When people ask me for the inspiration behind some of my popular photos, I almost never have a straight answer for them. Because the truth is, sometimes, the story creates the image, and other times, the image writes the story. 

This particular image, is a case of the latter. 

I was setting up this scene for the shoot, and for a second, I looked into the camera at this smattering of ingredients on the board, and I realized how much like an apothecary table it looked. It got me thinking about food as medicine - a concept that so many of us grew up with, yet always dismissed it as ancient and outdated. Except, now that we're older and wiser, it seems the most sensible thing in this world. 

Food, when done right, when properly understood, IS medicine. Our kitchens, when stocked right, is an apothecary. 

In a world that sensationalizes food, at a time when a chicken sandwich can dominate news cycles, when 'fast & easy', '30 minutes or less', 'one pot' and 'sheet pan meals' outranks wholesome food with complex ingredients, that takes hours to simmer, and is actually good for you, I believe that it's only prudent that we begin by redefining food - no longer to be treated as mere entertainment or even a chore, but as sustenance, with due reverence and respect.