The Rise of the Foodie

We all have a history with the four-letter word: food.

Depending on our community or upbringing, it can bring a sense of community and heritage. Or the necessity to survive. Our relationship with food to it varies from person to person. But today, food is taking on a new identity; it is no longer just a necessity to live but a way of living. 

We are living in the era of the foodie. In this new age, NYC bodegas have been designated as go-to cheap eats, London cultivated a spectacular array of diverse and mindbogglingly good Asian restaurants, and even in Worcester, Massachusetts, the ‘foodism’ has broken through with delectable eats from sophisticated ramen bowls at Chashu Ramen or gritty soul food at Addie Lee’s. But none of this would have been possible without the support of technology-driven energization in the food industry.

                    Mamason's Ice Cream, London                            Koya Soho, London

For those of us who were raised in the 2000s, we watched Bartolo “Buddy” Valastro Jr. make elaborate cakes on TLC’s Cake Boss. As we’ve aged, our TV tastes have also matured; today, many of us could be caught in front of our TV, laptop, or phone watching Gordon Ramsay emotionally abuse contenders on Hell's Kitchen. Or the ‘Flavortown’ King himself, Guy Fieri, on one of his numerous Food Network channel shows. The success of these shows and countless others led to the success of the Food Network and food content. These shows skyrocketed, bringing anonymous kitchen masters to famous culinary gods. 

This content creation captured family life, reminding us of the family lives we used to have or fulfilling the dreams we’ve carried for years. And no matter what family archetype we grew up in, there were fights and possibly drama, which the shows simulated by incorporating competition. The Food Network fandom sparked the energization we see online today for the food industry, that and the Pandemic. 

By April 2020, dry yeast packets were in short supply (hehe, baking joke). Locked away in our houses, apartments, and other dwellings, we had nothing to do…until baking bread became everyone’s new favorite pastime. Double-masked and with gloves, we all ventured off to the grocery store to grab some yeast for this past time, and soon enough, there was a national shortage. But before that, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (or now X), and even Snapchat featured photos or videos of the breadmaking process. And while the new baker might have got their friends and family's approval, this was the start of many baker influencer careers. And with the rise of baking influencers, so did the rise of the chef influencer. 

The original celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay, is a household name and has stayed relevant by engaging with their fans on social media. For example, Ramsay developed a fanbase of roughly 40 million followers on TikTok. At the center of his brand image for both social media and television is his unique public persona, of him mostly being an ~insert expletive here~. Fans love his brute demeanor where he curses out at home chefs creating less than ideal meals. Ramsay sometimes replies to his fans who ask for his opinions on their meals via TikTok. Either way, no matter if Ramsay destroys recipes and self-esteem or shockingly agrees with fans, he stays engaged with his audience. In other words, through connection and engagement, Ramsay energizes his groundswell of the food industry, ultimately harnessing the power of word of mouth. 

Today, our influencer chefs come not from the Food Network but from Instagram. Instagram Chef Owen Han delivers mouth-watering food videos that launched the beginning of his chef career. Han combines his love of elaborate sandwiches with ASMR-styled videos on Instagram. While he usually practices recipes for his upcoming cookbook (expanding his audience and content style), he also takes inspiration from his fans…

…even when he shouldn’t. By daringly trying recipes like chimichurri and vanilla pudding, he interacts with his fans on a more personal level, encouraging them to partake in his cooking community, as well as the food community at large, resulting in energizing the groundswell. But Han is not alone. There are thousands of micro chefs and a handful of household names who have flooded Instagram reels, Facebook Watch, and TikTok with gourmet cooking videos, ultimately spotlighting the beauty in food. After consuming the concept of food, the groundswell has slowly redefined good eats, changing our food landscape at restaurants and creating the rise of the foodie. 

With chefs and bakers influencers on the rise, their product has created foodie influencers. Foodie influencers travel the world, going to some of the biggest restaurants and rating them on social media. By doing this, they drive customers back to the cooks, who will create more content, elevating food standards and the foodie. 

Food content creation has adapted creating material for the everyday foodie, like the Bon Appétit YouTube series that teaches foodies how to elevate their craft or Washington Post’s Eat Voraciously Instagram account. These accounts share a wealth of knowledge about the best kinds of vinegar to use when or how to taste the complex flavors in a tequila. This molds more informed foodies who are better equipped to try the ever-complex restaurant foods. 

Technology is also transforming to better support foodies in this new dawn. The app Beli tracks and records what restaurants we’ve been to, what we ate, and our personal thoughts, streamlining the power of the foodie. This technique energizes food enthusiasts by incorporating consumers’ enthusiasm into reviews and ratings, creates a community (as the app includes a follower function), and encourages people to interact with their followers (pushing app engagement). Moreover, Beli is in a unique position, as its social media presents markets the app by becoming a foodie influencer. Here, the app energizes its audience (the foodies) by highlighting scrumptious foods in food-driven cities and towns by screen recording their ratings on the app, later posting them to TikTok and Instagram reels. Beli is a product but sells itself as a creator, which energizes its consumer base. This foodie-focused Yelp-inspired app is one of the first ways the groundswell is developing technology centering foodism. 

Food-based content has been adapted to fit the target audience’s needs; this was done by actively interacting with audiences. This allows consumers to engage more with their favorite influencers and food series, which has created the unstoppable force of the foodie. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it; the power of the foodie is rising.