The 2026 World Food Photography Awards, sponsored by Bimi®, are back, and honestly, this year’s shortlist is straight-up next level. Pulling in thousands of entries from over 50 countries, the competition once again proves that food photography isn’t just about what’s on your plate, it’s about the stories simmering behind it.
These 35 shortlisted images hit different. From early morning harvest scenes in rural fields to the chaos and charm of street kitchens, every frame serves up a slice of real life. You’ve got hands kneading dough, families gathering around shared meals, and chefs plating dishes like they’re creating fine art. It’s raw, it’s emotional, and yeah, it’s seriously beautiful.
What makes this collection stand out is how it captures culture through food. Each photo feels like a passport stamp, taking you across borders without leaving your seat. It’s a reminder that food is universal; it connects people, traditions, and memories in ways nothing else can.
With an elite judging panel led by renowned food photographer David Loftus, the bar is set sky-high. The winners across 27 categories will be revealed on June 2 in London, but until then, this shortlist is more than enough to keep your inspiration cooking.
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1. Bring Home The Harvest: Lemongrass Harvest, Oko Farms, Brooklyn, New York By Valery Rizzo
"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."
2. Louis Jadot Wine Photographer Of The Year, People: Jean-Michel Deiss Foot Treading His Pinot Noir In Bergheim, Alsace, France By Claes Lofgren
"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."
3. The Philip Harben Award For Food In Action: Cook At Phuktal Monastery, Ladakh, India By Gavin Burnett
"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."
4. World Of Drinks: Frankenstein’s Cocktail By Chloe Hardwick
5. M&s Food Rising Star: Summer Chocolate Oyster Mushrooms Fans By Kate Ireland
"Close up detail of homegrown Summer Chocolate Oyster Mushrooms, showing the delicate fan like structure of the gills of the edible fungi."
6. The Philip Harben Award For Food In Action: La Perseverancia Market By Sebastian Kahnert
"At La Perseverancia Market in Bogotá, Colombia, dozens of vendors prepare lunch simultaneously."
7. Unearthed® Food For Sale: Ananas On The Road By Valentina Bollea
"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."
8. Food In The Field: Goat’s Day Out By Arun Saha
"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."
9. Louis Jadot Wine Photographer Of The Year – People: Night Harvest From Above In Los Carneros By Andrew Lincoln
"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."
10. Food Portraiture: Sushi Doughnuts By Verity Genco
"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."
11. Fortnum & Mason Food At The Table: Saying Grace By Sue O’connell
"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."
12. Claire Aho Award For Women Photographers: The Quiet Act Of Cooking By Judith Balari
"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."
13. Food For The Family Supported By The Felix Project: New Year Reunion By Guoquan Hu
“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."
14. Mpb Award For Innovation: Transit By Květa Trčková
"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."
15. World Of Drinks: The Perfect Smoked Old Fashioned By Orly Catz
"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."
16. Food In The Field: Harvesting Hope By Regina Merl
"I just wanted to take a few photos – not in some faraway drought‑stricken land, but on a German vegetable field before it was harvested. Yet where lettuce once grew, I found this scene instead… and still, for those who look carefully, hope begins to grow."
17. Champagne Taittinger Food For Celebration: The Pinks Of La Feria By Ana Sánchez-Moreno Royer
"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."
18. On The Phone In Support Of Action Against Hunger: Timeless Teamwork Traditions – Basket Boat Fishing, Da Nang, Vietnam By Laura Burgon
"Vietnamese fishermen preserve the old traditions and commitment to providing fresh fish everyday on the beaches of the vibrant and modern city of Da Nang. The basket boat is a symbol of the fishermen’s dedication to their craft, the sea and to retaining Vietnamese culture."
19. Street Food: Distributeur De Rue À Osaka By Marlyse Changeas
"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."
20. Food Influencer: Paws And Pastries By Sylvie Pabion Martín
"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."
21. Louis Jadot Wine Photographer Of The Year, Produce: The Force Behind The Bottle – Contract Winery By Laura Canaparo
22. The James Beard Foundation Photography Award: Hot Dogs! Camden Yards, Baltimore By Al Higgins
"Classic hot dogs being sold seat to seat at an Orioles Baseball game in Camden Yards, Baltimore."
23. Champagne Taittinger Wedding Food Photographer: No Hands. No Cutlery By Simon Biffen
"This wedding at The Royal Crescent Hotel sees a group of friends enacting their traditional race to eat dessert without using hands or cutlery. The winner, who inhaled his in no time at all, celebrated emphatically whilst the others attempted to finish with various degrees of success and decorum."
24. Production Paradise Previously Published: Cheese It By Greg Klukowski
"Picture from campaign for Hochland cheese brand. Food Stylist: Gabi Sowa Retouching by Katarzyna Kędroń"
25. The Rps Student Food Photographer Of The Year: Science And Spice By Athul Prasad
"Captured at the test kitchen of Masque in Mumbai, this image shows the chef experimenting with freezing food using liquid nitrogen. Known for its ingredient-driven philosophy, Masque champions locally sourced Indian produce, reimagined through progressive techniques and contemporary tasting menus."
26. Food Portraiture: The Icing Takes The Cake By Harriet Harcourt
"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."
27. Hotel Art Group Food Stylist Award: Bring Them Chocolate By Annenas Photography
"FREEWORK | Bring them chocolate! Two little monkeys, fingers in the pot, chocolate everywhere. Styled for mess, framed for magic — drips, swirls, and indulgent chaos to celebrates sweetness and joy. Chocolate that steals the show, and sweet memories!"
28. Food Influencer: Liquid Rubies By Yesim Yavuz
"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."
29. Louis Jadot Wine Photographer Of The Year, Places: A Bird’s Eye View Of The Hill By Alessandro Anglisani
"The photographic possibilities offered by drones are incredible. This image was taken in Oltrepò Pavese, and captures the Poggio Pregana hill from a bird’s eye view. A magical place where excellent wine is produced and where you can spend wonderful moments in contact with nature or with friends. I shoot at dawn or dusk to capture these lights, and I enjoy these places to the fullest, in silence and admiration."
30. Jamie Oliver Youth Prize – 13 – 17: After School Chill By Alex Próner
31. Mpb Award For Innovation: Fish Cake By Tracey Rose-Innes
"A literal representation of a Fish Cake. The image is completely different to what you would expect to see if you just read the title but yet it is still beautiful in its own right."
32. Cream Of The Crop: Posy Of Goldenberries, Mandarin And Daffodils By Ania Matczuk
"Goldenberries, juicy mandarin and daffodils arranged with white blooms representing renewal – a symphony of spring approaching."
33. Cake Award: Cherry Bombe By Aggie Banks
"Dome shaped cake decorated with piped buttercream, edible gold splashes and fresh morello cherries"
34. World Food Programme Food For Life: Water On Wheels By Wim Demessemaekers
"In Tanzania’s East Rift Corridor, water travels the way love often does, quietly, repeatedly, without witnesses. A father rides it home across cracked earth near Lake Eyasi, carrying the one thing a family cannot postpone. Each trip buys health, strength, and another day that holds together. In a landscape shaped by drought, care becomes logistics, and survival keeps rolling."
35. Champagne Taittinger Food For Celebration: First Offering By Viet Van Tran
"Celebrated at harvest time in northern Vietnam, the New Rice Festival is a moment of gratitude. Freshly harvested rice is prepared and offered with traditional foods, sticky rice, cakes, and tea as thanks to the land and to ancestors for sustenance and continuity."
FAQs:
What are the World Food Photography Awards?
The World Food Photography Awards is a global competition celebrating the art of food photography. It attracts thousands of entries worldwide, showcasing diverse cultures, culinary traditions, and storytelling through powerful and visually compelling images.
Who leads the judging panel in 2026?
The 2026 judging panel is led by renowned food photographer David Loftus. His expertise and global recognition bring credibility and high standards, ensuring that the selected images reflect excellence in creativity, storytelling, and technical execution.
What makes the 2026 shortlist special?
The 2026 shortlist stands out for its diversity and storytelling depth. It goes beyond food presentation, capturing cultural traditions, human connections, and everyday moments revolving around food across different parts of the world.
How many categories are in the competition?
The competition features 27 categories, covering a wide range of themes including food production, street food, culinary artistry, and cultural traditions, allowing photographers to showcase different perspectives of food-related storytelling.
When will the winners be announced?
The winners of the 2026 World Food Photography Awards will be announced on June 2 in London. The event celebrates top talents and recognizes the most impactful food photography from around the globe.
