THAT’S NOT WHAT I ORDERED!

Staggering gulf between what fast-food restaurants tempt you with — and what you’re served

GO TO any fast-food restaurant and you’ll see super-sized pictures of the food on offer looking mouthwateringly ravishing. The burger glistens enticingly inside a golden bun, the tomato is a juicy red and the bright green lettuce promises crunch. But how often do the burger, salad or sandwich that you actually buy match up with this image? Or do you have a case to complain to your local Trading Standards Department because the product does not live up to expectations?

The difference between image and reality is thanks to professional food stylists — combined with some photographic tricks.

In the way that white paint is said to be used in adverts in the place of milk to make cups of coffee look more appealing, these experts spend hours making food look more delicious — for example, using pieces of yellow plastic instead of cheese slices and tweezers to individually place pieces of lettuce and tomato.

That ‘chargrilled’ look on the burger is achieved by placing a hot skewer across the meat. The temptingly melted cheese is created by immersing the slice in warm water for a few seconds.

For the photos, all the ingredients are carefully pushed to the front — to give the impression of quantity. And any sauce is artfully injected into place with a syringe. Sometimes, pieces of cardboard are put between layers in a burger to give it structure and the whole thing is held together with glue.

VINCENT GRAFF

Here, compares a selection of promotional photos with the reality . . .