In a special episode of the Self Makers Show, Conor spoke to two of Ireland’s most accomplished professionals in the food and drink sector. Jennifer Oppermann and Jette Virdi both specialise in food styling and photography, alongside other side hustles. Their work brings delicious tastes to life through irresistible visuals for clients to promote and sell products, cookbooks and recipes.

Jennifer Oppermann – Food Stylist – Photographer – Recipe Developer

Jennifer Oppermann is a Dublin based food photographer, food stylist and recipe developer. Fine art was her first love, so she now combines her artist’s eye with her culinary passions to create visually beautiful food. Jennifer has honed her crafts in styling, photography and recipe writing for advertising campaigns, cookbooks and TV commercials for many of the largest food retailers and brands in Ireland and the UK.

Jette Virdi – Food Stylist – Photographer – Entrepreneur

Jette Virdi is an Ireland based food stylist, photographer and entrepreneur, who has worked with an impressive array of companies, including Guinness, Selfridges and Tesco. As a visual consultant, Jette can now be found working for hotel chains and with small but mighty food brands such as Cream of the Crop. Jette is also passionate about her own creative side hustles, such as The Flower Drop.

Advice for newbies to food styling

The two food stylists shared their advice for those looking to get into the industry. Firstly, Jennifer highlighted the importance of tenacity: ‘Be persistent, if you want to do it, just keep going’. Jette also emphasised the kind of can-do attitude you need: ‘How prepared are you to muck in? And can you crack jokes at 7 o’clock at night when there’s still 3 hours to go?’

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By Conor Lynch , Solene de Beaudean and Rosie Castle