Food Photographer of the Year 2019: Noodle feast scoops top prize

Chinese photographer Jianhui Liao has been named as the overall winner of the Food Photographer of the Year 2019 contest.

Liao's photo (above), entitled Cauldron Noodles, shows a celebration of the goddess Nuwa in Shexian County in the Hebei Province, China.

As part of the annual festivity, villagers wear Qing Dynasty costumes to celebrate Nuwa's birthday and eat pots of noodles at noon.

Competition adjudicator Andy Macdonald presented Liao with the £5,000 prize money.

Macdonald said of the image: "It stood out from the rest in its category for the way in which [Liao] made the subject matter, a community feast, so beautiful and atmospheric.

"The competition was fierce, there were 9,000 images entered from 77 countries - more entries and more countries than ever before - and the standard was phenomenal."

Here is a selection of winners from other categories in the contest.

Food Stylist Award: Caramel Jammy Dodgers, by Kim Morphew, UK

Kim Morphew was the food stylist for these homemade biscuits, which were photographed by Martin Poole.

Bring Home the Harvest: Harvesting Gold, by Kazi Mushfiq, Bangladesh

Kazi Mushfiq: "Farmers were working hard harvesting the rice, which is like gold to them."

Marks & Spencer Food Portraiture: Tarte Tatin with Thyme, by Nick Millward, UK

Nick Millward: "A simple tarte tatin with thyme to give it an extra depth of flavour, by chef Clodagh McKenna."

Politics of Food: Cow Tantrum, by Martin Chamberlain, UK

Martin Chamberlain: "This cow probably knew its destiny. Having just been bought from the market in Nizwa, Oman, the cow proved increasingly reluctant to comply with its new owners' wishes - resorting in the end to collapsing its front legs, leaving the owners puzzled as to what to do next."

Production Paradise Previously Published: Red Octopus, by Cosimo Barletta, Italy

Cosimo Barletta: "When you 'release the Kraken' on the table... you never know what will happen!"

Food for Sale: Ramadan, by Elise Humphrey, UK

Elise Humphrey: "A hungry market-stall holder in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, sits among forbidden fruits during Ramadan, whilst dreaming of her next meal."

Food Bloggers: Drying Pasta, by Aimee Twigger, UK

Aimee Twigger: "Herb-laminated pasta hanging to dry in the window."

Student Food Photographer: The Carnal Supper, by Chloe Dann, Australia

Chloe Dann: "This photo is from a series I made which explores the corporeality of human eating habits and the role of the culinary arts in the relationship between nature and culture."

Fujifilm Award for Innovation: Broken Egg, by Michael Hedge, UK

Michael Hedge: "This image is part of a series of images I did for the RSA Magazine illustrating the delicate relationship between food, farming and the countryside.

"Prop styling by Kerry Hughes and art direction by Johan Shufiyan."

Food for the Family: Bonda Tribe, by Sanghamitra Sarkar, India

Sanghamitra Sarkar: "Odisha, India, has many tribal communities and the Bonda tribe is one of them. They lead a very simple life. Modern society has failed to change them because they have carefully protected their culture and traditions from modern civilisation.

"In this picture the Bonda ladies are busy preparing food in a clay pot, making fire from wood."

InterContinental Food at the Table: Mussels Ready to Eat, by Giles Christopher, UK

Giles Christopher: "An image taken in the studio of mussels on a napkin, on a rustic table for Harry Ramsden's restaurants."

Young 10 & Under: Passion Fruit Love, by Joshua George, Bahrain

Joshua George: "Having passion fruit straight from the plant was very tasty and fun."

All photos courtesy of Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2019.