The Real Deal: Authentic Mexican Cuisine in Texas

1. The Western Magazine Awards Foundation The Magazine School 2010 Bringing outstanding writing, design and photography to the classroom

2. Western Magazine Awards Foundation An annual awards program recognizing excellence in Western Canadian editorial work, and design. westernmagazineawards.ca TMS The Magazine School is a project of the Western Magazine Awards Foundation. It provides classroom material to writing and design instructors and professors.

3. The 2010 Western Magazine Awards Best Photograph – Architectural, Landscape or Still Life Clinton Hussey The Real Deal Western Living

4. Finalists: Best Photograph – Architectural, Landscape or Still Life • Brent Mykytyshyn, By Their Own Hand, Avenue • James May, Flowers Frozen in Time, Swerve • Marc Rimmer, Storm Sewer, Swerve • Mark Mushet, Rattle & Hum, Vancouver Review • Clinton Hussey, The Real Deal, Western Living

5. And the winner is… Clinton Hussey “The Real Deal” Western Living

6. Western Living • “As Canada's largest regional magazine, Western Living invites readers to stretch their imaginations about living in the West: we share what intrigues, surprises and thrills us about people, places, homes, gardens, food and adventure from Winnipeg to Victoria and everywhere in between.” • Published 10 times yearly by Transcontinental Media in Vancouver • Circulation: 192,350 • westernlivingmagazine.com

7. Photographer: Clinton Hussey • Vancouver-based photographer • Winner of a Lotus Award, National Magazine Award, a Juno and a Grammy • “Photography is a perfect fit for me; I like the perfect mix of technical and creative, very much like my dad who was a professional musician that also repaired instruments like a surgeon.” • clintonhussey.com

8. Art Director: Doris Cheung • Has worked at Vancouver Magazine, BCBusiness, Seattle Magazine, Western Living and Condo Magazine • “I work on graphic design and I’m a budding filmmaker and also a photographer. I dabble in a lot of things.”  • dorischeungartmedia.com

9. Story creation “We’d send a writer to experience the unique food culture of a certain place, then run the story with recipes (killing two birds with one stone, then roasting them for dinner).” – Charlene Rooke, Western Living editor at the time

10. Writer’s pitch: Tex Mex “Tex Mex was the writer’s pitch. Since the Culinary Institute of America was at the time establishing one of its prestigious campusesin San Antonio (the others are in Napa and New York), the time to anoint Latin-influenced food as a major North American cuisine seemed right.” – Charlene Rooke

11. How to illustrate the food “This type of hybrid story probably represents a bigger challenge for the art department: readers will want to see some of the faces and places the writer talks about, but they will also want to have a sensory experience of the colours, smells, textures and flavours of the food.” – Charlene Rooke

12. “The Real Deal” Title The real deal Deck To find “authentic” Mexican cuisine, our food critic ventures deep into the heart of Texas By Alan Richman

13. The experts are called in • Food stylist Murray Bancroft • Photographer Clinton Hussey

14. Food stylist: Murray Bancroft • A former chef with an art history degree • Culinary creative director at Western Living • Freelanced for Western Living, Vancouver Magazine andReal Weddings Magazine • murraybancroft.com

15. Food stylist “Sourcing fresh ingredients and attention to detail are definitely tricks of the trade. “My personal philosophy is a change from styling which tends to be very perfect looking and not very real looking. “I believe in making food look really tasty and whatever ingredient makes you want to reach off the page and grab it is what I like. That is the imperfection of a dish.” – Murray Bancroft

16. A fresh look “I was thinking it would be great to shoot something very fresh looking. Those ingredients are fresh with great colourswith lime, chilies and cilantro. [They] have a rustic feeling without being too stereotypical – we didn’t want to use Mexican colouredblue glass or any of those kinds of stereotypes – so rustic, but contemporary.” – Murray Bancroft

17. Centrepiececolour: Green “It works with colour, the general Mexican effect of limes . . . Most of the dishes come with a lime base, and limes are gathered from trees.” – Clinton Hussey

18. Bancroft spices it up “[The photo includes a] lime zester that is used to get the juice out of limes, which is pretty important to that cooking, and some reamed lines that are squeezed and squished . . . to make it kind of messy.” – Murray Bancroft

19. Background: A concrete slab “It’s a little rougher feeling, and more Mexican Tex Mex, not high end. It’s homey and rural.” –Clinton Hussey

20. Looking for authenticity “I’ve always had this thing with styling, especially with my culinary background; I believe it should be real-looking. Whatever is good about that dish, kind of the drool factor that makes you want to eat it, should be prevalent rather than everything perfect and perfectly placed and over-styled looking.” – Murray Bancroft

21. Hussey and Bancroft work together Items in the shot: • Limes • Orange lime zester (added after test shots) • Tomatillos • Rustic wood bowl • Juice • Small bowl ofpicodegallo • Rustic knife and fork • Concrete slab

22. Shot in studio with strobe lighting “Lighting in photographs is one of the most difficult things to do. Clinton is a total pro at it. The shadows totally add to the depth of the image and it mimics what you see in real life.” – Doris Cheung

23. Technical manipulation “In post production we did some mainly dodging and burning of it, lightening and darkening . . . It was more taking down some areas in tone and bringing up some.” – Clinton Hussey

24. The final result “It is basic, simple and clean.” – Clinton Hussey “The vibrancy of these dishes and ingredients practically leaps off the page, due to Murray’s styling and Clinton’s mastery of the light and framing.” – Charlene Rooke

29. Credits The Magazine School is a project of the Western Magazine Awards Foundation, which acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage for this project. The Magazine School content was prepared with the skilful assistance of Janice Paskey and students Sarah Kitteringham and Terence Yung of Mount Royal University, and with the generous co-operation of the winners of the 2010 Western Magazine Awards. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) of the Department of Canadian Heritage towards our project costs.