touch of taste — Mike Palafox

THE TOUCH OF TASTE: Inside the Grind, Behind the Plate

No glamour. No BS. Just the raw, unvarnished truth of what it takes to spend a lifetime in front of a stove. The Touch of Taste isn’t about final dishes garnished to perfection—it’s about the moments that come long before anyone ever picks up a fork. It goes beyond the glossy, high-end restaurant aesthetic and today’s quest for food porn. The project is an ode to the dedication and hard work that is often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of the food industry.

It’s the sweat dripping onto stainless steel, the calloused hands gripping knives like old friends, the thousand-yard stare that only comes after a double shift. Shot on medium format film, these black-and-white portraits capture the grind, the repetition, and the quiet pride that fuels every plate worth remembering.

The kitchen itself gets its moment too—the scratches, spills, and scorch marks become badges of honor under the play of light and shadow. This is the heartbeat of the craft: messy, beautiful, and unrelenting.

In a world obsessed with shortcuts and shiny presentations, The Touch of Taste reminds us that true greatness lives in the long hours, the small details, and the refusal to quit. This is a love letter to the real artists, the ones who don’t care about the spotlight, only the work.