Picture-perfect: Tom's Kitchen hosts cream of London's food bloggers | WestLondonToday

 They are the new tastemakers and and cyber-critics with enough culinary nous to sink even the most accomplished chef. Little wonder then that Michelin-starred chef, Tom Aikens has had to interrupt his cooking schedule and skip upstairs to welcome them all to his eponymous Chelsea restaurant.

Armed with their mobile camera phones, compacts and SLRs, they come equipped with their encyclopaedic knowledge of good-looking and great-tasting food.

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This evening in the art of of food photography is being organised by Great British Chefs, a new business that celebrates and champions the best chefs across Britain especially chefs like Aikens, who cook in their restaurants on a daily basis and whose food is distinctive and cooked with love. The brain-child of Oliver Lloyd, Great British Chefs was founded just for evenings like this where food writers and bloggers can interract with each other and star chefs, swap recipes, share knowledge about emerging trends in culinary matters and technology. About a dozen of us are gathered in an ante -room before the workshop kicks off. Many have come to the growing field of food blogging from other walks of life. Sat next to me is Joe, an affable man who runs digital operations at the British Olympic Associaton, He tells me the evening was his time-off from work. An avid sports photographer, his other love was food blogging and he was looking to pick up a few tricks tonight. I joke that I was more at home photographing people falling out of cars. I was a beginner in the art of making food look good in pictures.

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We are soon ushered into a well-appointed dining room heaving with drinks, freshly-baked bread and an assortment of 'finger foods'. David Griffen was our tutor for the evening, a renowned food photographer based in Cornwall, with a to-die for portfolio of some of the nation's most-sought after celebrity chefs and their creations. His twin tips to bring that plate of food alive, he says: "Keep it simple and natural". He won't use any enhancements either. Top on his no-no list, Silicone! Who'd have thought that? He favours working using natural light and works at a pace which suits even the busiest chefs in town. "Get in, get out." he advises breathlessly. And for when you can't take your studio with you into the restaurant, a camera phone will do just the trick. Tried balancing a phone inside a wine-glass for that clandestine shot of Fondue? Very easy, just make sure glass is empty.

TOM AIKENS

Tom Aikens has worked in restaurants that have earned many Michelin stars, including establishments overseen by Joel Robuchon and Pierre Koffmann. He has three highly acclaimed restaurants in London: Tom's Kitchen (Chelsea and Somerset House), with his Michelin-starred restaurant in Chelsea, Tom Aikens, holding a veritable laundry list of awards: eighth on Restaurant Magazine's list of the world's top 50 restaurants in 2005, and five rosettes from the AA Restaurant Guide since 2010.

Aikens has a sizable media presence. He has published several cookbooks - most recently Tom Aikens: Easy, appeared on Iron Chef UK, the 2011 Great British Menu and penned an article advising the Times readers how to select good fish.

Critics have applauded his efforts.Time Out's Eating and Drinking Guide 2009 concluded that 'Tom Aikens deserves its status as one of the capital’s top foodie destinations', while Time Out described his food as 'a master class in simplicity'. Matthew Fort said of Aikens' braised pig's head, 'Aikens manages to unite the elements into a balanced whole, linking them through source, sauce, cooking techniques or straightforward magic.'

Aikens describes his style as influenced by Robuchon's attention to detail and Koffmann’s sense of terror and intense concentration on relatively few ingredients, so provenance is key for Aikens - quality and individuality of ingredients lead.

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Some technical jargons out of the way and we soon get down to the serious business of shooting various items of food and then devouring them to make way for more. Particularly sublime were the micro-sized hamburgers, which didn't quite make it to the front of the lens. I ask Will Hodson, who runs Platter, a phone application that lets food lovers share recipes of their home-cooking, why he'd rather photograph food than be sampling them. He counters, "Why not?".  Food bloggers are part of a new reality in spreading the news about what is worth salivating about. Eat your heart out Mr. Winner.

- Bolaji Babafemi

Tom's Kitchen, Cale Street, London SW3

www.greatbritishchefs.com