Story of the Space Cake

An old friend who is a magazine editor calls me up.

 I have the perfect idea for a cake image in the next issue, he said.

 OK, what is it?, I replied.

 A Spacecake!, he said.

 Right…. I thought

 He continued, “I got the idea of the space cake from a clear twilight sky and a full moon! I want to create a scene that looks supernatural, alien and tastes of vanilla!”

 When he started talking about the chef who was going to make it and the ingredients in this space cake, the idea that this was a joke diminished. I remember drinking my hot chocolate, thinking to myself, this is not actually going to happen. When he was finished explaining his idea for the shoot, I informed him of a few roadblocks; he would have to transport the cake to the studio (from west London to North London), and we would have to get a big “space rock” for the cake to sit on. He asked, where do I get a space rock from? “I don’t know, maybe the garden centre,” I said.

 I thought this should be the end of it. I didn’t believe that the editor would travel to a garden centre on a cold winter day to find this rock. But then I saw the message on my phone. He was coming back on the train with a weighty stone. Not only was the stone apparently large, but was also quite endearing as the other train passengers had named it!

 It was not a typical shoot and had a blast playing with gels. Not something I usually get to do as a food photographer.  In the end, the cake was delicious.