Behind-the-scenes secrets of food commercials

Photo by: All images by Think Stock Photos
How come food looks so good on TV? Magic (and a little glue)-
A really good food commercial has the power to dictate your next meal. If you've ever ogled at a close-up shot of a Whopper during a football game and then found yourself driving to the nearest Burger King ten minutes later, you were essentially just hypnotized by creative geniuses known as tabletop directors. The New York Times profiled the closely guarded world of these commercial gurus-and peeled away some of the secrets to making fast food look so slow and savory. The most surprising find is that the food is basically real. Prepared by culinary pros, what you see is close to what you get if you had real chefs and top food stylists working in a fast food kitchen. But it's not all edible. Here's a look at some of the smoke and mirrors used by industry insiders to make food better looking in print and on camera. less