The World Food Photography Awards 2025 sponsored by Tenderstem® Bimi® Broccolini celebrates the power of imagery to tell stories about what we eat, how we eat, and why it matters. This year’s competition winner is an image of five elderly people happily eating the famous Sichuan snack spring rolls by Xiaoling Li.
Open to both amateur and professional photographers worldwide, the World Food Photography Awards features 25 categories, capturing the multifaceted relationship between food and culture. These range from Food in the Field and Politics of Food to Street Food and Food for the Family. New additions for 2025 include the World of Drinks category, celebrating beverage photography, and The Bimi® Prize, awarded for the best image showcasing fresh fruits or vegetables.
A notable highlight is the Jamie Oliver Youth Prize, a free-to-enter category for photographers aged 17 and under, judged by Oliver himself alongside his creative director, James Verity, and renowned food photographer David Loftus.
The competition offers a grand prize of £5,000, with all finalist images exhibited at London’s prestigious Mall Galleries. Beyond monetary rewards, participants gain significant exposure through global media coverage, networking opportunities at the VIP awards evening, and potential features in esteemed publications – like this one!
The following gallery showcases images that stood out not just for their technical skill, but for their ability to stir appetite, memory and imagination. Winners divulge their tips and advice on success.
Overall Winner and Food for the Family supported by the Felix Project: Xiaoling Li, The Elderly Having Delicious Food
Xiaoling Li considers herself a food photographer passionate about cuisine and frequently documents food festivals and events. Her love for food and photography has taken her to places like Nanchong, Guang’an in Sichuan, and Chongqing, to document local tofu pudding, traditional soy sauce brewing, and famous snacks – drawn to the themes of food and the people who enjoy it, always observing and capturing these moments.
About her winning image, Xiaoling says, ‘In an early spring afternoon in Shuangliu Ancient Town, Sichuan Province, China, five elderly people in their eighties sit together. Wearing colourful jackets and wool hats, they happily eat the famous Sichuan snack spring rolls. A wrap of thin homemade dough, filled with cucumber, carrot, and shredded scallions, drizzled with green mustard, Sichuan pepper, red oil, sweet sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds. They are “setting up a Dragon Gate formation” – an expression used in China to refer to neighbourhood friends coming together to chat, gossip and share stories. Food makes these people happy; they enjoy a beautiful and joyful life.’
Xiaoling’s top tips for entering World Food Photography Awards:
- For those entering this competition: capturing the decisive moment within each frame is very important. Choose photos that have the most compelling moment for the competition.
- For documentary and food photography, focus on storytelling, decisive moments, and visual intrigue through conventional yet thoughtful framing.
- To accentuate the elderly subjects’ expressive gaze and traditional
MPB Award for Innovation: Pieter D’Hoop, Laundry Day
Pieter D’Hoop admits that some of his ideas – like putting an octopus in a tumble dryer – are delightfully bizarre. ‘Laundry Day’ is one such experiment.
Pieter’s top tips for entering World Food Photography Awards:
- My top tip for food photography and styling is to step out of your comfort zone and embrace experimentation. It’s easy to fall into the habit of using the same angles, backdrop or lighting setups, but true growth comes from trying new things.
- Don’t be afraid to try different textures, colours, or unusual perspectives. Play with new styling techniques, explore different lighting setups, and even challenge yourself to shoot in settings you haven’t before. It’s all about discovering what works for you and pushing the boundaries of your own creativity. So, embrace the unknown – that’s where the magic happens!
- My top tip for entering the awards is to ensure you submit on time! I’ve missed the deadline several times, and each year, as I see the incredible images showcased, I regret not participating.
- When it comes to settings, it’s a bit tricky to pinpoint one set formula because I’m constantly adjusting based on the different lighting techniques and setups I’m using for each shot. Every shoot can be so unique, so the settings vary depending on the look I’m going for. That said, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @pieterdhoop if you have any specific questions – I’m always happy to share insights and discuss details with fellow photographers!
Tiptree Cake Award: Audrey Laferrière, Pavlova’s Arabesque
Food is at its most crave-worthy when you highlight its texture. Light sculpting and colour theory are best friends in this image.
Audrey’s top tips for entering World Food Photography Awards:
- With Pavlova’s Arabesque, I was exploring a black-and-white aesthetic – using a soft white meringue and icing sugar contrasted with dark props to create a moody greyscale feel. It’s all about making the textures and tones speak for themselves.
- Submit the images that hit you. If it stirs something in you, chances are it’ll strike a chord with the judges too. Emotion beats perfection every time.
- I shoot with a Nikon Z7II, tethered, and I use an off-camera flash with a variety of modifiers to sculpt the light – shaping highlights and shadows to bring out the best in the food. My go-to lenses are a 50mm and micro 105mm. I usually shoot around f/4 to f/10, depending on the subject, always keeping ISO low for that clean, crisp look.
Marks & Spencer Food Portraiture: Simon Detraz, Crispy Kale
A drizzle of olive oil, oven at 180°C, salt and pepper, 10 minutes… delicious and so crispy!
Simon’s top tips for entering World Food Photography Awards:
- You have to be interested, observe carefully and know what you are shooting. Look for interesting points of view, details, brightness, colours. And also try many tests, be curious, there is a lot to do with a simple egg.
- Don’t think too much. You have to present a work that you love, with a story to tell. The work has to be unique with your personal style.
- I use a full-frame Canon because Canon has a long history and is one of the best brands in photography. One of the more important pieces of equipment is the lens. I use a 100mm macro lens that lets me get into the subject. For the light, I use two or three Canon Speedlites with softboxes for maximum brightness to take photos with a deep depth of field, making them very sharp.
The Bimi® Prize: Ryan Kost, Buddhist Offerings
Monks at the temple in Angkor Wat, Cambodia prepare traditional Buddhist offerings. This practice is deeply symbolic in Buddhism, often representing a celebration, gratitude, respect and devotion to the Buddha, the teaching and monastic community. The intricate arrangement of fruits and flowers in this image emphasises mindfulness and respect.
Ryan’s top tips for entering World Food Photography Awards:
- Be curious. Put yourself in the middle of everything and go fully in. Be a part of the experience. Food is usually a manifestation of community and sharing, so the more you put yourself in the moment and share human experiences the better your photography and storytelling will be.
- Look for genuine ways on how food brings us all together and tap into the art of feeling and authenticity with the images you decide to enter.
- Equipment is important but really it’s all about the art of feeling and connection. There are lots of great camera and lens manufacturers out there these days that can create beautiful images. I love my Nikons and have become very adept and quick at making in camera adjustments on the fly in dynamic situations that allow me to make sure I capture moments that might be fleeting. Knowing your gear and being able to work quickly is ideal. The rest is up to your soul and creative expression.
The James Beard Foundation Photography Award: Luke Copping, Tom Moriarty – Moriarty Meats and Cafe Bar Moriarty, Buffalo NY
Tom Moriarty and his wife, Caitlin, own Moriarty Meats and its adjacent restaurant, Cafe Bar Moriarty. Moriarty Meats is a whole-animal butcher shop in Buffalo, NY, sourcing local meats and inspired by traditional European butcheries. Tom and his team work exclusively by hand which this image reflects.
Luke’s top tips for entering World Food Photography Awards:
- When and wherever possible, work with professional stylists – both food and prop. This will let you focus on the photography and lighting while they provide you with opportunities to make curated choices about the rest of the image. You aren’t giving up control but collaborating with a key team member. Be clear when sharing your vision with them; they will be your best ally.
- Put your work out there all the time. Also, be true to yourself, don’t chase trends, and disappear into a sea of sameness. Make something uniquely you, that will stand out more than anything. Don’t erase the most valuable thing about your work by trying to make it look like someone else’s work.
- I primarily shoot on Sony equipment, most recently at A7RIV, but I occasionally use Phase One and Ricoh cameras when warranted. I don’t believe myself to be a technician, and settings will constantly shift depending on the needs of the assignment or the subject in front of my lens.
Claire Aho Award for Women Photographers: Lizzie Mayson, Delfina, a pasta granny
Lizzie took this portrait in the Lazio region as part of a bigger project documenting pasta grannies in Italy. On the bed is an angel hair type of pasta called Fieno di Canepina, technically very hard to make. Delfina rolled out the pasta, flicked a piece the size of the table out like a bed sheet, folded it concertina style, then sliced it up finely. The best part is she makes this huge amount then delivers it to the local church where they cook it up and feed homeless people.
Lizzie’s top tips for entering World Food Photography Awards:
- Work with someone else, building images is about teamwork, find someone you feel excited to work with.
- Try to create something unexpected, carry a camera with you as much as you can, embrace the accidental.
- There is great merit in committing to a camera and really getting to know it, so that using it becomes a muscle memory, enabling quicker and more seamless decisions when shooting.
Politics of Food: Jo Kearney, Afghan Refugee Women Wait for Free Bread
Afghan women sit and wait for free bread handouts at the market as it’s difficult for them to earn money.
Jo’s top tips for entering World Food Photography Awards:
- I’m not a food stylist – I’m a portrait, travel and documentary photographer but the World Food Photography competition includes eclectic categories including politics of food. It’s a good idea to look out for food photos on your travels. Often these just happen naturally and I’m not constantly thinking that I need to find food-related photos.
- I use a Sony A7 IV, mirrorless camera with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens and a Nikon Z6 24-200 lens. It’s a good idea to have two cameras so you don’t have to change lenses and get dust on the sensor, especially working in dusty places. I find working in hot, crowded places a good idea not to carry too much kit around, so I avoid having a backpack especially wandering around narrow bazaars.
A free-to-enter exhibition of all 185 Finalist images premieres at The Mall Galleries, London, running from 21st – 25th May. A selection of images will also be exhibited at Fortnum and Mason from 2nd June, as well as the Museum of the Home from 3rd June – 7th September.
To see the online gallery of all the 2025 finalists and winners, visit www.worldfoodphotographyawards.com Entries for the 2026 edition of the competition will open later this year in September.
Related reading:
- Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize winner announced
- Amateur Photographer of the Year 2025 is open and better than ever! Over $35,000 / £26,000 of prizes up for grabs
- World Press Photo of the Year 2025 winner
- Sony World Photography Awards 2025 winners
