6 Instagram Accounts That Will Make You a Better Chef
As a chef, your Instagram account does a lot for you. When you grow your Instagram followers, you’ll be able to focus on your brand, get loyal fans, and increase your sales if you’re the owner of a food establishment.
Instagram is perfect for the personalized engagement that your customers likely crave (literally). Food videos are all the rage across social platforms, and since Instagram is one of the most visual-friendly platforms, you can get a lot of engagement with the use of these videos.
For inspiration on both your cooking and your Instagram use, follow the best of the best. Here are six Instagram accounts that will help you not only be a better chef, but also improve your Instagram game.
1. Spoon Fork Bacon, @spoonforkbacon
Any account with “bacon” in the name must be gold, right? Spoon Fork Bacon doesn’t disappoint. It’s run by Jenny and Teri who together have mastered photography, food styling, and cookbook writing.
Their Instagram accounts feature constant images and videos of mouthwatering food. Oftentimes, they include recipes, so you can steal their ideas for your own kitchen!
The arrangement of the food, the background, and the lighting used to present each visual are part of the reason that this platform is so successful. It makes even the most foreign-looking foods (like waffle fry nachos with sunny side up eggs) look appetizing.
According to research, the better quality the photos on Instagram, the better it will do on the platform. Joann Pai (@sliceofpai), another notable Instagrammer in the food universe says that her high-quality camera and signature style have helped to get her noticed. She tries to make the photos look as natural as possible.
“I started photographing food as a way to document moments of my life and share them with friends and family, mainly through social media,” she told Vogue, which helped her to avoid posts that appear over-inflated or fake.
The geniuses behind Spoon Fork Bacon apply the same tactics with their Instagram food journal with rousing success!
2. Tasty, @buzzfeedtasty
There are two primary reasons that every chef should be following Tasty on Instagram: 1) You’ll get some delicious new recipes, and 2) You’ll connect with targeted followers who are interested in your own page.
Tasty is considered a mega influencer in the world of food Instagram accounts with more than 26.5 million followers. They specialize in short, simple videos that show how to create mouth-watering, unique foods in the comfort of your own home.
If you want to convert some of Tasty’s followers to your page as well, you’ll want to mimic the account’s style of video creation. When you’ve perfected a recipe, create your own simple, quick video that lets your followers enjoy the simple delicacy of it. Use Tasty’s hashtags to generate more interest.
3. Pinch of Yum, @pinchofyum
Pinch of Yum specializes in making the anti-cook like cooking again. She presents simple, incredibly appetizing desserts and meals that anyone can make without a lot of effort. Her great photography skills and clever captions also help to seal the deal.
If there’s one thing that the dawn of the Internet has taught us, it’s that people love simplicity. This especially pertains to cooking, as highlighted by a Washington Post article. “Thirty years ago, a recipe would say, ‘Add two eggs,’ ” said Bonnie Slotnick, lifelong cookbook editor. “In the ’80s, that was changed to ‘beat two eggs until lightly mixed.’ By the ’90s, you had to write, ‘In a small bowl, using a fork, beat two eggs.’ We joke that the next step will be, ‘Using your right hand, pick up a fork, and…”
The lack of culinary skills are being passed down by generation, and if you want to bring the love of cooking back, using simplistic approaches to cooking could help you make a killing among your fans.
4. Skye McAlpine, @skyemcalpine
One of Instagram’s foremost travel food bloggers, Skye McAlpine travels across Europe, primarily stopping in Venice and London, to bring her followers luscious imagery of good home cooking across the continent. Along with snapping stunning, nostalgic photographs wherever she stops, she recently published a cookbook called A Table in Venice.
Following her profile will provide multiple benefits, not the least of which is exposure to delicious foods abroad. Additionally, she uses gorgeous table-scape photography with an eye for detail that any Instagrammer should envy. Using unique, highly-detailed photos in your own Instagram efforts will help you generate such a following.
5. Lindsey Silverman Love, @dollyandoatmeal
Lindsey Silverman Love really enjoys her vegetables—but that doesn’t stop her from eating carbs. Her specialties involve using greens in combination with carbs like pasta, waffles, scones, and even donuts to create a healthier eating regime that still tastes great.
Lindsey has capitalized on the need to create a niche in her Instagram efforts. You’ll have a hard time finding another Instagrammer like her, which makes her cooking exploits utterly successful.
According to Medium, niches are vital for successful Instagramming strategies. “Niches make people feel together, part of a community with shared interests with this comes a lot of sharing, and you know sharing is caring,” expert Instagrammer Len Gordon writes. “When people begin to Regram content and help you spread the word, you know it’s working.”
6. Ella Woodward, @deliciouslyella
Last on this list is Ella Woodward who has a whopping one million followers on her Instagram account. How does she do it? She mixes her love of food, photography, and life together to create a solid Instagram account. It’s her voice and relatability that draw people in, but the delicious food photos certainly help!
Ella is largely successful with growing her Instagram because of her personal story associated with her account. When she was diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome, she was forced to remove all processed foods from her diet. It led her to become a best-selling author, celebrated chef, and incredibly talented Instagram persona.
