HYDERABAD: All beings eat to live. But man realised that food is the only art that appeals to all his senses — taste, smell, sight, touch and sound. So, he began to live to eat. Today, the culinary world lives on social media, especially on Instagram. From finely plated dishes to gooey, messy desserts, photos of food are flooding social media, sometimes so much that these give us midnight cravings.
The pandemic has given us all plenty of time to sharpen, or acquire, our culinary skills. What have you made today? Pasta in pink sauce... Let’s Instagram it. Breakfast, lunch, diner; Hyderabadis are posting photos of every meal. There’s no doubt that the people of the city love their food. But there are certain foods that make for a perfect Instagram post.
More than that, it is learning the knack of plating and lighting. Mohammed Zubair Ali, a food influencer from the city, talks about how social media has made people explore new eateries in town. “Instagram is all about presentation and visualisation. So, the food needs to look good. There is no compulsion that it has to be properly platted, it just needs to look delicious.
When you look at a dish you need to feel like eating it,” he says. Zubair’s suggestion to all those posting about food is, let the photo speak. “Netizens, once they see the photo, won’t bother to read long blogs. So, your angles should be correct and the presentation spot-on. A bit of colour coordination goes a long way. I go to a lot of restaurants whenever anything new comes up, and my blog is about reviewing food joints, My suggestion is that do not wait for someone to invite you, just go around, speak to people at food joints and post about it,” he says, recollecting how at one point Hyderabad had only four food bloggers. Today, there are over a 100, he says, thanks to Instagram.
Every time Janani Rao, who runs a cloud kitchen, Devil’s Pot, with her family, clicks pictures of her food, she makes sure that they are appealing. “Today, everything is visual. The photos got to be catchy and pretty. It’s more about the presentation, for which I pick a spot with good light. The reels are a great format to put the word out,” she says. Mohammed Dawo o d Shareef, who runs the Food Blogger Hyderabad page, talks about the most Instagrammable foods.
“These days most promotions revolve around Covid safety protocol. Even I have been reviewing restaurants based on this. But otherwise, in Hyderabad, biryani and desserts are a hit on social media. People love street food and most reels are based on this. When you post on Instagram, make sure that you post IGTV videos and reels as well. Do not steal content, be creative and original. Post pictures regularly, at least thrice a week, or your insights will go in a negative remark.
Keep posting as much as you can.” Sneha Panda, who has been blogging for three years now on her Instagram page, The Glutton Journal, says, “Foods, which are close to people’s hearts, like briyani, avakaya, rice and papau are a hit on Instagram. But plating makes a lot of difference — biryani in a steel plate won’t garner those many likes as it would if placed on a banana leaf. People are constantly looking for something new and creative.” Sneha’s advice is: invest time on making reels and Insta ads. If you are catching hold of an influencer make sure they have a large following, she says. The weekend is here. What’s cooking in your kitchen? Whatever it is, make it edible, and more importantly, Instagrammable. Happy cooking to you!
Today, the culinary world lives on social media. From finely plated dishes to gooey, messy desserts, #dishpics are flooding social media, sometimes so much that these give us midnight cravings. Food bloggers in the city tell us how to make our grub Instagrammable