Looking back on 2024, it was a crazy year filled with a roller coaster of emotions. That being said, it truly was an incredible year for food. There were many events to take part in, more restaurants to work with, and a ton of cookbooks I got to try out! Let's jump right into some of the highlights of 2024 for Frosty Films and Photography!
The biggest event of the year and the most important food photography project goes to “The Denver Ramen Festival”. I grew up with ramen and am a huge foodie for authentic Japanese-style ramen. This was the place to get it all with vendors around Colorado. Big shout out to Ninja Ramen Mobile and Ramen Star for having the best ramen there, in my opinion. The flavors were unmatched in ways I cannot even describe. They both had me wanting to get back in line for another taste. The event as a whole was something worth experiencing! They had a live performance as well as hand-crafted drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. This was my favorite way to explore the ramen of Denver!
One restaurant that didn’t get a chance to participate in that I hope to get the chance in 2025 is Hiratori Ramen. I had the chance to work with this awesome restaurant sometime in the fall and I think they may have my favorite ramen of all time. The shining crown of this restaurant, is of course the noodle soup they offer, with a variety of base selections as well as a way to customize your bowl if you are feeling a bit saucy but their appetizers and other entrees are worth looking into as well.
Other notable restaurants I photographed for reviews were Sandoitchi (Japanese Sandwich Shop), Smok (BBQ Brisket restaurant), The River Wok, The Notes Eatery, Border Burger Bar, Shangri-La, and finally Poor Richards all of which are based in Colorado. It's worth talking about all of them but I’m trying to keep this short so stay tuned for more in-depth talks about these restaurants later on!
Finally, there were a couple of shining cookbooks this year, with Stardew Valley and The Hero’s Feast being the main ones. “Pink Cake” was the favorite this year as I made it around 4 or 5 times for family and friends. It was a delicious blend of flavors with a recipe that was unique compared to the other dishes I made this year. “Blackberry and Apple Pie” from the DnD official cookbook The Hero’s Feast was also a notable recipe that was fun and easy to make. Seems obvious now, but I didn’t think the two fruits would go so well together.
With the start of 2025, I’m excited to see where my culinary journey takes me next!