As a former high school teacher, and a forever life teacher of visual arts, when Little Sous came popped up in my email in early 2018 I jumped on this playful client opportunity. Little Sous gives me a healthy dose of creative freedom (both styling and shooting!), allows me to work remotely (read: pandemic-friendly!), and finds ways to better our communities through food—this is the triple whammy I look for in clients.
Little Sous, a Portland-based monthly cooking club for kids, teaches culinary techniques and recipes in themed subscription boxes and as part of their online kitchen academy. This innovative model gets kids in the kitchen to build their confidence while teaching them useful skills and techniques, allowing them to carry skills from recipe to recipe with the goal that these Little Sous chefs won’t need a recipe at all one day. Kelly Montoya, founder of Little Sous, and her colleagues have developed a themed curriculum teaching a main lesson, followed by recipes, history of the foods, coloring sheets, stickers and kid-friendly kitchen gadgets that are incorporated into their lesson.
The initial mood board for the Little Sous recipe cards was a lively mix of sophisticated colors and poppy lighting that would appeal to both children and their parents. By collaborating with the Little Sous illustrator, Molly Egan, and the recipe developers, we create a unique color palette for each box that is carried out through the food and props—all done remotely. The photography on the recipe cards is defined by a playful and approachable take on food styling, bright colors, and the reminder that we want the imagery to build confidence in children’s kitchen skills.
Little Sous has many brand collaborations that are featured in their boxes: Hedley & Bennett, Opinel, Microplane, OXO, Stasher, and more. Little Sous has also led to the opportunity to collaborate with Tillamook, a nationwide Oregon-based dairy company in 2019. This collaboration, shot remotely, was a fun challenge to direct, style and shoot because of the need to unify two distinct brands.
The themed boxes in Little Sous have inspired me in the kitchen as a photographer and food stylist, and so I only hope it inspires little chefs to take charge in the kitchen and create.
