Meet Amy Holt | Food Stylist & Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amy Holt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy, what do you attribute your success to?
Passion!! Passion is what drove me to create my business Peas Thank You. It is what constantly drives me to get better and better. I love what I do and have grown so much over the last few years because I work on getting better every day. I am always developing recipes, gathering styling and platting ideas, challenging my photography style with lighting, props, angles, etc. I see food as art. I love all the textures, colors, smells, flavors and how these all change from season to season and geographic location. I think its so important to always be gathering inspiration from others; trying new restaurants, saving images you come across, cookbooks, magazines, blogs, chefs, food stylist and from the farmers who supply seasonal ingredients at the farmers market.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Food stylist, whats that?! You wouldn’t believe the amount of times I have heard that question when I tell people that I do for a living. To be honest, I didn’t know that was a career either until I launched my website to share recipes I was creating and brands started reaching out. I make food look pretty and view food as a form of art. One of my favorite activities to do is go to the farmers market. I love to gather seasonal ingredients. The constant changes of ingredients, colors and textures keep me inspired. Living in Los Angeles, there is gorgeous produce year around so it makes working with food so much fun. Often times food stylists use inedible props for food photos. All the ingredients I use are edible, I specialize in large charcuterie platters and often do build outs for events and parties. I love what I do, but working with perishables defiantly has its challenges but overall it’s fun to create edible art.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love LA because there are so many different neighborhoods that all have a unique feel and energy. Living in Venice, I spend most my time on the Westside. I love going sailing with friends, spending time on the beach, trying out different restaurants and bars around the city, going to different farmers markets and seeing live shows. I love Gjusta for their breads and overall vibe, Dudley Market for fresh local line caught fish, Cassia for their cold noodle salad and roasted whole branzino, Tasting Kitchen for their bar and delicious cocktails. Going to the Santa Monica Farmers market on Wednesday morning is my weekly ritual. I love the large assortment of fresh produce, it’s personally my favorite farmers market in LA. I also think it’s important to get out of the city and love that you can go to the desert for hiking or mountains for skiing in just a few hours.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a shout out to my little sister, Sarah. She was the one to encourage me to pursue my passion in food styling and photography. We talk about my work from when I started to now and Sarah says, “yeah, you weren’t very good when you started but I knew with how passionate you were and that passion would drive you to success.” Sarah is an amazing photographer. She specializes in fashion and lifestyle photography. She has been there to answer any questions I have about cameras, editing, lighting, equipment, etc. If it weren’t for her, I would have been too intimidated to grow my passion into a full time career.

Website: peasthankyou.com
Instagram: @peasthankyou