CORY JAMES FONTENOT
CORY JAMES FONTENOT

Cory Fontenot — New Orleans Food & Beverage Photographer

Aerial view of a boat cutting through Louisiana bayou at sunrise
Oyster Shucker in a white chef coat carrying a tray of raw oysters on ice Fives Bar
Grilled head-on shrimp with garlic and lemon on a turquoise platter Fives Bar French Quarter
Woman walking past the arched facade and umbrella-shaded patio of a New Orleans Hotel Henrietta
Bottle of white wine in an ice bucket on a gingham tablecloth in afternoon light Hotel St. Peter and Paul
French Quarter courtyard with brick walls, string lights and iron balconies
Friends sharing pizza and wings around a dark restaurant table, shot from above St Pizza New York Times
Fried seafood platter with catfish, shrimp, hushpuppies and fries on a striped tablecloth
Cocktail with a flamed orange peel in a stemmed glass against a deep blue wall Brandy Crusta Jewel of the South
The Pitons rising over the sea at sunset in St. Lucia, sailboats moored below
Artist in blue coveralls seated in a studio hung with paintings of plated food
Angler fly fishing a river below granite cliffs and pines in Eleven Mile Canyon
Hand holding a Ramos Gin Fizz in a tall glass against a red sweatshirt at Bar Tonique
Waiter flambeing bananas Foster tableside at Brennan's in New Orleans
Louisiana blue crabs packed on ice
Pile of head-on Gulf shrimp Peche Seafood
Sugarcane field burning at night in south Louisiana
Louisiana rice farmer in a straw hat standing in his field
Night portrait of zydeco musician Nathan Williams of the Zydeco Cha-Chas in a black fedora and gold chain
Zydeco accordionist Nathan Williams of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas performing at the microphone, black and white
Couple dancing low in a night crowd in front of a lit festival stage in Louisiana
Overhead view of hands reaching across a table set with whole grilled fish, oysters and potatoes

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Aerial view of a boat cutting through Louisiana bayou at sunrise
Oyster Shucker in a white chef coat carrying a tray of raw oysters on ice Fives Bar
Grilled head-on shrimp with garlic and lemon on a turquoise platter Fives Bar French Quarter
Woman walking past the arched facade and umbrella-shaded patio of a New Orleans Hotel Henrietta
Bottle of white wine in an ice bucket on a gingham tablecloth in afternoon light Hotel St. Peter and Paul
French Quarter courtyard with brick walls, string lights and iron balconies
Friends sharing pizza and wings around a dark restaurant table, shot from above St Pizza New York Times
Fried seafood platter with catfish, shrimp, hushpuppies and fries on a striped tablecloth
Cocktail with a flamed orange peel in a stemmed glass against a deep blue wall Brandy Crusta Jewel of the South
Louisiana blue crabs packed on ice
Pile of head-on Gulf shrimp Peche Seafood
Waiter flambeing bananas Foster tableside at Brennan's in New Orleans
Hand holding a Ramos Gin Fizz in a tall glass against a red sweatshirt at Bar Tonique
The Pitons rising over the sea at sunset in St. Lucia, sailboats moored below
Angler fly fishing a river below granite cliffs and pines in Eleven Mile Canyon
Sugarcane field burning at night in south Louisiana
Louisiana rice farmer in a straw hat standing in his field
Artist in blue coveralls seated in a studio hung with paintings of plated food
Night portrait of zydeco musician Nathan Williams of the Zydeco Cha-Chas in a black fedora and gold chain
Zydeco accordionist Nathan Williams of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas performing at the microphone, black and white
Couple dancing low in a night crowd in front of a lit festival stage in Louisiana
Overhead view of hands reaching across a table set with whole grilled fish, oysters and potatoes

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Editorial & Documentary Stories

Infatuation: New Orleans

Morning Calm: Korean Air Magazine

Mister Mao: Sunday Supper Club

Everything but the Quack: Garden and Gun Magazine

Stack of muffuletta quarters with chips, Crystal hot sauce and a bottle of Barq's root beer
Spread of dishes and wine on a booth table beside a window in a New Orleans restaurant Evviva

The Infatuation: New Orleans _

Tattooed fishmonger working a row of whole red snapper on a stainless counter
Plate of New Orleans barbecue shrimp in peppery butter sauce, half eaten, with a piece of French bread and a fork resting in the sauce
Yellow clapboard exterior of Domilise's Po-Boy and Bar in New Orleans, a man standing in the doorway
Customer at an Order Here counter under a string of Mardi Gras beads in a New Orleans neighborhood restaurant
Overhead bowl of Louisiana seafood boil with blue crab, snow crab, shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes
Steak in red wine sauce with baked oysters, rolls and two glasses of wine on a wooden table Cochon
Chef in a black apron and headwrap standing in the dining room of a New Orleans restaurant
New Orleans neighborhood bar dining room with a beer neon, WTIX poster and a table of nachos
Sliced cucumber and red onion salad in a ceramic bowl on a terrazzo surface Acamaya
Line cooks working under heat lamps in a restaurant open kitchen Cochon
Overhead view of hands and small plates across a shared wooden table with white wine
Fried chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato beside fries and a Have a Coke napkin box
Restaurant owner seated at a table in a wood-paneled dining room with religious statues on a shelf behind him
Empty dining room with formica tables, mauve chairs and framed posters on knotty pine walls
Opening spread of Find Your Flavor: New Orleans in Morning Calm magazine, a bartender straining a cocktail beside a hotel bar

Morning Calm: Korean Air Magazine _

Morning Calm spread on New Orleans cocktails and live music venues, photographed by Cory Fontenot
Morning Calm spread on New Orleans festival food, with fried seafood and po'boys photographed by Cory Fontenot
Morning Calm spread on New Orleans festivals and French Quarter architecture, photographed by Cory Fontenot
Chefs and cooks gathered around a table in the pink dining room at Mister Mao in New Orleans Mason Hereford
Guests filing into a cottage restaurant entrance beneath palm fronds at dusk

Mister Mao: Sunday Supper Club _

Bartender in a palm print shirt double straining a cocktail into a cut glass tumbler
Cocktail with a dehydrated orange wheel and sugared rim on a pink windowsill
Four guests raising cocktails in a booth beneath a gilt mirror at Mister Mao
Three head-on shrimp searing in butter in a carbon steel wok
Cook lifting head-on shrimp in chile sauce from a sheet pan into a carbon steel wok
Cook tossing fried pieces on a steel platter in a dark kitchen, powder suspended in the air
Overhead plate of crisp fried pieces over noodles with herbs and chili on a navy woven mat
Overhead view of a supper club table at Mister Mao with shared plates, natural wine and guests eating
Opening page of Everything but the Quack in Garden & Gun, Oct/Nov 2025, showing two carved duck decoys photographed by Cory Fontenot
Louisiana decoy carver Jett Brunot shaping a wooden duck decoy in his workshop

Everything but the Quack: Garden and Gun Magazine_

Carver pointing to family photographs pinned on his workshop wall
Garden & Gun spread on Louisiana decoy carver Jett Brunot, with a workshop photograph by Cory Fontenot
Hands holding open a book to a map of Louisiana beside a painted duck decoy
Garden & Gun spread showing carving tools and a decoy in progress, photographed by Cory Fontenot
Painted duck decoys arranged on a dresser beside a shotgun and hunting gear

Infatuation: New Orleans

Morning Calm: Korean Air Magazine

Mister Mao: Sunday Supper Club

Everything but the Quack: Garden and Gun Magazine

Stack of muffuletta quarters with chips, Crystal hot sauce and a bottle of Barq's root beer

The Infatuation: New Orleans _

Spread of dishes and wine on a booth table beside a window in a New Orleans restaurant Evviva
Tattooed fishmonger working a row of whole red snapper on a stainless counter
Plate of New Orleans barbecue shrimp in peppery butter sauce, half eaten, with a piece of French bread and a fork resting in the sauce
Yellow clapboard exterior of Domilise's Po-Boy and Bar in New Orleans, a man standing in the doorway
Customer at an Order Here counter under a string of Mardi Gras beads in a New Orleans neighborhood restaurant
Overhead bowl of Louisiana seafood boil with blue crab, snow crab, shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes
Steak in red wine sauce with baked oysters, rolls and two glasses of wine on a wooden table Cochon
Chef in a black apron and headwrap standing in the dining room of a New Orleans restaurant
New Orleans neighborhood bar dining room with a beer neon, WTIX poster and a table of nachos
Line cooks working under heat lamps in a restaurant open kitchen Cochon
Overhead view of hands and small plates across a shared wooden table with white wine
Fried chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato beside fries and a Have a Coke napkin box
Restaurant owner seated at a table in a wood-paneled dining room with religious statues on a shelf behind him
Empty dining room with formica tables, mauve chairs and framed posters on knotty pine walls
Opening spread of Find Your Flavor: New Orleans in Morning Calm magazine, a bartender straining a cocktail beside a hotel bar

Morning Calm: Korean Air Magazine _

Morning Calm spread on New Orleans cocktails and live music venues, photographed by Cory Fontenot
Morning Calm spread on New Orleans festival food, with fried seafood and po'boys photographed by Cory Fontenot
Morning Calm spread on New Orleans festivals and French Quarter architecture, photographed by Cory Fontenot
Chefs and cooks gathered around a table in the pink dining room at Mister Mao in New Orleans Mason Hereford

Mister Mao: Sunday Supper Club_

Bartender in a palm print shirt double straining a cocktail into a cut glass tumbler
Cocktail with a dehydrated orange wheel and sugared rim on a pink windowsill
Four guests raising cocktails in a booth beneath a gilt mirror at Mister Mao
Three head-on shrimp searing in butter in a carbon steel wok
Cook lifting head-on shrimp in chile sauce from a sheet pan into a carbon steel wok
Cook tossing fried pieces on a steel platter in a dark kitchen, powder suspended in the air
Overhead plate of crisp fried pieces over noodles with herbs and chili on a navy woven mat
Overhead view of a supper club table at Mister Mao with shared plates, natural wine and guests eating
Opening page of Everything but the Quack in Garden & Gun, Oct/Nov 2025, showing two carved duck decoys photographed by Cory Fontenot

Everything but the Quack: Garden and Gun Magazine_

Louisiana decoy carver Jett Brunot shaping a wooden duck decoy in his workshop
Carver pointing to family photographs pinned on his workshop wall
Garden & Gun spread on Louisiana decoy carver Jett Brunot, with a workshop photograph by Cory Fontenot
Hands holding open a book to a map of Louisiana beside a painted duck decoy
Garden & Gun spread showing carving tools and a decoy in progress, photographed by Cory Fontenot
Painted duck decoys arranged on a dresser beside a shotgun and hunting gear

About Cory Fontenot

I'm a New Orleans based photographer with a deep love for culture, light, and the power of place. My work blends documentary instincts with a refined editorial eye, drawing inspiration from the textures of everyday life, the rhythm of a region, and the quiet moments that shape a story.

This site leans into food and hospitality, but that's not the whole picture. I also shoot portraits, travel, editorial features, hospitality, and motion. If you're interested in something outside of what's here, reach out with the story and I'll send relevant work.

I am available for assignments and collaborations across the South and beyond.

 

For all inquiries and friendly hellos.

cory@coryfontenot.com

Insta: @coryjames_fontenot

 

Clients.

New York Times / Garden and Gun / Wine Spectator / The Infatuation / Louisiana Cooking / AirBnB / Ferrari USA / Simms / Watershed Drybags / Google / Titan Coolers / Pelican Case / Nestle / Superior Grill / Southern Comfort / Sazarac Company / ShatterProof / Punch Magazine / Zagat / Eater / Shutterstock / Korean Air Magazine / Morning Light / The Henrietta / Atlanta Magazine / Ralph Brennans / Tasc / PDQ Chicken / Ten to One Rum / Jazzfest / Fenstermaker / Presonus / Ocshner Health / Angostora / Legacy Whiskey / Bittermans / Ducati US / Discovery Channel / History Channel / Oyster Sunday / Tabasco / Simon Ink

 

CORY JAMES FONTENOT

Photo by Craig Mulcahy

I'm a New Orleans based photographer with a deep love for culture, light, and the power of place. My work blends documentary instincts with a refined editorial eye, drawing inspiration from the textures of everyday life, the rhythm of a region, and the quiet moments that shape a story.

This site leans into food and hospitality, but that's not the whole picture. I also shoot portraits, travel, editorial features, hospitality, and motion. If you're interested in something outside of what's here, reach out with the story and I'll send relevant work.

I am available for assignments and collaborations across the South and beyond.

 

For all inquiries and friendly hellos.

cory@coryfontenot.com

Insta: @coryjames_fontenot

 

Clients.

New York Times / Garden and Gun / Wine Spectator / The Infatuation / Louisiana Cooking / AirBnB / Ferrari USA / Simms / Watershed Drybags / Google / Titan Coolers / Pelican Case / Nestle / Superior Grill / Southern Comfort / Sazarac Company / ShatterProof / Punch Magazine / Zagat / Eater / Shutterstock / Korean Air Magazine / Morning Light / The Henrietta / Atlanta Magazine / Ralph Brennans / Tasc / PDQ Chicken / Ten to One Rum / Jazzfest / Fenstermaker / Presonus / Ocshner Health / Angostora / Legacy Whiskey / Bittermans / Ducati US / Discovery Channel / History Channel / Oyster Sunday / Tabasco / Simon Ink

 

CORY JAMES FONTENOT

Photo by Craig Mulcahy