With decades of experience as a chef, stylist, and tabletop director, Nitin approaches food not as decoration but as a medium that carries emotion, memory, and intent. His studio operates like a creative lab, where chefs, photographers, designers, and clients collaborate without hierarchy, shaping visuals that feel calm, honest, and quietly powerful - long before the first bite is taken.
Food is something we all interact with daily, but very few people turn it into a visual language with intention, restraint, and story. Before we talk about the studio, we’re curious to know, when did food stop being just food for you and start becoming a creative medium?
For me, food stopped being just food the moment I realised it could communicate emotions, memories, and intent, even before it tasted. We eat with our eyes. As a Chef, years in professional kitchens taught me technique, but styling and visual storytelling showed me how food can speak - quietly, honestly, and with purpose. Thats when it became a creative medium rather than just a plate.
Your work sits at a fascinating intersection of food, design, photography, and storytelling. How do you approach a new brief? Do you think like a designer first, a stylist, or a storyteller?
We approach every brief as a content-led, solution-driven project. We start by listening closely to the client - understanding the brief, the brand objective, and what the campaign needs to achieve. From there, we build the storyline and define every detail through a clear storyboard and campaign deck. Once the vision is locked, the stylist steps in to bring that plan to life, adding finesse and magic while staying true to the story we’ve crafted.
Food is unpredictable - it melts, wilts, and changes by the minute. Working with texture, temperature, and timing instead of pixels, what has this impermanence taught you about process, patience, and creative control?
Food’s impermanence has taught me to deeply respect the process as much as the final image. Working with elements that melt, wilt, and change by the minute demands patience, precision, and complete presence. E.g. real ice-cream will melt, but fake ice-cream gets hard with the lights. Therefore, treatment with both of them works very differently. Over more than three decades in the food industry, this experience has trained me to anticipate change, understand timing and texture instinctively, and act at exactly the right moment.
Your visuals feel calm, intentional, and never overstyled. In an age of visual excess, how do you decide when to stop?
I believe restraint comes from clarity. Once the objective of the image is clear, what the brand wants to say and what the food needs to express, everything extra naturally falls away. With experience, you learn to trust simplicity, to stop when the food feels honest and complete, and to let balance, space, and detail do the talking rather than adding elements for the sake of it.
Nitin Tandon Studios feels more like a creative lab than a conventional studio. How do you build a space where chefs, photographers, designers, and clients collaborate without hierarchy?
Honestly, I’ve never been comfortable with strict hierarchies on set. Food shoots work best when everyone feels equally involved - chefs, stylists, photographers, designers, even the client. At the studio, the focus is always on the idea and the outcome, not on titles. We discuss, debate, test things out, and build the shot together. When people feel free to speak up and experiment, the space naturally turns into a creative lab rather than a conventional studio.
What does a typical day at the studio look like between test shoots, experiments, failures, and those rare “this just worked” moments?
There’s really no such thing as a “typical” day at the studio, and that’s what makes it exciting. A day usually moves between brainstorming new ideas for client pitches, internal meetings and PPMs, test setups, and bringing different teams together. With marketing, HR, kitchen, styling, operations, accounts and production all working in sync, the energy stays high and focused. When every department is aligned and doing its best, things fall into place naturally, and those moments when everything clicks are incredibly rewarding.
Food shoots are intense and time-bound. How do you keep the team energised, calm, and creatively aligned under pressure?
Food shoots are fast-paced by nature, but a lot of the pressure fades when you’re well prepared. Clear planning, strong communication, and everyone knowing their role make all the difference. I like to keep the set calm and positive, and my team handles it brilliantly. They’ve been trained over the years and often know what’s coming next even before it’s said. Roles are clearly assigned on set: someone is prepping the next shot, someone is clearing, someone is styling. When each person does their part seamlessly, everything comes together creatively, and the shoot flows effortlessly.
Food styling is often misunderstood as “just making food look good.” How do you help clients understand the depth of thinking, testing, and craft behind the final image?
Food styling definitely goes far beyond just making food look good. I usually help clients understand this by walking them through the process - the research, the testing, the trials, and the decisions made before we even reach the final shot. We discuss why a certain texture, colour, angle, or garnish works for their brand and what story it tells. Once clients see how every element is intentional and tied to their objective, they realise that the final image is really the result of thoughtful planning, craft, and experience, not just surface-level aesthetics.
When pricing creative work that involves so many variables - ingredients, trials, team effort, what do you believe clients are truly paying for?
Clients aren’t just paying for ingredients, time, or the number of people on set - they’re paying for clarity, experience, and results. They’re paying for years of understanding what will work, what won’t, and how to reach the right outcome efficiently. In reality, they’re not paying for a single image or frame, but for the entire advertising campaign it’s meant to serve. Whether it’s a packaging shot, a digital campaign, or a TVC, the focus is always the brand and how it connects with its audience in the right way.
This month, we are exploring 'Life Beyond Design', so outside of shoots and styling tables, what feeds your curiosity? Is it travel, cooking for yourself, books, films, simply observing everyday rituals around food or anything else?
For me, a creative mind is never really off duty - it’s always observing, absorbing, and connecting dots. I’m constantly watching work, reading, noticing details, and learning from everyday moments. I love travelling to new places, but I also love people, so my home is often filled with friends, good food I enjoy cooking, and long, interesting conversations. Honestly, there isn’t a clear “life beyond design” for me - whether it’s watching a good series, travelling, or spending time with people, it all feeds my thinking as a creative person and opens me up to new perspectives.
Has a moment outside work - a meal, a place, or a memory - ever quietly reshaped how you approach a project?
Absolutely, it happens all the time. We learn so much just by observing. You go to a restaurant, order a dish, notice the plating or presentation, and that spark of inspiration finds its way into an F&B photoshoot later. Or you travel to another country, see how food is portrayed in an advertisement, and come back wanting to adapt that sensibility into your own work. Inspiration doesn’t follow a schedule - it can come from anywhere, at any time, if you’re open to noticing it.
Many young creatives are drawn to food styling today because it looks glamorous online. What part of the process do you think deserves more honesty and visibility?
That’s an interesting question. Since the lockdown, I’ve noticed Instagram has been flooded with food stylists, and honestly, many of them are doing some fantastic work. I often host food styling competitions, and some of the entries are truly a joy to watch. That said, it’s important to understand that this isn’t always a glamorous job; in fact, the process is often the exact opposite. Consistent practice, following a clear process, paying attention to small details, and above all, patience, are what really help young talent grow and achieve lasting success in this field.
If you had to share one lesson food has taught you, not about visuals, but about life, what would it be?
Food has taught me patience. Every ingredient reacts differently to heat, light, and time, and understanding those nuances takes real attention and care. You can cook food quickly to eat it, but when it comes to shooting food, there are no shortcuts; patience is what brings out the detail, texture, and beauty that the camera needs.
If your studio weren’t about food at all, but still about craft, what do you think you’d be making instead?
After working with food for over three decades, it’s hard for me to imagine doing anything else. Our country is incredibly rich in craft across every industry, but food is the space that truly belongs to me. My love for food shaped my journey - it made me a chef, a restaurateur, a food stylist, and a tabletop director. It’s what I do best, and it’s a craft I’m still excited to learn more about every single day.