The Hidden Art of Making Food Look Good on TV

Restaurant chains and food companies buy more than $4 billion in TV air time each year, and it takes a whole lot of wrangling to get those plates of food to drip, shine, and melt just right. The New York Times has a great piece on the world of "tabletop directors," the people who figure out how to make things like this happen:

"The hint of Alfredo sauce that appears when the fork emerges from the pasta? That's courtesy of tubes hidden in the back of the dish and hooked to what look like large hypodermic needles. Moments before each take, Mr. Somoroff yells, "Ooze!" That tells the guy with the needles, standing just outside of the frame, to start pumping."

Check out the rest over at the Times.