The first thing that catched my eye when I look at this is that the "Rule of Thirds" that our art teacher taught us is not being observed. Yes, this is a beautiful image, however, you could have shown more of the background or could have tilted the glass a little- of course how that would happen is entirely up to you- and moved it either to the left or right and shown us fellow Deviants a whole other way of looking at this. I notice that I shouldn't be too harsh on you, as you stated that this is an experiment, but I just like to emphasize some of the rules that we follow as photographers- or designers, either way. Then again, rules CAN be broken- but this image just doesn't altogether feel like it can break the rule of thirds. I do, however, love the vision of the food you cook and the pride you feel in taking a photograph of something that is altogther YOU and 100% what you have made. This picture is very original, yet very unique. It is like this glass is giving a statement of it's own, standing out from everything in the background. As for your technique, who am I to question one who can both cook great food and take great photos of that food? Technique I usually don't refer to that much in critiquing, as I'm not one to look or speculate over details. The impact- yes, i feel as I should look at every rating I should give- has already been stated by me. This a great picture, and as aforementioned, a statement in it's self. I believe you have some real talent in both areas- cooking and photography- but I only urge you remember the rule of thirds. Wide contrast or space can move our eye around a photograph. When I look at this, my eyes are stuck dead center, looking at all of the red hues you have there.
But, this is a great work of art. Congrats on what you have accomplished here.