Welcome to the Culinary Mediaverse

By Ally Gammill

Photos by Karina Mak

As swiftly as the twenty-first century’s media has taken over our social lives, it has dragged the culinary world along with it. The ins and outs of fine dining, the development of culinary skills, and general knowledge of gastronomy—the art of choosing, cooking, and eating good food—have never been so accessible to a public audience. But what does this mean for the world of a chef? Does social media corrupt the art of cooking? Are we consuming food or are we consuming the personality behind it?

Alison Roman, former Bon Appétit personality turned YouTube sensation, has been at the forefront of this virtualization of the culinary world. Roman’s a minimalist at heart, as seen from her simple titles within her cookbook Dining In and her newsletter… “a newsletter”. This translates to her food which often utilizes straightforward ingredients; her “twenty-twenty stew” is made of only onions, beans, cabbage, broth, and dill. However, She takes simplicity and transforms it into scrumptiousness. In her words, “the secret is in the treatment of the ingredients.” But, beyond her cooking, she brings this no-frills-added character to her personality and presentation of the dishes On her YouTube channel, “Home Movies”, Roman utilizes her persona not only to create a platform for entertainment but to express her individuality through her approachability as an internet personality and chef. Culinary identity is ever present in any form of gastronomy, and Roman’s media-centered approach only intensifies this. In this sense, perhaps we’re always consuming the persona with the food.

Thus, it is only natural that Tiktok was the next platform that experienced this explosion of culinary influencers. At the forefront of this was Meredith Hayden, or @WishBoneKitchen, a private chef persona who worked from the Hamptons this summer. The 26-year-old amassed one million followers by creating short clips of her experience cooking in her hosts’ ritzy coastal mansion. Using ingredients picked fresh from the home’s garden, she incorporates her fine-dining background into her casual summer dishes in a way that makes high-end, farm-to-table style food accessible. Chefs like Hayden showcase technically advanced dishes and methods on their platforms, unlike the typical simple recipe tutorials that occupy much of food media. Is the average person going to make seared scallop caramelized shallot pasta every day after work? No. But, it’s inspiring for inexperienced chefs and undeniably fun to watch. This is the beauty to be found within culinary media: these platforms spread the art form of cooking to the masses. Whether it’s presented as a day in the life of an actual chef or rather home cooks exploring advanced techniques, culinary art is consumed and appreciated just as virtual galleries and streamed fashion shows are.

The media chef can be a source of entertainment, inspiration, and a way to depart from toxicity within social media. Rather than opening my Instagram explore page to see models and workout videos, I see beautiful compositions of ingredients and invitations to expand my gastronomic knowledge. Like in any application of social media, these representations do, in a sense, glamorize the life of a chef. But chefs like Alison Roman and Meredith Hayden spread a genuine love and appreciation for food in ways that traditional celebrity chefs never could; as with social media broadly, online cooking content comes with no access barriers. The culinary mediaverse is moving to be the future of food for all, and I’m happily along for the ride.