Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2023 Winners announced

An intensely powerful portrait, The Candy Man, by UK photographer Jon Enoch, has won the overall prize of Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2023, the world’s leading celebration of the art of food photography and film. 

The photograph was taken in the streets of western Mumbai near the candy floss-selling grounds of the beaches and fairs. It is part of a wider series of images of the sellers, which capture the unique ways used to display the candy goods in the hope of attracting a buyer.

The Candy Man, by Jon Enoch, UK has been crowned Overall Winner of Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2023. The portrait captures Pappu Jaiswal, one of a number of candy floss sellers in Mumbai, India.

“This is a magnificent picture,” says Caroline Kenyon, Founder, Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year. “For me, it evokes the great late 18th and early 19th century portraits of Reynolds and Gainsborough - the gaze, the full-length figure, the subject’s position in the frame. The man in the picture may have a humble way of life, touting his wares of toxically-coloured candy floss, but he himself is splendid. Dignified, confident, direct, he is anyone’s equal in a society riven with division and caste differences. This image shows us beautifully the universal truth, we are all the same.”

“I’m ecstatic to receive this award, it's a real honour to get this recognition in such a prestigious competition laden with wonderful imagery,” says Enoch. “The winning image was part of a personal project - a huge amount of time and thought went into capturing it so it's great to be recognised by such an esteemed panel of judges. Ever since I first saw the candy floss sellers I was drawn to the shapes, colours and juxtaposition of the candy and the urban environment.”

The winners of the 36 categories were announced by acclaimed chef, author and television presenter, Nadiya Hussain MBE, in an exciting Awards ceremony at BAFTA, London on Tuesday 16 May 2023. The announcement was also streamed on the competition’s YouTube channel and was watched by an audience across the globe. 

‘Ramadan Meals Among the Ruins in Idlib, Syria’ by Syrian photographer, Mouneb Taim, won the Politics of Food category. The image captures a group holding breakfast during Ramadan amongst the rubble left after the Syrian regime’s campaign on Idlib.

"Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year continues to tell the world's most important food stories as we adjust again to a new normal. War in Europe, climate change, soaring inflation all to be grappled with,” says Phil Turnbull, CEO of APAL, owner of Pink Lady® and headline sponsor of the Awards since 2011. "But at the same time, we continue to grow, forage, cook, eat, celebrate, gather together, feast. Every year, the incredible winning images act as witness to the centrality of food in every culture and every people across the globe."

This year’s global judging panel, tasked with assessing the thousands of entries submitted from over 65 countries across the world, was chaired by legendary food photographer, David Loftus, and included: Fiona Shields, Head of Photography, Guardian News & Media, Chef Ian Kittichai, Restaurateur, Author & TV Host, Ella Ravilious, Curator, The V&A Museum, Nik Sharma, Cookbook author, Photographer, Columnist and Rein Skullerud, Senior Photographer, Photo Editor at the United Nations World Food Programme. 

The exhibition of the 2023 Finalists will be premiering at The Royal Photographic Society, one of the world’s oldest photographic societies, in Bristol. The exhibition runs from Saturday 20 May - Sunday 11 June and forms part of Bristol’s ‘World Photography in Focus’ during which a number of top international photography competitions, including Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Travel Photographer of the Year, will be exhibiting in the city.

To view the online gallery of all the 2023 finalists, visit www.pinkladyfoodphotographeroftheyear.com

Keiron George won the Food Stylist Award for ‘Let them Eat Cake...’, which is part of the ‘Beauty in Destruction’ collection shot by Frankie Turner.