From the editorial pages of Better Nutrition Magazine to advertisements for Williams Sonoma, Katie Christ has styled it all. Originally a graduate with an international business degree, Christ decided to follow her passion and pursue food styling after studying at institutes like Citizen Cake in San Francisco. Through connections with photographer and fellow stylists, Christ was able to begin a career as a freelancing food stylist and even advanced her way to win a Food Network Challenge competition for food stylists in 2008. On the evening of May 3, Christ, with the help of event organizer Diane Pierce of the Photography Department, came to visit photography students in room A-92 and discuss her extensive career. The first question Christ asked her audience Monday evening was what their first memory of food was. Students shouted everything from pizza to white rice to their mother’s apple pies; Christ related that her first memory was tasting artichokes for the first time in San Francisco when she was five.Although not the most popular career, Christ introduced the history of food styling as illustrations before film was invented, and then evolving into black and white, then color film. Food styling is also used to reflect on the social life of the era in which the photography took place. Christ explained how the 1950s emphasized on more ‘all-American’ styles, while the 1960s and 70s introduced more European aspects, then the 1980s focused on glamorous high style, with small portions and larger than life decorations. In the last ten years of Christ’s career as a stylist, trends have come and gone and made an impression on her style today. It was not until about five years ago that digital photography replaced film for food photography. “With the digital process, everything moves along faster, so your food doesn’t have to be preserved, but these changes can also affect the collaboration and feedback system [that photographers, stylists, and clients have developed],” says Christ. Food stylists are not only responsible for shopping and cooking the recipe, but also preserving every detail of their dish, in case their client needs to reshoot or change minute details. As one member of the chain of people who create food photography, Christ teaches that food styling is not what one would assume. Being hired by magazine publishers, ad agencies, or photographers means that a food stylist must be able to follow creative direction while managing to create dishes that reflect their own personal style. Christ also advised the aspiring audience members that the key to succeeding in this industry is assisting the photographers or stylists they admire the most, and networking through connections in order to gain referrals. While networking is a significant aspect of finding work in the industry, finding inspiration is one of the most important aspects of food styling. Without inspiration, one would not be able to find passion in their work. Christ left her audience with one lasting thought: “[Food styling] is all a puzzle and if you like thinking on the fly and solving challenges every day, you will love this career.”