Instagram is impacting more than our travel choices; it’s changing the way some chefs are creating dishes. From pink hummus to Ferrero Rocher cruffins (croissant-muffins), the social media app is brimming with brightly-colored and bombastic creations that wouldn’t look out of place in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Chefs are transforming their food to look good on your feed.
EL&N, London
“We tried to make a pink egg,” says chef Dan Booth, completely deadpan. “But it didn’t look right.”
He means that it didn’t look right on Instagram, particularly once the obligatory filters had been added, so it had to go. “Some creations work, others don’t,” he shrugs. “Sometimes you have to let an egg be an egg.”
Thanks to Instagram, what goes on the dinner plate no longer stays on the dinner plate, but floats around indefinitely online for all to see. Consequently, producing quality food is no longer enough; dishes must also shine on customers’ social media.
EL&N, the London café chain where Booth is head of food, was designed with Instagram in mind. The social media platform has informed everything about the brand, from the decor to the dishes. “It leans into everything we do,” says Booth, enjoying a pink bircher, a trendy muesli that’s been tagged 51,000 times on Instagram.
The Importance of Colour
Almost everything in the café is pink: the tables, the chairs, the faux flowers festooning the walls, and, yes, the bircher. “Beetroot juice,” explains Booth, anticipating my question about the flushed muesli. You’d get the same hue with food coloring, he explains, but that wouldn’t do. “There has to be substance as well as style,” he says. “Dishes also need to have the health benefits that will attract our target audience.”
That audience is 18 to 35-year-olds, predominantly women: a demographic that seems absent at first but soon appears, phones in hand, ready to post. And post they do: EL&N has 373k snap-happy followers on Instagram.
Pretty food is nothing new. It’s been a standard in top restaurants for decades. However, it has now gone mainstream thanks to social media, which directly influences menu development. “When I’m developing dishes, we will take a photo of it, add some filters to see how it will look on Instagram,” he says, adding that unattractive creations go the way of the pink egg.
Interestingly, likes aren’t the main concern for Booth when reviewing how his dishes perform on Instagram; it’s the comments he pays close attention to. This feedback allows him to identify recurring themes, highlighting what diners enjoyed. Recently, someone commented that the pink buns weren’t pink enough.
What makes a successful Instagram dish? “Straight lines and round edges work well,” says Booth, who has made stencils to help chefs present dishes. “You can’t achieve those clean lines otherwise,” he adds.
Colour is crucial too. You need lots of it, but the hues must complement each other, not clash. EL&N’s most ‘grammed dish – smashed avocado with pink hummus, a poached egg, and edible pansies – is a prime example, showcasing contrasting colors.
As Dan digs a spoon into his pink bircher, he shares, “No, I don’t find myself taking photos of meals when I’m eating out. I just chow down.”
Sketch, London
Some restaurants create dishes specifically designed to complement the decor. One such establishment is Sketch, located in nearby Mayfair, where afternoon tea is designed to harmonize with the all-pink Gallery room.
Supermoon Bakehouse, New York City
For purveyors of ‘foodstagram’ favorites, ingredient availability often determines menu items. However, Aron Tzimas, co-owner of Supermoon Bakehouse in New York City, says it’s not just seasonality that inspires chef Ry Stephen’s creations – nostalgia and travel are equally integral.
Snapping for the ‘gram commences the moment people enter Supermoon. The pink terrazzo counter – atop which the bakery’s most Instagram-worthy delicacies are displayed – matches the tabletops, while a pop of flamingo-hued neon lighting creates a striking contrast against muted concrete walls.
Stacked behind the counter are silver space-age holographic boxes, which customers proudly carry when purchasing a selection of treats. Behind a glass partition, bakers craft technicolor pastries with French-imported butter, filling and embellishing them with a variety of decadent ingredients.
Social Media Input
Stephen and Tzimas, both from Melbourne, Australia, often reflect on their cherished travel destinations when brainstorming new creations, integrating a sense of place into their treats, such as the black sesame miso rice pudding. Yet, they also draw inspiration from their current hometown.
Instagram is the sole social media platform used for promoting Supermoon Bakehouse, where nearly 177k global followers stay updated on today-only deals and monthly flavour specials. Nonetheless, Tzimas explains that the number of likes doesn’t dictate business, aside from what might make for a better photo. “People speak with their stomachs and wallets, so we gain valuable insights from the bakehouse itself,” he admits.
While Instagram doesn’t solely drive business, the team occasionally employs the app’s story feature to conduct polls. Followers have been polled before about flavors and ideas they’re eager to see, leading to the creation of the peanut butter and jelly twice-baked croissant. “That’s invaluable as we have a direct line to our customers,” Tzimas states. “We enjoy engaging with our followers as they provide great feedback and consistently encourage us to do more.”
Recipe Refinement
Innovation in recipe development is ongoing. There’s no rigid system, but rather an organic process of experimentation. “There’s no extensive build-up or testing phase. We create things daily, place them on the bench, gauge reactions, and iterate,” Tzimas explains. Notably, the bakery recently launched the sixth version of its salted caramel doughnut.
Since opening in 2017, Supermoon has launched over 100 different treats, including multi-colored croissants, coconut-cream doughnuts, mango curry-flavored ice creams, and seasonal pies. The menu changes weekly, yet the top-selling banana split sundae twice-baked croissant is the only creation consistently available.
Nonetheless, even social media success and loyal fans can’t save some flavor profiles, especially when pushing creative boundaries. For instance, neither the tomato, basil, and balsamic soft-serve nor the sweet cheese, mandarin, and black pepper croissant sold well enough to remain on the menu; however, both looked great on Instagram.
