When it comes to communicating, Jacqui Sinclair speaks best through food. “People eat with their eyes,” she says, explaining her decision to communicate not just through the cooking process, but through the creative and artistic work of a food stylist. And while it seems it may not be as glamorous as it sounds – especially when glue, tampons and a blowtorch are some of your must-have items – the mouthwatering images that are created would certainly suggest otherwise.

Growing up a self-confessed ‘foodie’, Sinclair knew her future would be in food, but after a bout of sickness that slowed down her training at the Cordon Bleu, London- as well as her “girly” attitude in the macho kitchen – she fell instead into the business of food styling. In bare terms, a food stylist is responsible for preparing meals, styling and decorating food to be photographed or filmed for labels, packaging, magazine editorials, film and cookbooks. “The job of a food stylist is to basically promote a specific item of food,” she says.

This, apparently, is not as easy as it sounds. Take into account, budget, weather or studio conditions, lighting, and time. These all affect the look of food and must be controlled. According to Sinclair, there are three main elements to good food styling. The first is colour. “We all love colorful food, because not only are they good to look at, but colour is good for you. Usually the brighter the colour, the better it is for you, ” she says.

The second is texture. “People want to see the different textures of what they are eating,” Sinclair says. Like all good photography, it’s important to capture the feel of an object, as it merely reaches out and excites another sense.

The third is realism. Sinclair stresses that when people follow a recipe in a cookbook they want it to look exactly the way it does in the picture. This is then a tall order when the picture does not represent the food in a realistic light. She adds that in the past, food stylists were never taken seriously because while cooking for the camera is different for cooking in the kitchen, they must be made to look the same.

Again, this is not as easy as it sounds. Welcome the tricks of the trade. While some of the food created is real, much of it is manipulated for the camera. And thanks to glue – which replaces milk on cereal boxes -food colouring, mounting tape, cardboard, toothpicks and blowtorch, among other things, she is able to get the exact, precise look she is looking for. In fact, she makes it look good enough to eat – or at least to stir the appetite.

– Leisha Chen Young, Roland Henry & Debra Edwards