The Pyrenees Café was originally opened in 1899 and has been an iconic Bakersfield establishment serving old-world Basque dishes from the very beginning. Recently (September of 2014) The Pyrenees Café has been rescued from decades of slow decay by its new owners Julie and Rod Crawford who have revitalized the venerable business into an invigorating new venue without compromising the traditional menu. A complete floor to ceiling restoration of the building’s interior was accomplished in short term, to revive the décor with a historic ambiance creating the perfect environment for their abundant loyal customers.
A short time ago, I had the great pleasure of photographing the new appetizer menu that has many of the favorite old traditional items as well as some innovative new culinary delights that go so well with the numerous liquid refreshments served from the historic bar in the Pyrenees saloon.
It was an all-day shoot starting around 10: AM where we set up a full studio lighting package with multiple soft boxes, reflector cards, support stands, electrical distribution cables, and a full product tool kit in a small back room adjacent to the kitchen. This made for easy delivery of each food item just at the moment of completion ensuring freshest quality products without entangling any of the patrons.
We shot non-stop though most of the day to accomplish the mission objective of photographing the thirteen item appetizer menu. Well, okay …there was of course the occasional pause after many of the really yummy ones to sample a few tastes and savor the flavors of each item knowing the incredible skills that went into preparing these delectable dishes, but this was only after confirming that we had absolutely without fail gotten the desired shot.
The fun and talented owners Julie and Rod Crawford made for a most enjoyable experience and I plan on doing many more shoots for The Pyrenees Café & Saloon very soon.
Be sure to check it out first hand if you are one of the few that have never been there before!
The Pyrenees Café & Saloon in located in the historic “Old Town Kern” area at 601 Sumner Street Bakersfield, CA 93305
And online at The Pyrenees Cafe Facebook Page for more information.
