Chis,
The styling and photographing of the recipes are some of my favorite parts of making the books. Yes, I am there at nearly every photo shoot. There is almost always a professional food stylist there to supply the ingredients, prep them, and present them for the camera, but I often have a clear vision for how I want the food to look, so I get in there and cook quite a bit. For example, in Weber's Greatest Hits there is a recipe for Championship Spareribs with Apple Barbecue Sauce. The food stylist had never smoked ribs for 5 to 6 hours and wasn't sure how to get them just right for the camera -- something that was really important to me -- so I cooked them from start to finish. Then I worked with the photographer to make sure they were lit well so you can see the gorgeous bark and caramelized bones. I really enjoy these aspects of book production and I know just enough about them to be dangerous.
Thanks,
Jamie