How is the ‘foodporn’ Hashtag Applied to the Culinary Business

Pizza is the most talked about food on Instagram, with around 35 million mention fences. That is more than the combined achievement of Beyonce and Kim Kardashian.

The insatiable appetite for photographing food affects the entire restaurant industry. From decorations to drink menus, everything must be suitable to be displayed on Instagram.

Frances Cottrell-Duffield, founder of Tonic, a provider of marketing and public relations services, designed performances to test their success on social media.

At the launch of a new food menu for high-end restaurant chains, Polpo, Cottrell-Duffield arrived early to make sure everything was ready for social media.

“We are cooperating with the gin brand because even though Polpo holds a food test, the program is not taken well, and the cocktail brings color to the photo,” he said.

Near the bar, a wall full of leaves was erected, which like everything else, was designed with the Instagram approach.

“We know the audience will delay drinking their cocktails to take pictures with leaves as background, then immediately upload them to social media,” said Cottrell-Duffield.

About half a dozen influential people on Instagram were invited to attend the new menu launch.

Among the guests was Alex Fletcher, the author of a blog about sandwiches which had 20 thousand followers. His most popular upload won 2,000 likes on Instagram.

“Sandwiches are formulated well. If you have katsu sando (Japanese sandwiches) containing lots of pickled cabbage, deep meat, and white milk bread, of course the photos produced will be good,” said Fletcher.

Another Instagram artist, Rebecca Milford, who edited the Bar Chick site, said beautiful portraits can directly boost restaurant earnings.

“I have friends who see restaurant Instagram accounts and choose food based on what they see,” Milford said.

“They don’t bother to look at the menu. Photos must have ‘food porn’ appeal and there are also #cheeseporn, #yolkporn, all about has melted and melted.

Natalie Seldon, author and artistic director of food, said that composition is no less important.

“The more photos are taken in the magnification of the lens, the better. People like to see great food on their screens.”

“Photos that feature layers of food are also good, especially for burgers,” he said.

Seldon planned to fill his cellphone with photos of food, but the dim light on the new menu trial made it difficult.

“Fortunately there are many photo editing applications. Another trick is to use an iPad or other cellphone to add light,” Seldon said.

To ensure customers capture beautiful photos and produce effective publicity, Dirty Bones, a five-star restaurant network in the UK, even provides free Instagram equipment boxes in their branch, Soho.

The box consists of simple lighting fixtures, batteries, eyelets and selfie sticks.

Although food is the main star, the support of celebrities can really change the results. Georgia Green is a bread maker and cake warrior who runs a business called Georgia’s Cake in North London.

Green once got an order from a famous model, Cara Delevingne.

“How to have about five million followers and at that time I only had 100. When he tagged me on Instagram, my account followers increased by 6000 accounts every day,” he said.

One of Green’s last designs displays his trademark, a cake that attracts visual attention, orders he usually receives.

Green admitted that he was nervous about creating a cake design that was becoming a trend on Instagram, a look he really didn’t like.

“There was once a trend of cakes with sleeping horns (round cakes with sleepy eyes, unique horns and ears).”

“I refused to make it. I thought it wasn’t me. It reflected me as a person and as a brand,” Green said.

ocusing on imagery is probably superficial, but it was not agreed upon by Professor Charles Spence, a trial psychologist at Oxford University, who called presentation important.

“The way food is displayed and arranged on a plate has a big impact because it shapes expectations. Our brains imagine the taste of the food and anchor our sense of taste,” he said.

Spence conducted laboratory-based trials and practical tests on the Oxbridge campus.

“We give everyone the same food, but half of it is put on the plate.”

“The other participants got similar food, but it was arranged artistically to look like a painting by Kandinsky.”

“Those who get more beautiful-looking food value food more deliciously and are willing to pay more,” Spence said.

But even though the beautiful presentation was important to Amanda Bechara, the owner of the Arthage Must Be Destroyed cafe in Brooklyn, United States, she did not advocate the display of food that was openly made for photography enthusiasts.

“We ask that you only take a few photos from your chair. Some people then leave, sit on each chair, then take pictures with the camera. That’s not what we meant.”

“We also ask that you not record because of a strong inner situation, especially when other people are talking to each other,” he said.

It is ironic, when Bechara described the interior design of the café, which was heard was a very suitable destination for photography.

“It’s a kind of modern fairy tale fantasy in a pink background, with high ceilings and lots of pink tiles and plates,” he said.

With an interior that is like shouting, “please take a picture of us,” why does he object to this modern aphorism?

“I don’t understand why people’s reactions to beauty just take pictures. Relax, eat your food, drink your coffee, talk to your friends, and spend time with fun!”

Bechara probably avoided social media, but the one on Instagram cornered him as a minority, which sounds like good news for enthusiasts of a slice of pizza.

Elizabeth Hotson