We approached Kat Nguyen-Thai, to style for us as we were absolutely in love with her carefully curated account that featured delicious recipes and amazing travel shots. Two of our favourite things!
Kat is a Melbourne native, she works at a full time gig that is different to styling and photography, “I work as a service designer for a digital agency, I fell into Instagramming, food styling and photography.” Kat does believe that given a do-over she may have gone down a more creative path with work, however she enjoys having the separation between work and her hobby. “Food is so important to me; I love the role that it plays in bringing together loved ones. When I think back to all my cherished memories, it’s usually over food or a meal.”
Kat believes that cooking and creating in the kitchen led her to discover her talent for photography and styling. Having been inspired by the Instagram community, Kat started her own account. “Georgia from @georgeats is my foodporn homegirl, that girl leaves me speechless with every photo she uploads and is a mastermind in the kitchen.” She also lists Dee from @twistdee and @gatherandfeast as two accounts she finds inspirational, “attention to detail and composition are two things I look out for.”
When it comes to creative processes, Kat always has her diary with her wherever she goes to document inspiration, ideas of what to cook next and photos she’d like to take. “If I’m planning on cooking something, I’ll start refining a recipe I think will work then visualise props I want to use and source these for my photos.”
Although Kat shoots with an Olympus OM-D 10, she loves to use app Afterlight for editing, “always and always, I swear by Afterlight”. The app makes for some quick and easy adjustments to be made before posting to ensure that a photo is crisp and clear.
In regards to her dream creative project, Kat would love to go on a food tour around the world, “I’d love to work with a combination of travel groups, hotels and local food and restaurant providers to showcase the flavours of the world.” A passion for travel and food is apparent with Kat’s beautiful portfolio. It’s not only photography that takes her fancy, it’s also the opportunity to go one step further and learn about international recipes, “I’d love to really get to know the locals in various countries throughout the world, get my hands dirty and prepare traditional meals or street food with them and document every step of the journey.”
It sounds like Kat’s dream is fast becoming a reality, as she’s heading away again later this year, “I’m going to Central America with my boyfriend, we’re spending close to four weeks travelling in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize and I can’t wait to spend my sun soaked days hopping between taquerias, hammocks and beaches.” She has just returned from Noosa and the Sunshine Coast and enjoyed the beaches there. Seaside holidays rank as favourites (we hear you on that one!), and last year she spent time hot air ballooning in Cappadoccia and rowing paddle boats in Plitvice National park in Croatia.
After so much travel, Kat has her packing down pat, “without a doubt, I pack a disposable camera, straw hat, oversized white linen shirt, my trusty denim shorts (rain, hail or shine) and my mandala throw – it super versatile as it makes for an instant picnic blanket, beach towel or blanket.”
When she’s home, Kat is a regular at her local farmer’s market, committing to a crack of dawn visit each weekend, “I normally drag my poor best friend to accompany me, we reward each other for our early-riser efforts with a soy chai afterwards.” Kat believes it’s totally worth it as the weekly haul provides enough vegetables and fruit for a week’s worth of smoothies and salads.
Kat loves our Straight Up Cocobella Coconut Water as it goes with all smoothies and is easily mixed with other ingredients for infusions, “my go-to Cocobella mocktail would be made with frozen watermelon, mint and a squeeze of lime,” oh, we want one too! Thanks for meeting with us Kat!
Follow us on Instagram and keep your eyes peeled for Kat’s styled images!
