Graza

Q: How do you describe yourself?

T: I try not to haha. I do a lot of things and none of them very casually. I'm a food and beverage photographer, but also a portrait photographer. I publish The Deligram, a newsletter about artisanal food and beverage makers in NYC with Anna Polonsky. I've just completed a renovation of a freestanding wood frame house from the 1880s in Bushwick. I'm a baker, a competitive foosball player and champion, and a new dad to a very small boy. 

Q: Finish this sentence, cooking for me is...

T: The best way I know how to care for myself and those I love.

Q: What's your never-fail recipe to make at home?

T: Bread. It's actually very forgiving once you master the basics. 

Q: Best thing to eat after a long shoot day?

T: Noodle soups. 

Q:  Are there any particularly photogenic foods? What foods (or drinks) do you like to photograph and what is the most challenging? 

T: For sheer beauty there is nothing that tops perfect raw ingredients, whether that’s raw glistening seafood or produce straight from the farm. Brown stews are the most challenging, but it doesn't come up that often. Hamburgers are surprisingly challenging. They have a lot of wildly different components and frequently many are completely hidden. How do you show the juicy center without cutting into it? If you cut into it does it still look good? Are there fries and does the shot you designed for the burger make them look good too? There's a lot that can go wrong!

Q: Cooking hack more people should know?

T: Crank up the heat on your skillet. I think most people are afraid to let their cooktop really get hot and cook on low or medium too often. Let it rip and see what happens! Same goes for seasoning and cooking oils. Don't hold back. More is often more. 

Q: As an expecting parent, what food are you most excited for your child to try? 

T: My pizza. I'm currently building a wood-fired oven and I'm obsessed with pizza and bread. I also have built an irrigated garden on my roof which is producing a lot of tomatoes. He's going to eat very well. 

Q: Do you gravitate more towards sizzling with EVOO or drizzling with EVOO?

T: Definitely drizzling. I love the flavor or raw olive oil with all sorts of things. I cook with butter more than with olive oil. Of course butter and olive oil are a great combo too. 

Q: One thing that has stuck with you since interviewing and photographing people in the food world?

T: The best cooks (and the best people) I know are confident enough to try something new without being held back by the possibility of failure, self-aware enough to accept their weaknesses, and curious enough to want to know it all. 

Q: Food trend you're most excited about? Food trend you want to phase out? 

T: Vegetables really excite me. There is so much great cooking to be done that is vegetarian because fresh produce can be so exciting. I think that’s been a big shift. I love animal products and truth be told, I incorporate some form of animal product in most of my food, but I really think the sky's the limit when you let fresh, quality produce be the star. It can be more of a challenge. Daniela Soto-Innes has inspired me greatly with always creating exciting, surprising, and deeply delicious things out of all sorts of plants and mushrooms. It’s really opened my eyes over the years. I love her and her food!

Something that I want to see move along a bit is the same types of seafood. In NYC at least so often I feel we get the same things offered in restaurants time and time again because they are familiar and they sell. Our bodies of water are full of all sorts of delicious things that I feel we aren't offered frequently enough. Squid, for example. It’s delicious, extremely sustainable, and abundant, but how often do you see it on restaurant menus beyond fried calamari? The stuffed squid dish at Penny is a great example of how to do it right. I would much rather eat that than another yellowtail dish with some citrus and microgreens or plain grilled bronzini. Not that those things can’t be delicious!