When I was in cooking school, one of our teachers said she loved to present her food on black plates and, I always thought that was a bit too 90’s for my taste – but – when at the end of the class she showed us the final result, displayed on shiny, black plates – whoa – our eyes almost popped out. I take it back. It is sleek and sassy. Definitely not the 90’s (sorry Salt-N-Pepa).

Black backdrops make food stand out like there’s no tomorrow and seriously, you don’t need special props when you have such beautiful ingredients – like the ones used in the images above photographed by Richard Haughton. Some of them look like abstract art, no? It took me a couple seconds to figure out that was roe. The simplicity achieved in this series called Poissons – Un Art Du Japon are a Sashimi master’s dream.

My god, next time I order sushi I’ll close my eyes and think of Richard’s photographs (especially when you go to all-you-can-eat and the food doesn’t look as handsome). Tasty art!

ALL IMAGES: Richard Haughton