Spencer Food Portraiture
Image credit: Paul Dodd All The Cocktails on the Menu A set piece showcasing the cocktails sold by local cocktail bar, Martini and Co.
MPB Award for Innovation
Image credit: Viktoriia Kondysenko Autumn Cocktail Taste of autumn. Autumn cocktail with pumpkin juice and maple syrup.
On the Phone in support of Action Against Hunger
Image credit: Hein van Tonder Fisherman A man selling the catch of the day in the vibrant fresh market in Pondicherry, India.
Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year (African Territory)
Image credit: Winifred Harms Biscuit Cake Biscuits at their best.
Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year (Chile)
Image credit: Antonia Larrain Eyzaguirre Oh Beautiful Crumb Handmade sourdough bread with a crispy crust, fluffy and airy crumb and with the perfect humidity. Just feeling its smell makes your mouth water and you cannot leave it or change it just like that. It's a deep, unconditional and loyal love.
Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year (China)
Image credit: Liu Min Care Taken in Xifeng District, Qingyang City, Gansu Province. I witnessed a heartwarming moment while capturing a wedding, where a man was serving food to the elderly man at his side, which was touching.
Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year (Europe)
Image credit: Diego Marinelli The Pig's Testament The killing of the pig is a real ritual of Italian rural culture. I was struck by the elderly man's sense of respect towards the sacrificed animal and I hope that the image makes us reflect on how man's relationship with food has changed in the last 70 years.
Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year (The Gulf)
Image credit: Raewyn Epps Radish Salad Playing with shapes, colours and texture.
Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year (New Zealand)
Image credit: Natnattcha Chaturapitamorn Danang Fishermen Local fishermen cast their fishing net from two Sampan boats in Vietnam.
Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year (South East Asia)
Image credit: Hein Van Tonder Market Lady A woman surrounded by bananas at the fresh market in Pondicherry, India.
Pink Lady® Moments of Joy
Image credit: Debdatta Chakraborty 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.
Image credit: Jo Kearney Empty Shop, Cuba A shopkeeper resting in a greengrocer's shop in Cuba. The state shops tend to be pretty empty. When food arrives there's a queue because they are subsidised by the government and so food is much cheaper than in the private stores.
Production Paradise Previously Published
Image credit: Photo: Max Jowitt, Stylist: Rosie French Would You Like Mustard with That? Shot as part of a series, The Hungry Traveller, a Gousto campaign celebrating cuisines from around the world.
Street Food
Image credit: Mohammad Reaz Uddin Fighting to Save Life Every evening, Ayesha makes packets of Hawai sweets by herself. The next day, at six in the morning, Ayesha and her daughter Hanufa go to different streets in the village and children's schools and sell the Hawai sweets. They earn about 300 taka per day and with this money she maintains her family and business.
Student Food Photographer of the Year supported by The Royal Photographic Society
Image credit: Elbe Vorster Sweet Dionysus Showcasing the dynamic form and craft of an intricate glass decanter.
Tenderstem® Bring Home the Harvest
Image credit: Natnattcha Chaturapitamorn 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.
The James Beard Foundation Photography Award
Image credit: Simon Urwin Pitmaster, Big Bob Gibson's, Decatur, AL Chris Lilly is the multi-award-winning pitmaster at Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur, Alabama. Big Bob (Lilly's great-grandfather-in-law), opened the business in 1925 and found fame for his revolutionary white barbecue sauce (at a time when most BBQ sauces were red and tomato or chilli-based.) His recipe of mayonnaise, black pepper, vinegar and lemon has since become hugely popular worldwide.
The Philip Harben Award for Food in Action supported by International Salon Culinaire
Image credit: Kishore Das Rice Grain Threshing As the sun gracefully descends on the horizon, casting a warm and magical golden glow with an ethereal radiance, a tribal lady engages in the ancient practice of threshing rice grains in the courtyard of her home with rhythmic movements by skillfully tossing the harvested rice into the air.
Tiptree Cake Award
Image credit: Photo: Ming Tang-Evans, Stylist: Tarunima Sinha 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
Image credit: Azim Khan Ronnie 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.
World Food Programme Food for Life
Image credit: Kristyn Taylor 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.
Young (12 and under) Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year
Image credit: William Dewhurst Bee's Breakfast I caught this bee having breakfast on a large sunflower at Bignor Roman Villa in West Sussex, England. Without bees to pollinate, there would be far less food in the world.
Young (13 - 17) Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year
Image credit: Sam Eichenholz Banana Haul Under a bridge that spans the red river in Hanoi, Vietnam, residents have transformed public lands into bountiful gardens. As I descended the stairs to explore this hidden corner of the city, I came upon this man carrying his banana haul and was struck by the soulfulness of his eyes.
MPB Food Film Shorts
Joe Giacomet & Jacqueline Bond Pasta Mistakes
A stop-frame animation created to illustrate an article, titled Pasta Love. It describes the birth and subsequent death of love using Tortellini as a symbol of a relationship. Originally created to resemble the goddess of love, Venus’ navel it’s often now just a cheap ready meal. When we first fall in love we dote upon each other, going to restaurants and eating well. Falling out of love, the food we eat together matches our decline.
