Apple brand Pink Lady brings fresh images from the eleventh edition of its renowned Food Photographer of the Year competition to Spain for the first time. This event stands as one of the most important international photography contests, highlighting how gastronomic imagery has grown into a distinct art form.
The winning image, a striking shot by Indian photographer Debdatta Chakraborty, claimed the top prize in this edition. Filmed in Srinagar, the scene captures the everyday city life by day, then reveals a different magic after dark. Between rising smoke and the aroma of spicy kebabs, the iconic Kashmir street food known as vezvan kebabs becomes a sensory paradise for anyone wandering the night market.
“Among thousands of submissions, it is always thrilling to see a single image ascend to first prize,” commented a representative of the event. The competition is directed by Caroline Kenyon, who founded it and has watched it grow into a global showcase. “Today more than ever, people crave solace, and this photograph provides it: a deftly captured haze of smoke, a warm, golden glow, a craftsman’s assurance in the frame, and the spark of grilled skewers that seems almost tangible. In its quiet power, the image nourishes the viewer’s spirit.”
Spain will host the inaugural exhibition of this edition, with the gallery Synthesis Digital Laboratory at Calle Téllez, 19 in Madrid presenting the winning photographs from May 20 for a fortnight. The event marks the first formal display of these stories in Spain, inviting audiences to engage with the narratives that go beyond simple aesthetics of fruit and foliage and into the lived realities and traditions of varied cuisines.
Since 2011, Pink Lady has produced this snapshot contest to celebrate the encounter between art and food. The brand’s apples, grown in Lleida and Girona, are presented as a lens on culture, agriculture, and social life, offering a window into the cycles of nature and the communities that surround it. The competition has continually sought to illuminate how food imagery can convey more than beauty, highlighting deeper messages about tradition, identity, and social commentary.
The awards ceremony for this edition was held on April 26 and streamed live on a video platform. The event drew thousands of submissions from sixty countries, underscoring the global reach and impact of the project as a bold statement about food photography as a serious, creative discipline.
Autumn Woodland Apple Party Amanda Farnese Heath of England won in the Pink Lady Apple A Day category, which invites entrants to create pictures that relate to apples in inventive ways. In this entry, the photographer invited a troupe of children to craft their own tea party concept and then reimagined the scene within a picturesque Scottish forest, yielding a composition that blends playfulness with natural beauty.
On behalf of Traditional Skill Chen Ying of China earned top recognition in another major category with Champagne for Celebration Taittinger. The photograph was taken on a small farm in China and features a family gathering to prepare traditional rice-stuffed dumplings that herald prosperity for the New Year. In the overall winner category, Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year recognizes striking images that explore viticulture, including John Wyand of England pruning a vine on Corton Hill, capturing a winter scene in the Burgundy region.
Additionally, this year the Claire Aho Award for Female Photographers was presented in honor of one of Finland’s most celebrated photographers. The winning image, Marguerite Oelofse’s On the Table, depicts a graceful portrait crafted in South Africa and evokes an impressionist postcard reminiscent of Henri Matisse.
In related recognition, the Fujifilm Innovation Award highlighted a striking image titled Central Park by Bulgarian Yuliy Vasilev, which features an oversized broccoli and a playful sense of momentous creativity. The accompanying caption reads Noodle movement, capturing a vivid sense of motion and culinary energy that translates well to the screen.
The competition continues to be guided by a diverse jury with deep roots in both culinary arts and photography. The panel is headed by a legendary food photographer and includes renowned figures from major media outlets, prominent photography editors, gallery curators, cookbook authors, and documentary photographers who bring a practical, real-world perspective to judging. Their collective expertise helps ensure that each winning image resonates with audiences on multiple levels, from aesthetics to storytelling to cultural significance.
The collection of winning photographs from this year demonstrates the blend of craft, narrative, and cultural insight thatdefine Pink Lady’s Food Photographer of the Year. The images invite viewers to see food not merely as sustenance but as a doorway into places, people, and tales that shape everyday life across continents.