RYAN CLARK
Lead Designer & Photographer

Growing up in Kirkland, Washington, Ryan was lucky to have a mom who was (and is) an amazing chef with a focus on the presentation of each meal. “In fact, if she served dinner and it was monochromatic, she’d apologize as she was putting the meal on the table,” chuckled Ryan.

When the time came for Ryan to hit the real world, he headed south to McMinnville, Oregon to play football for Linfield College. When asked about making the decision as to where to go, Ryan replied, “I knew it was a good school, they offered me a nice scholarship and it was just the perfect distance from home to gain my independence.” Upon graduation, as a Fine Arts major, Ryan moved back to Washington (across the lake from where he grew up) and is now a proud Seattleite.

Prior to joining the Marx Companies, Ryan spent three years designing for the NW region of global liquor companies including Johnnie Walker (Gold is his favorite), Hennessy and Smirnoff Vodka. Ryan knew he found his career niche, but wanted to move a notch up on the culinary scale (not to say he doesn’t appreciate first-rate beverages), to specialty food.

About Us

Meet Our Staff:

Justin Marx
- CEO
Katy Springer
- General Manager
Emily Adamson
- Public Relations Manager
Ryan Clark
- Lead Designer & Photographer
David Van Vert
- Web Site Designer

Our Mission

“I guess my mom’s influence rubbed off on me; luckily I inherited her creative genes as well as the desire to cook, present and eat delicious food. For me, half the fun of cooking is designing the plate.”

Ryan is very talented when it comes to styling and photographing food. He appreciates the authenticity of the photo shoots he works on. Once finished taking glamour shots, everyone in the office clamors around to eat— as taste testing the products is one of the most important jobs at Marx Foods.

Ryan loves taking on the challenge of making food appear as delicious as possible on a computer screen, in a brochure or on point-of-sale materials. He also enjoys working on the conception and layout of various Web sites. But when it comes to code, although 100% capable, he would much rather spend his time on the creative aspect and rely on the office code expert to pull it all together.

Ryan designs for Marx Foods, North American Import & Export, Marx Imports, JKG Marketing and several food marketing clients.

As a new father of Bryden Oliver, Ryan really enjoys his role at home as the primary cook for his busy fiancé (and new mother) Beth. Besides his passion for cars and art, cooking is at the top of the list when it comes to hobbies. When asked about entertaining, Ryan wouldn’t exactly call himself a modern day Elsa Maxwell, but he does enjoy hosting.

Besides spending his off time as a busy dad, Ryan loves snowboarding throughout the winter and playing golf and tennis when the sun’s out. Family holiday traditions include eating Lutefisk once a year (which he is NOT a fan of) and Krumkake at Christmas.

Favorite foods: Tomato Salad, Spanakopita, and Coconut Crème Brule

Beloved vegetable: Winter Squash roasted with butter and sage (pairs nicely with almost any meal)

Most unique consumption: Kangaroo meat (but it’s not one he’ll add to his top 10 list)

Best place to be (other than at the dinner table): Loves to read at the end of his dock while sipping on a Scotch & Ginger. More globally he could be convinced to attend any of the Home Food Program’s events in Italy or to be eating at a little café on the Aron Islands in Ireland that makes the best Banoffee Pie (a delicious combination of banana and toffee made with fresh cream).

Not-to-miss restaurants in Seattle: Elemental @ Gasworks!!! Just sit down and let Phred take care of the rest!

Won’t eat: Soft Shell Crabs

Coffee order: Double tall shot in the dark or dopio espresso macchiato if the mood strikes

Collection: (although a small compilation as of now) antique cameras and Vintage Stereo equipment, he loves his Marantz Turntable

Cooking disaster: There is never a disaster, just the first try