Food Stylists

beauty n. perfect piece of fruit or vegetable. “I need 10 lemons--two beauties and eight for slicing.”

bite-’n’-smile phr. part of commercial in which actor/actress bites into the product and smiles.

frankenstein v. combine two unrelated pieces of food to create a “better” finished piece. “Take that chicken leg and frankenstein it to the thigh.”

hero n. final product, ready for photography or filming. “The hero burger is in--roll camera!”

KB it phr. artificially brown an item using a mixture of Kitchen Bouquet and water.

overpromise v. make a product look too appealing or abundant, which often results in calls from consumers who feel cheated by the advertising. “Too many beans in that bowl of soup--we overpromised.”

rip towels phr. tearing off sheets of paper towels for quick use in the kitchen; task usually assigned to lowest crew assistant.

sorting flakes phr. sorting through flakes of cereal to find perfect specimens. “I’ve sorted flakes from 10 boxes and found 12 measly heroes!”

spit bucket n. bucket or cup for actor to spit food into once the camera stops rolling.

stand-in n. temporary food item, used for lighting or rehearsal until hero is ready.

torch v. use a blowtorch to add a barbecued or browned effect to food item. “KB that steak and torch it.”