How four chefs leverage the promotional nature of Instagram

Lots of consumers, especially the food-obsessed, have grown fond of chronicling their lives and meals with Instagram photos. Now chefs are hopping on the bandwagon, too. We followed a few who are deploying this platform to forge relationships and build up a fan base.

Departure

At Departure in Portland, OR, chef Gregory Gourdet praises Instagram for the ease with which he can get out a photo to all of his followers. “Instagram is slower than Twitter, but faster than Facebook — the perfect pace for drooling,” he observes. The chef’s Instagram feed showcases shocking ingredients, like freshly opened uni, splayed on a spoon with its shell propped in the background. Another shot shows the chef’s expert plating skills in a vivid photo of his salmon with butter clams and candied tomatoes.

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The Parish

Pastry chef Brooke Mosley used Instagram and Twitter as her “visual resume” while working at her former post, The Parish in Los Angeles.  Posting photos of brioche braided around goat confit and pastries placed next to perfectly frothed lattes, Mosley courted those who had never visited the restaurant. Mosley uses Instagram as a way to learn what other chefs are up to, checking what chefs down the street or across the country are working on in their kitchens.

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Chefs Bryan Moscatello, Kevin Sousa take advantage of Instagram

Storefront Company

At Storefront Company in Chicago, chef Bryan Moscatello posts on Instagram to showcase specific dishes and update users on what’s going on behind the scenes. Moscatello’s photos show chefs trying pig ear in the kitchen alongside vibrant plates of red, green and yellow tomatoes, in all their simple beauty. He also recently documented how his culinary team created their own beet-cured salmon, giving consumers a much deeper look inside his kitchen.

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Salt of the Earth and more

Chef Kevin Sousa's four Pittsburgh restaurants — Salt of the Earth, Union Pig and Chicken, Station Street Hot Dogs and Harvard & Highland — provide regular Instagram updates from the kitchen. A recent photo shows chawanmushi custard pools in a bowl while clams and chicken of the woods splay along the side. Another photo of broth poured over prosciutto-cured hamachi showcases unique ingredients like kohlrabi kraut and kelp. Chef Sousa’s posts aren’t falling by the wayside, either; the chef says that every time he posts a photo, at least five guests come in that day for the same dish.

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