MANILA, Philippines ? If Martha Stewart is the doyenne of domesticity, then Delores Custer is the swami of food styling.

Custer, who has a master?s degree in food and nutrition, is considered in the United States as the ultimate authority on making food look fabulous for the camera. She has styled just about every dish and ingredient?from butter to cereals, vegetables to hamburgers as well as chicken, pasta, soup and salad?for industry giants such as Unilever, Pillsbury, McDonald?s, Wendy?s, Tupperware, General Mills, Kraft, Nestle and Newman?s Own.

Once she even baked more than 50 pies for a cookbook published by the venerable Readers? Digest. When the New York Post was doing a commercial, it was Custer who styled the ice cream that needed to be on the table. In short, when Custer talks, people listen.

A member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Custer is often asked to make presentations in IACP?s conferences which are held in major cities like Dallas and Chicago.

In one of her talks, she traced the evolution of food styling and how the looks have changed through the years. Together with some photographers, she re-created the looks of the ?50s and ?60s, and contrasted these with today?s contemporary trends. She also often does teleconferencing with other food professionals to discuss upcoming projects and presentations.

A few years ago, the New York Heart Association asked Custer to develop heart-healthy, good-for-you recipes. The result is a curriculum with 250 slides that show the preparation of those recipes. ?This curriculum is now taught all over the US,? says Custer.

Judge

Custer has also been a judge in some of the awards for cookbooks and food photography. However, since the names of judges have to be kept confidential, she can?t disclose the competitions. Suffice it to say that one of these is considered the Oscars of the food industry. Recently, she was also a judge in a contest on digital food photography.

Meantime, she?s busy working on the ultimate book on food styling, which is being published by Wiley in the US. Scheduled for release next year, the book is a voluminous tome of techniques, tips, photographs and methods. Some of these topics she has taught in her class at the Culinary Institute of America and Institute of Culinary Education in New York.

Those attending the food styling plus seminar, which Custer is conducting in Manila, will see a preview of the book which is entitled ?Food Styling: The Art of Preparing Food for the Camera.? The seminar will be held July 25 at Sofitel Hotel, CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Presented by Inquirer Lifestyle, the seminar will include Custer?s PowerPoint presentations, live food styling demos, lectures on pushing your product in the market and how to stretch your creativity. Participants will also be given the chance to do hands-on food styling.

Sponsors of the seminar are: Center for Culinary Arts (CCA) Manila, Oceana, Elba Cookers from Italy, Tourism Authority of Thailand and Baguio Oil.

The seminar fee of P3,500 includes lunch and handouts. There will also be a raffle draw. To register, call 897-8808, loc. 354 or 258 and ask for Dolce or Alizza; e-mail damamio@inquirer.com.ph.