35 Incredible Food Photos From Around The World That Made The 2026 Shortlist

A Guatemalan pineapple vendor has set up his stall in the middle of a road where there is nothing for miles. The pineapples are sold whole or sliced ​​with a strawberry topping.

Urban Farmers, carrying a raft board of Lemongrass, returning it to the deep water bed after harvesting. Oko Farms is an outdoor aquaponic farm in Brooklyn, New York.

Sushi Doughnuts reinterprets a familiar form through precise food styling and graphic composition. By transforming sushi into doughnut shapes, the work plays with expectation, repetition and symmetry. Bold colour, negative space and clean structure emphasise pattern and balance, allowing the ingredients to function simultaneously as food and design, creating a vibrant, visually dynamic composition.

At La Perseverancia Market in Bogotá, Colombia, dozens of vendors prepare lunch simultaneously.

An out-take from a book I photographed for cupcake decorator Rachel Lindsay (@cakedbyrach). Over the three-week shoot, she used leftover icing to create this glorious scene, which became the inside cover for the book.

A Smoked Old Fashioned. A dramatic, aromatic twist of the classic Old Fashioned dating back to the 1800s. This image presents the historic cocktail on a cracked vintage leather table, highlighting its traditional ingredients with a contemporary touch of wood chips smoke​,​ creating a beautiful sensory​ and visual experience.

Close up detail of homegrown Summer Chocolate Oyster Mushrooms, showing the delicate fan like structure of the gills of the edible fungi.

With Mount Semeru rising in the background, villagers in East Java of Indonesia rear goats as a vital food source. Goats provide nutritious meat and milk, supporting daily diets and festivals. Adapted to the volcanic terrain, they also offer steady income and food security for rural families.

Use your imagination and you will see things differently. Then you might stick a toy airplane onto blue paper and use lots of biscuits to create a city. Lie down on the floor and take photos upwards through the glass. The photograph is part of my long-term project of surreal still lifes.

Phuktal Monastery in the Zanskar valley is both picturesque and unique. The multi-story Gompa is only accessible by foot and is situated clinging to the cliff face above the Tsarap river. While exploring the monastery we passed the smoke-stained kitchen where the cook was preparing dinner for the resident monks.

Jean-Michel Deiss, biodynamic producer in Alsace. Most of his wines are white but here he is foot treading his Pinot Noir grapes for his red wine.

This young woman ,engaged in domestic work in a traditional Danish setting, evokes a simpler way of life.The lighting plays a crucial role in this image, with sunlight streaming in from the windows creating highlights and deep shadows that enhance texture and dimension of the objects and surfaces. A glimpse into a rustic kitchen, where tradition meets the present time.

Boom lights on quads illuminate vineyard rows and can create dramatic lighting with rich, warm colours. This tonal aesthetic has always appealed to me. I wanted to gain a unique perspective of this Los Carneros harvest and used a drone to show the scene in its near entirety.

“Dashitao”(peach-shaped cake making) has become a signature New Year folk custom in the rural Huizhou region of Anhui Province.China. The surface is often adorned with red or cinnabar, and the final product, resembling a peach, is symbolic of 'double blessings' and 'good fortune.' In 2018, it was listed as a representative item of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage. In the scene, family members of all generations gather together in warmth and harmony, unfolding like a scroll of reunion. Rice and flour are blended and gently pressed into molds, forming the first shapes of shitao.Nearby, the daughter prepares vegetables and cooks,The photo fully shows the rich flavor of the New Year and the warmth of family unity.

La Feria de Sevilla has always celebrated food: starting as a livestock fair in 1847, it has become a week-long revelry centered around 1000 casetas sharing tapas. Traditions are passed through food, dress and dance. No fair, however traditional, would be complete without the largest, pinkest cotton candy.

The image shows a close-up, highly detailed view of vibrant red pomegranate seeds. The seeds appear glossy and translucent, with tiny water droplets clinging to their smooth surfaces. The rich crimson tones dominate the frame, creating a vivid and almost luminous effect. The macro perspective highlights the juicy texture and natural shine of the seeds, making them look fresh and appetizing.

A silent street; the scene unfolds at night, on a quiet street in Osaka. The air is cool, slightly humid, and the neon lights cast a cold, white glow that contrasts sharply with the surrounding darkness. A man dressed in red stands motionless before a vending machine. The machine illuminates the scene with an artificial light.

On the Mediterranean shore, a pug lounges inside a sun-drenched camper, gazing at a flaky cinnamon roll and a golden muffin. This shot celebrates the simple, sweet joys of life by the sea and the irresistible temptation of a perfect pastry.

These are the newest recruits to a nunnery near Yangon, Myanmar. They are likely to be orphans or refugees from fighting in the country but here they have found a place of refuge, security and companionship.