Meet The Client
- Client: Chef de la Maison
- Location: Peterborough, UK
- Project Type: Commercial Photography | Brand Storytelling | Food Photography
- Date: July 2025
Key Deliverables
Key Deliverables
Chef de la Maison received a curated set of high-resolution, natural, light images, created to reflect their commitment to wellness, local craft, and community-led catering. Deliverables included:
Bright, detail-rich product photography, featuring signature items such as croquettes, savoury pastries, fresh fruit platters, and artisan bakes, ideal for online menus and promotional materials
Packaged food and platter presentation shots, styled naturally to highlight both freshness and convenience
On-brand image compositions, designed to sit seamlessly across Chef de la Maison’s website, e-commerce listings, and social channels
Consistent lighting and visual styling, bringing cohesion to their brand presence across print and digital platforms
Multiple crops and formats, optimised for responsive web display, Instagram grid posts, and mobile marketing use
These visuals now form the first stage of Chef de la Maison’s refreshed brand identity, elevating product appeal, supporting online sales goals, and showing customers what real food, made with heart, looks like.
About The Client
Chef de la Maison is a long-established catering company based in Peterborough, led by nutritionist and chef Nathan Higgins. Their food is rooted in wellness, community, and craft, offering handmade, gut-healthy catering and products that genuinely make people feel good.
Nathan’s passion for food began as a teenager washing dishes in a local pub. Decades later, his business has become a proud symbol of local resilience, family values, and purpose-led cooking.
What The Photoshoot Achieved
A brand refresh that feels true to them
Bright, appetising product images that sell
Cohesive visuals across web, social and print
Flexible formats ready for everyday marketing
The Client Brief
Nathan reached out with a clear message:
“Our photos just don’t represent who we are. We want to double our online sales, but more than that we want to tell our story properly.”
The aim of this shoot was to create a new bank of authentic, warm, and professional images that reflected the true essence of Chef de la Maison — not just what they make, but why they make it.
Nate was an absolute star when he came into our office to get headshots and office shots of me & the team. I loved the fact that he really took the time before the shoot to understand exactly what we wanted out of it and made sure that he turned up on the day with a full brief and all the right equipment for the shots required. The team were not exactly enthusiastic about the photoshoot (who is?) but Nate was brilliant at making everyone feel at ease and in doing so he got some lovely natural shots that totally captured everyone's individual personality as well as our team dynamics. Nate is friendly, relaxed, engaging but very professional and efficient. He has a lovely way with everyone and was delightful for the whole 4 hours he spent with us. Not only that, we had a tight turnaround for the photos themselves and Nate went above and beyond to edit the photos and provide the finished gallery to us within days of the shoot. This was very much appreciated. The photos are now proudly being used across our socials and website. I would highly recommend Nate for headshots, natural office shots & all types of corporate photography.
The Creative Approach
For this session, we focused solely on the food, no staff, no behind-the-scenes action, just the dishes themselves, styled with care and photographed under soft, controlled lighting.
Using a macro lens and a diffused softbox setup, I captured the rich textures, vibrant colours, and small details that elevate everyday catering into something that feels premium and handcrafted. The aim was to create images that feel:
- Bright, appetising, and clean
- Natural but polished, without being overly styled
- Consistent in tone and format, ideal for online menus, product listings, and promotional materials
Each dish was styled minimally to reflect how it would appear when served, honest, inviting, and true to Chef de la Maison’s brand promise of food that’s both nourishing and beautifully made.
A Personal Note from Nate
Because great photography isn’t just about how it looks, it’s about how it feels.
Every brand has a story
What makes Chef de la Maison special isn’t just the food, it’s the why behind it. The years of grit, community, passion and resilience. That’s what people connect to.
Food is a storyteller
This shoot focused on honest product photography, no gimmicks, no fluff. Just clean, vibrant imagery that feels like them. It’s the kind of work I love doing, purposeful, warm, and built on trust.
Where It’s Going
We’re only just getting started. Next up: photographing behind the scenes, capturing the team in its element, and continuing to build a visual story that matches the heart behind the brand. I can’t wait.
Other Case Studies
Ace Cleaning Solutions Case Study | Nate Lansdell Photography
A full day of commercial photography following Ace Cleaning Solutions across Peterborough, from a first job at nine in the morning to the historic outbuildings of Peterborough Cathedral. See how Nate Lansdell Photography put real faces to a growing exterior cleaning brand.
Smart Solutions Group Cyber IV Case Study | Nate Lansdell Photography
Smart Solutions Group hosted Cyber IV, a lakeside networking evening at Ferry Meadows built around one honest talk on cyber security. See how Nate Lansdell captured the full story, from candid networking to a powerful guest speaker, delivered overnight.
Warranty First Case Study | Nate Lansdell Photography
Warranty First wanted to move away from staged stock imagery and anything AI generated. Over two days across their Peterborough office and two partner dealerships, I delivered more than 500 candid, natural light images that show exactly who they are.
Daniel MB Therapy Case Study | Nate Lansdell Photography
Personal branding photography for Daniel MB Therapy, a trainee psychotherapist launching his private practice in Rutland. A grounded, nature led walk and talk photoshoot through Stamford beside the River Welland, capturing presence, depth and honest moments over polished perfection.