PARTING SHOT | World Food Photography Awards tells its own stories

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For years food photography has been the visual equivalent of a high-end restaurant menu: glossy, over lit, over styled, unrealistic and aggressively eager to please. The perfect poached egg framed in glorious ceramic. The strategically scattered herb on the off centre raw lamb chop. The burger stacked so high that no human jaw could possibly accommodate it. All on charcoal backgrounds, of course.

'Candied Pear': I wanted to create a unique image of candied fruit, and I have always been fascinated by the transparency of colours revealed through the process. I began by slicing a pear very thinly and boiling the slices in a mixture of sugar and water. Once the slices became transparent, I laid them out to dry on paper. The image was created using sugar water and a pear slice placed on a glass sheet, along with coloured plastic in front of a table lamp. I photographed the setup multiple times from different angles, and finally, I used Photoshop to combine the various images. (Anne Mason-Hoerter)

But the winning image in this year’s World Food Photography Awards suggests that food photography has evolved into something more interesting. More than merely framing the plate, food photography seems to now be more about people and their creativity than it did before.

'Kyoto Street Vendor': Shot in Kyoto, Japan in September 2025, this image was taken in a split second as I moved through the packed, sweaty crowd at Nishiki Market. With barely any space to stop, I raised the camera and captured a brief, unfiltered moment of the energy and intensity of the market at its busiest. (Kara Baird)

The overall winner, selected from nearly 9,000 entries submitted from more than 50 countries, is a photograph by British photographer Jo Kearney. Titled A Woman Eats in the Canteen of the Soviet-era Sanatorium, it depicts an elderly woman pouring herself tea at breakfast inside the Khoja Obi Garm sanatorium in the mountains of Tajikistan.

'A Woman Eats in the Canteen of the Soviet-era Sanatorium': The Khoja Obi Garm sanatorium (health hotel), Tajikistan, is a brutalist concrete monstrosity built on hot radon gas-infused springs in the mountains. During Soviet times, communist workers were given two weeks annual holiday here. (Jo Kearney)

Nothing dramatic is happening. There’s no culinary theatre, no celebrity chef wielding tweezers over edible flowers bathed in dry ice smoke. Instead, an old woman sits alone in front of a modest meal. But the photograph is rich with narrative. Her weathered face suggests a life fully lived. The faded colours of the room, the fruit painting hanging behind her, the red chairs arranged with out-of-place grandeur — all combine to create an image that tells an intriguing story and inspires further investigation. The Khoja Obi Garm sanatorium is a brutalist concrete monstrosity built on hot radon gas-infused springs in the mountains. During Soviet times, communist workers were given two weeks annual holiday here. Today its low price — $28 (R463) a day, including full board and treatments — attracts ordinary Tajiks and tourists from the neighbouring ‘Stans’ and the odd backpacker. Treatments include hot pools and steam rooms, wax wraps and tanning barrels, plus hearty, healthy meals.

'The Final Touch': Little Asilbek touching the hot bread, straight out of the family tandoor. In Samarkand (Uzbekistan) the 'non' is unlike any other: round, dense, with a thick, chewy crust, and always marked in its centre with black sesame seeds. (Michela Balboni and Federico Borella)

Caroline Kenyon, founder of the World Food Photography Awards, described being moved to tears by the photograph. It is easy to understand why. The image captures something universal: dignity, solitude, humility and the small rituals that sustain us.

'Proven Recipe': I had planned this image for six to seven years but kept postponing it, feeling unworthy of capturing them. Now, because of their age, I couldn’t wait. Grandma went to the hairdresser, Grandpa shaved, and I filled their kitchen with studio gear. When she saw the photograph, my grandmother called me an artist. (Lehóczki Balázs,Hungary)

The awards, now regarded as the world’s most prestigious celebration of food photography, consistently demonstrate that eating is one of humanity’s great shared experiences. Whether we’re celebrating, grieving, recovering or surviving, food occupies a central role.

'Family Portrait': In this whimsical family portrait, a white eggplant and a deep purple eggplant pose as mother and father behind an ornate gilded antique frame. Three striped offspring stand proudly before them. (Hussam Sleiby)

'Romanesco at Panzers': We go to visit Panzer's deli in St. John’s Wood on Fridays after school. I've never tried romanesco! The shape is something from another world. (Ariel Owliaei)

That idea was reflected in one of this year’s standout South African entries.

Photographer Louhani Els received a Highly Commended award in the Cake Award category for her image Food Altar — Sardines and My Dad. Inspired by poet Toi Derricotte’s work My dad & sardines, the photograph explores memory, loss and reconciliation through food.

At its centre is a damaged cake representing emotional brokenness. Around it are the humble foods associated with her late father — sardines, crackers and onions — transformed into a kind of edible shrine. The image is personal but instantly recognisable. Many of us have a food memory that can summon someone we’ve lost. A smell, flavour or meal.

'Food Altar — Sardines and my Dad': This artwork translates Toi Derricotte’s poem 'My dad & sardines' through food photography, portraying a daughter’s reconciliation with the memory of her deceased father. A damaged cake symbolises her brokenness, forming a healing food altar with his sardine, cracker, and onion ritual, uniting father and daughter through remembrance and peace. (Louhani Els)

The global judging panel included celebrated food photographer David Loftus, chef Jamie Oliver and South African-born Michelin-starred chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen. Their selections reveal a competition increasingly interested in the stories behind food rather than just its aesthetic perfection.

'Raw Pairing No.2': Instead of presenting a finished dish, this image focuses on the ingredients behind the pairing. Salt, fat and vegetal bitterness are arranged in balance, illustrating how wine pairing originates in the interaction of fundamental flavours rather than the final recipe. (Styling: Sarah Ghijselinck | Photo: Sandra Declercq)

'Raw Pairing No.3': Wine and food pairing is traditionally presented as finished dishes. In this series we explore pairing through raw ingredients instead. Each composition balances flavours — acidity, freshness and texture — showing how a wine pairing begins with the fundamental taste relationships between ingredients. (Styling: Sarah Ghijselinck | Photo: Sandra Declercq)

'Raw Pairing No.1': Wine pairing is usually shown through prepared plates. This image approaches it differently: by composing the raw ingredients that define the pairing. Spice, earthiness and freshness are balanced visually to reflect how flavour combinations determine which wine works with a dish. (Styling: Sarah Ghijselinck | Photo: Sandra Declercq)

This year’s finalists documented communities harvesting crops, families sharing meals, fishermen at work, street vendors, farmers and cooks. Together they form a visual reminder that food connects every aspect of human life — economics, culture, memory, identity and survival.

'Jelly with a Cherry': I wanted to capture this image in a minimal and moody style, showing the quiet drama of this classic dessert. I was inspired by the way the light filters through the jelly like a jewel, and used a shadowed and geometric background to show beauty in the ordinary. (Danielle Marie)

The timing feels apt. In an era dominated by social media images designed to provoke envy, the strongest photographs here achieve the opposite. They invite empathy.

The old woman in Tajikistan isn’t serving a tasting menu, she’s just drinking tea. But her breakfast table says more about being human than a hundred photographs of truffle foam could.