VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The walls of the Sandler Center's second and third floor are covered in photos of dishes from around Virginia Beach and the people who create them.
A new gallery called "The Recipe" opens to the public on Tuesday, January 9, featuring more than 60 photos.
It was commissioned by the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association nearly 18 months ago, a group made up of and, in support of, Virginia Beach restaurants.
“This is the first step for putting Virginia Beach as a culinary destination," said Martha Davenport in a preview of the gallery with News 3.
The man behind the photos is photographer Nathan Beck, who, in his 35-year career, has seen his work featured around the world. He lives in Charlottesville, but frequents Virginia Beach.
Beck says it took 15 months to capture all the images at roughly half of the restaurants in the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association. Some of the pictures — like one of champagne glasses in front of the King Neptune statue — took a couple hours to get right.
The gallery features all kinds of food, from oysters to pizza, source to plate. Also, restaurant workers and customers.
“It’s all about the restaurants and the ballet of how a restaurant works. Of all the different people that serve, cook, greet you at the restaurants," Beck told News 3.
Davenport says the association believes Virginia Beach should be getting a lot more attention for its cuisine, particularly the diverse offerings.
“It’s the diversity of the people that come here," she said. "That come and open restaurants and they want to be a part of this close-knit community scene. We also have a great influence with the military. We have a lot of influx with military, they come and stay."
It all makes for some delicious food and the hope is the gallery will convince visitors at the Sandler to then support local restaurants around town, and spread the word. The launch was timed with Virginia Beach Restaurant Week, running January 15-21.
"The Recipe" is a three-year project, with parts two and three of the gallery coming in spring 2025 and 2026, respectively.
