“You have to do stuff that average people do not understand.” This is a quote by Andy Warhol, and there is a company that does every work with that kind. It is “cha-ri-da (CHARIDA).” CHARIDA is a life design & food styling company, which has two studios in Hannam-dong. Various advertising and branding work is done there. Then who is the head of the company? Food stylist Kim Eun-ah runs the company with her brand director husband. She did a lot of activities like LE CREUSET recipe development and video lectures, organic Italian restaurant menu and style consulting, and VISA card party table decoration and styling, and has won awards for her work as well. Let’s listen to the story of Kim Eun-ah, a graduate of Chung-Ang University’s Department of Food and Nutrition.

1. Can you introduce yourself to Chung-Ang University students and people reading this article?

Hello! My name is Kim Eun-ah and I work as a food stylist. I entered Chung-Ang University in 2002 and majored in Food and Nutrition.

2. Can you explain what a food stylist does to students who are unfamiliar with this job?

As the word implies, a food stylist is a job that does food styling. Usually, people know it as a job that makes food look delicious. However, depending on the shoot, the food may look delicious, or tasteless, or just normal. Anyway, it would be comfortable to think of it as a food directing job.

3. Why did you choose to major in Food and Nutrition?

Just like everyone, I thought about my career before going to college. Then I learned about food stylists by chance. I thought that I needed to learn the art to make food for that job, so I thought about majoring in Design or Cuisine. At that time, a cook was not a popular job, so my parents worried about me majoring in Cuisine. Also, I did not prepare anything for a Design entrance exam. That is why I thought about majoring in any department related with food and chose the Department of Food and Nutrition. I honestly did not know well about the major back then. After attending university, I realized that it was not really related with being a food stylist. However, it was helpful to me eventually.

4. Were the things you learned at Chung-Ang University helpful to you while working as a food stylist?

Many things were very helpful. That is because there are shoots when I just direct food, but sometimes I can also suggest menus and do something related to health food when making a pictorial related to a health column. I still have my major textbooks since the study about food, ingredients, and nutrition are closely related to my work. The information in those books is helpful and I also get help when communicating with others while working.

5. While attending university, you did various activities including gaining experience in various studios and learning to cook at the Institute of Traditional Korean Food. What was the driving force for you to do such activities while being busy with school life?

My friends and I liked doing extracurricular activities. I did an internship program where I could interact with students from other schools. Moreover, I did many activities like being a reporter at Chung-Ang Love and being a promotional helper. I naturally thought that I should learn something else rather than just school life. That is because everyone else around me was like that. I thought that if I have a dream right now, I should learn about it while attending school. I went to an academy when there was no class and worked as an assistant. I did various activities and I had such energetic people around me.

6. After graduating from university, you worked at the World Institute of Food Culture as a color cook team leader, but quit and went on a European food tour. What did you learn from this trip?

I think this time was the turning point. I thought that I would just go on a trip to experience food culture. It was just a simple thought like, “There are fish and chips in England, so I have to go there and try it.” After this experience, I felt I had a broader point of view. That is because there were not many restaurants in Seoul that had food tastes similar to authentic foreign food, so there was barely any chance to try Italian or French food. I was culturally shocked at that time. There were unusual ingredients in supermarkets and many more beautiful bowls and spoons than in Korea. I thought that I should constantly travel and learn more.

7. Before becoming a food stylist, you had diverse experiences like being an assistant and a food columnist, and managing a shopping mall. How could you not give up your dream of being a food stylist even though it took such a long time?

I think it is just because I like it so much. It was really hard and it is still hard. There are a lot of overtime works at night. I try not to do overnight shootings these days. My physical strength suffered and it was difficult to earn money at first, so I had to invest a lot. However, I could endure those since I was doing what I liked. I like cooking, I enjoy styling tables beautifully, and it is fun to meet people who work in that field. I always talk a lot about work.

8. We heard that food stylists design and direct not only food, but also color, props, space, and human psychology. Besides Food and Nutrition, is there anything you learned or studied for food styling?

Food is a reflection of a person’s lifestyle, so I carefully observe changes in people’s lifestyles. In the past, people liked to eat all together, but these days, because of COVID-19 and the tendency of individualism, people like to eat alone. Also, as more and more people do not want to get married, shooting food styling related to eating beautifully and deliciously set food in a single-person household increased. Depending on the lifestyle, the table setting that people like changes, so I try to catch the change quickly. To do that, I try to observe my surroundings. Meeting various people and talking with them, and checking social networks are also important. People I can meet offline are limited, but there are so many people online. That is why I try to check my social networks a lot.

9. We heard that it is important for food stylists to manage their physical strength due to things like overnight work. Do you have any tips to manage one’s physical strength?

Actually, I think I have an adequate level of basic physical strength. However, I spend a lot of time moving and standing while shooting. That is why I did various exercises to increase my physical strength. After doing core work and having a good posture by doing Pilates, it is possible to stand without having pain in your back. I knew this after learning Pilates. Also, since I have a slipped disc in my neck and waist, I stretch every day when I get home. I think I can manage it by doing stretching hard.

10. You are currently the head of the CHARIDA Studio. What was the motivation for you to establish this company?

I was a freelance food stylist, so I needed a business license. I made a business named ‘eun-ah style team.’ However, I later thought that the name was kind of personal, so I wanted to create a company-like team name. I also wanted it to be Korean because I studied Korean food for a long time and I liked it. When styling, I like to do it in Korean style, too. I see and refer to oriental paintings. I like styling with Korean ceramics artists’ bowls. I thought it would be nice to give a name that could reveal my disposition. That is why I made the name ‘cha-ri-da (CHARIDA).’ I changed the business license to be under that name. This was in about 2010. I did not have a studio back then. There was a space that I used as both my home and workspace. When I got married, I opened my first studio in Itaewon and named it the CHARIDA Studio. For the first time, I hired employees. I established the company because I thought that I should hire employees who can collaborate with me, not having a system that I do alone.

11. We heard that the CHARIDA Studio-Hapjeong and CHARIDA Studio-Hannam opened later. What is the difference between these studios?

Starting with the Itaewon studio 10 years ago, I am currently working at CHARIDA Studio-Hannam. The Hannam Studio is the 10^th studio. I think I moved a lot. I started with a small studio at the beginning, and I expand little by little. I moved almost once a year. Though I am planning to stay at the Hannam studio longer. I think each space had a distinctive interior design considering different styles. In the case of CHARIDA Studio-Hapjeong, I wanted to make the studio feel more like a house, so I installed the floor like a wooden floor. And there was good natural lighting inside, so we filmed using that. At the CHARIDA Studio-Hannam, we do advertising mainly. We also run a rental shop that rents items related to food stylings, such as bowls, cutlery, and the studio itself.

12. Is there any food that you are particularly interested in recently? And what do you think the food trend is in 2021?

When I do food styling and shooting, I can feel that certain kinds of filming commercials or inquiries of food styling are trending and I look into those trends every year. About three years ago, there was suddenly a lot of Southeast Asian food shooting such as Bun Cha and Vietnamese food, and last year there were a lot of shootings related to Spicy Hot Pot (Maratang). I think the food trend in 2021 is vegetables. Recently, as people became more interested in vegan foods, the amount of vegan-related work has increased. As I have worked related to vegan foods, I naturally learned a lot of vegan-related information. Then, I got interested in "How to enjoy vegetables." I think one of the reasons people do not like vegetables is that people can think, "The way to eat vegetables is just with dressing on salads or ssam, not food." So I want to break that frame. I also think it is fun to find out how to cook vegetables more deliciously.

13. The refrigerator advertisement is a very large-scale work. What do you pay more attention to when you work on such a large scale?

When working on a large scale, there are many parts to pay attention to. This can lead to missing details. In particular, the refrigerator advertisement takes about 1 to 2 seconds to open once. However, for a short shoot, I go grocery shopping for almost a month and shoot for 5 to 6 hours. People may think that is a short scene passing, but I try to have my eyes wide-open to pay more attention to the basics and details. A director said to me before, "It has a lot of cuts and hectic shots, but please pay attention to the details." I am still mindful of it.

14. We heard that the environment of food styling has changed due to the development of Social Network media. How do you come up with a different style? Is there a new style you tried recently?

I do not think I create all-new things. Instead, I like to combine food styling with techniques that have never been applied to food. So when I do food styling, I think I daringly apply methods that were not often tried before. For example, miniature shooting was used in fashion and props, but not well in food shooting in Korea. So we suggested food styling with miniatures. After that, more people used miniatures to shoot. In fashion and cosmetics shooting, many photographs use complementary colors for emphasis, but it also is not used in food well. So we tried to use it in food to shoot focusing on looking good rather than taste. I think I have used this color styling a lot up to now. I also have thought more about new styles.

15. Taste is crucial, but stimulating the five senses is becoming more important these days. Do you have any tips for taking pictures of attracting attention?

Usually, when people try to take good pictures, they add a lot of things. They start to take a food picture adding more surrounding elements such as material and cutlery. It blurs the purpose of the photo. In this case, the photo draws the attention away, and I do not think the pictures come out great. It might be good to put something in the shot and try it, but ultimately, focusing on the essence while taking it out one by one can get a better result. So I would like to recommend you take out instead of adding in. Less is more.

16. In the book "Florence Table," you said, "I do not remember when I last cooked for myself." Have you cooked for yourself since then?

It was 2013 when I wrote the “Florence Table,” and I thought I had never cooked for myself. After that, I thought I should take care of myself. I think the best way to take care of myself is to have a meal for myself. I also started working with my husband. My husband worked at a company, and I worked irregularly, so we rarely had time to eat together. I thought we should change that, so we started working together. I feel happy when I eat freshly-cooked rice, and it improves my life quality even though it is not a great dish. Thus, I am trying to make rice myself.

17. We heard you are developing recipes. Is there anything you think that is especially important when making recipes?

I like to delete unnecessary words when I write. When I was in university, I learned the importance of division between essential and unnecessary sentences while writing articles. I think it is also significant when developing recipes. I try to avoid using too many ingredients to make one dish. I am trying to make a recipe that can draw the maximum taste while staying basic and essential.

18. You are working actively as a food stylist. Do you have any career or other goals you want to achieve?

The slogan of CHARIDA is "Make Life Beautiful," and I think this is my goal. Now my dream is to be a graceful grandmother. I think it is not easy. That is why I keep thinking and trying to be a graceful grandmother. Even if I get angry, I think, "Let's be a graceful grandmother," and try to think of methods to solve it in a better way without getting angry.

19. Do you have anything you want to tell Chung-Ang University students?

I think time in university changed my life. I got this job because of the people I met and the time I experienced in university. It is also an impetus for me to endure when I have a hard time. So I think time in university is significant. I hope you enjoy your university life. I am jealous of you. I will cheer for you!

"Set (CHARIDA) a Beautiful Life” is the slogan of CHARIDA and the goal of food stylist Kim Eun-ah. During the interview, she showed her love and passion for her work. We were inspired by her challenge and attempt to do various things for what she wanted without hesitation. CAH is rooting for Kim Eun-ah, who is making not only food, but also life, beautiful. As Andy Warhol said, CAH hopes food stylist Kim Eun-ah and CHARIDA will continue to take the lead in food styling.