This week I am featuring emerging photographers that will be participating in Review LA, hosted by Center. Today’s post features Rico Mandel and Jacqueline Truong.

Rico Mandel has been a professional photographer since he was a teenager. Rico continues to work as a commercial photographer and run a design studio, but also turns his camera on the outside world in his downtime. The old adage is to photograph what you know best, and for Rico, that would have to be something to do with food. His new series, Behind the Door: Chef’s their food and their kitchens, gives us a peek in to the manic world of the restaurant kitchen.

“All kitchens are different. just as are all chefs and the way they approach their food. With this project I am interested in the culture of the kitchen and the chef’s who lead their individual brigades. What goes into the preparations of the food, each chef’s approach to their cuisine and the people who make it happen.

Having worked in several kitchens and for several different chef’s I have come to understand that each environment is different, each chef a different personality and the staff and the kitchen culture are a refection of both.”