Instagram is great for a million reasons.
But man, is it terrible for diets.
Conversely, however, it’s phenomenal for area restaurants who, whether using staff-spun photos or the collective drool-worthy work of Orlando’s phenomenal foodstagrammers, drive all kinds of business.
Need proof? Check out Wave Mount Dora‘s made-for-Insta sushi creations or the University of Central Florida-area Ice & Bites Café‘s seriously stuffed taiyaki treats, among other things.
But this social-media platform isn’t just for eateries, it’s for the men and women who make them sing.
Chefs have been capitalizing increasingly on the medium, turning their accounts into food porn portfolios that not only have them polishing up on their plating skills, but drawing acclaim — and customers — to the venues where they work.
Patrick Tramontana, executive chef of Antonio’s in Maitland and Café D’Antonio in Celebration, is arguably the Richard Avedon of the City Beautiful’s IG plating professionals, but it’s a skill he developed recently.
Color, balance, energy, panache — all of it edible, all of it beautiful.
The journey began years ago, before he got involved in Instagram or even his Facebook account.
“I started doing online videos for Antonio’s,” Tramontana explains. “And I decided to do a video doing carbonara — my way — and within a month, we had people coming to the restaurant saying they wanted the carbonara from the video.”
It wasn’t even on the menu.
“A lot of the ingredients were available downstairs at the Market, which is why we did the video,” he says, laughing.
Tramontana trotted downstairs, grabbed the necessaries and made the carbonara — but the experience lingered. He could see the power inherent in the images he’d sent out into the Web. Over time, he began to follow other chefs — some local, many in the United Kingdom and Nordic countries.
“They’re doing some pretty cool stuff,” he says. “Some of it blows me away.”
In his off-hours, he sometimes experiments with baking “because what else do you want to do after spending 12 hours in a kitchen?” he jokes.
But the resulting visuals — big airy pockets in sourdough, turmeric- and blueberry-hued loaves, buckwheat porridge breads — could practically carbo-load a marathoner.
It’s been social, as well.
Tramontana’s Instagram account has brought him together with other area chefs. They share recipes, ideas, plating tips. They visit one another’s restaurants.
This camaraderie, says Jacob Rios, is part of what makes a chef’s Instagram so valuable. In roughly two years as senior sous chef for American Kitchen & Bar inside the B Resort & Spa, he says his Instagram has connected him with the culinary community.
“It’s a place to share what we do, to have fun, to connect with other people who go through what you do on a daily basis,” says Rios. “We work very hard and it’s nice to have the chance to talk to other chefs about simple things, but also to share recipes. I’m grateful to be a part of it.”
Rios, like Tramontana, keeps the personal posts to a minimum. “This is your portfolio,” he explains. “You’re promoting yourself. You’re building your resume. You’re reaching out to people and they’re reaching out to you.”
The more active one is, the more reactive followers are, says Rios, a two-time winner of Scott Joseph’s Annual Sous Chef Challenge.
“Chefs interested in getting attention should post often — whether that’s a beautiful plate or something you might be working on, like a ferment or dry-aging beef. Even when I do post something a little personal — like my wife and kids — we’ll be going to a peach farm to pick fruit or something that relates to food.”
Tramontana’s technique is simple: Present the food exactly the way the guest is going to see it.
“Occasionally, I will hit it from an angle, maybe if I do something layered with a little bit of height, but mostly, you want to be looking right down on it. As though I set it down in front of you at the table.”
Executive Chef Cory Hoekstra has used his Instagram account to tease dish development of late. Since signing on at City Works Eatery & Pour House at Disney Springs, he says it’s been fun to post the recipes he and his team are playing with as the soon-to-open restaurant’s menu develops.
“It’s fun to show off,” he says. “We’re all proud of what we do and the food that we’re serving, and it’s great self-branding.”
Networking, he says, is a natural by-product. And he’s learned a great deal by reaching out to other chefs when something they’ve posted sparks an idea or the desire to expand one’s repertoire.
“I’ve met farmers, purveyors, different people I could work with…. And if you look at my early pictures, they’re complete garbage,” he admits, laughing. I’ve learned so much about photography, and I still have a lot more to learn.”
Hoekstra says that it’s a great feedback mechanism for guests, as well.
“If chefs don’t take that seriously, they should,” he says. It’s a very authentic way for a guest to be blunt and honest about what they want or don’t want. And it’s extremely important to know your audience.”
It’s fun, too. But moreover, it’s as much a resume and calling card as anything in today’s climate.
“Having an Instagram is a way to build your brand and showcase what you can do,” Hoekstra says. They say a picture says a thousand words, right?”
