Varsani Media
← All work

Fine dining · Photography

Vår

The Michelin Guide needed a photograph. They used ours.

Client

Chef Nico Lehto, Vår

Market

Finland

Services

Chef portraits, food photography, podcast interview

Delivered

By Hash Varsani

Chef Nico Lehto seated at a table in the Vår dining room, Helsinki

Michelin

our photograph used by the Michelin Guide after Vår’s first star

Portraits

chef and food photography for Nico Lehto

On air

Nico interviewed on The Tasty Atelier Podcast

The story

01 · The brief

02 · What we did

03 · The result

← All work

01 · The brief

A plate this good should be seen the way it was cooked.

Nico Lehto was the chef at Vår, a fine-dining restaurant with a fast-growing reputation. He needed photography of himself and his cooking that matched the standard on the plate, for press, profiles and the restaurant’s own channels.

02 · What we did

Photography first. Then the conversation.

01

Chef portraits

Portraits of Nico in his kitchen, made to work in a magazine, on a profile page and on a phone screen.

02

Food photography

Dishes shot to show the craft and the season, not just the plate.

03

The Tasty Atelier Podcast

We sat down with Nico on our food podcast to talk about cooking, ambition and what it takes to run a kitchen at that level.

04

The Michelin Guide

When Vår won its first Michelin star, one of our photographs was used in the Michelin Guide.

03 · The result

A first Michelin star, and our picture alongside it.

The right image travels further than any campaign. When the Michelin Guide recognised Vår, it was our photograph that went with the news.

Vår dessert under a honeycomb tuile, photographed for chef Nico Lehto
Fried salmon in a dark stone bowl by chef Nico Lehto, the Vår photograph used in the Michelin Guide
Pike-perch filleted and laid out piece by piece for the Vår fish menu
Vår dessert under a honeycomb tuile, photographed for chef Nico Lehto
Beetroot petals in a white bowl, a dish by chef Nico Lehto at Vår
Vår fish course in herb oil with violet flowers, in a grey stoneware bowl

Photographed by our founder, Hash Varsani.

Next project →

Fimage

Association · Finland · New name, identity and website

Your restaurant next

Your food is ready for its close-up. Is your marketing?

Every partnership starts with a Growth Snapshot: 21 checks of your marketing, measured against three competitors you choose. Results on a call within five working days.

Growth Snapshot

Free

For businesses investing €5,000 or more a month in marketing. €1,250 otherwise, credited against your first contract.

Apply for your Snapshot or email hash@varsani.media