Naiise Conversations With Eng Natalie

Don't just tantalise your guests' appetite, create a visual feast for their eyes as well. We invited pâtissière and food photography and styling enthusiast Eng Natalie to curate a collection of gorgeous handmade porcelain plates, vibrant shades and whimsical food styling preps like a delicate honey dipper.

We also took the chance to chat with Natalie and gathered her thoughts on design, originality, creativity and what it takes to be truly unique in an increasingly competitive scene! 

1. Who is Eng Natalie, and how did the website come about?

I am a pastry chef, photographer and owner of the blog Natalie. E. This space was created to share my experiences and recipes with anyone who is as interested in food, travel and lifestyle as I am, and hopefully inspire others to follow their dreams. This journal is also a platform for me to express my ideas and creativity. For example, at times I may recreate classical French pastries in my own flavour interpretation and modern styling whenever I feel inspired.

2. We love your desserts and food photography. Can you describe what your signature style is, in terms of creating desserts, and food styling?

My signature style when it comes to making desserts is basically taking the classics and re-creating it in my own flavour interpretation and elevating it with modern styling while still remembering the origins of a particular pastry. As for food styling, it really depends on the product I made and am shooting. For example, if I'm photographing a detailed and refined dessert, my photos are usually clean with a white background because I want the focus to be on the dessert itself. If I'm doing rustic home-bakes, I prefer to use distressed backgrounds and tablewares. I love low-key photography too but I've yet to experiment with them but I hope to do some soon!

3. What are some must-haves to make your food look good?

Beautiful tablewares, antique cutleries, cloths and a nice white (distressed or non-distressed) backdrop.

4. Thanks for curating this collection. What are some of your top picks?

Galanga Living's Pharmacy Jars, Kennie Bestik Fork and Knife Set and Ole Jensen Juicer.

5. How is design important to you?

Design's important to me in the sense that I love all things intricate, beautiful and refined. I could never do a sloppy job in my craft. To me, design's all about flair and grace and I always try to put that in anything I create.

6. What can we expect from you in the future?

Hopefully my own pastry shop when I'm ready and I would also love to have my own cookbook. Photography is something I had to learn from scratch but I've grown to love it and I could not think of a better dream than to have my own cookbook with stunning visuals shot by myself.