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Instagram - the fastest growing social networking platform on the web, happens to be particularly successful among foodies. Magazines and their editors, companies, famous chefs and bloggers all engage extensively with the app, which allows users to share their moments across the web in one click.
Some say that it’s the lure of the images which makes Instagram more immediate, and therefore more attractive than any other mobile platform. Others blame it on gossip: in fact when it comes to celebrities, images with personal content often happen to be the ones with most likes. The rules of popularity in mobile photo sharing vary depending on the occasion.
Here we have created a compilation that showcases some of the most influential gourmands across the App.
1. THE SOCIAL PHENOMENONS
When in 2012 the Norway-raised, Berlin-based Ida Skivenes (idafrosk on Instagram) started composing cute figures on her breakfast plate, she couldn’t imagine that in less than two years she would have more than 270k followers on Instagram, plus the consequent opportunity to leave her day job to dedicate herself 100% on creating edible artwork. In a similar way the even more popular Lee Samantha (leesamantha on Instagram, with 650k followers), a stylish Malaysian mother who started creating cute shapes with her daughter’s food back in 2008 in order to inspire her to eat independently, now gets commissions from an array of high-profile customers, including Barilla and the recently revamped Turkish Airlines. On the other hand the LA based Julie Lee (julieskitchen on Instagram), composes beautiful collages using the uber-healthy ingredients that go into her recipes (she talked about in an interview with Fine Dining Lovers here).
The list of creative foodies who have built impressive careers starting from an influential Instagram account surely doesn’t end here: photographer and blogger Alice Gao’s pictures of neat home corners and inviting table settings, will averagely collect more than 10.000 likes in less than 15 minutes. Apart for being a muse for several brands and trusted by about about 850k instafollowers, Alice has contributed on an array of magazines from Food&Wine to Food Network. Her early partnerships with brands such as Kinfolk and Jewels of NY, helped her kickstart a consistent fan club among food lovers, just like Patrick Janelle’s position (aguynamedpatrick on Instagram) at Bon Appetit magazine brought the CFDA Instagrammer of the Year Award winner closer to New York’s food scene.
2. THE LO-FI MASTERS
Mimi Thorisson - the most stylish lady of contemporary French cuisine - became popular not just thanks to her recipes prepared with local ingredients from the region of Médoc, but also because of her oneiric posts showcasing her kitchen and the beautiful rural surroundings of her chateau. Now a cookbook author and a French TV star, miss Thorisson happens to run one of the most popular accounts of Instagram on Frech food & paraphernalia. On the other side of the Atlantic ocean, the Tenessee-based Beth Kirby takes beautifully styled images that depict a bountiful southern living, while her styling skills are so big on the internet that she started giving workshops anf collaborating with plenty og great brands.
3. THE CHEFS
While most professional chefs aren’t particularly familiar with the social media, April Bloomfield’s beautiful snaps of fresh ingredients, farming moments and kitchen details, give a taste of what life looks like in one of New York’s most famous professional kitchens. Osteria Francescana’s Massimo Bottura, also happens to be an instagrammer. The most followed professional chef of the moment, is NAVY restaurant’s chef and food stylist extraordinaire, Camille Becerra. Needless to say that Jamie Oliver’s mix of perfectly styled foods and memorable moments with friends, is also a must follow on Instagram.
4. THE INSTA-TRAVELLERS
Food and travel also happens to be a mayor theme on Instagram. For instance the French by adoption cookbook author David Lebovitz (here his Instagram account) is a regular when it comes to sharing insider tips on French food and especially desserts.
Another account worth following is the Paris-based food and travel journalist Joann Pai (sliceofpai on Instagram). Probably the most polular food and travel account on Instagram, is the one of Alan Goldberg, better known as alifewortheating on Instagram.
5. FROM THE EDITORS
Last but not least come food magazines and their contributors: stylists and photographers happen to run some of the most exciting accounts – take photographers Marcus Nilsson (here on Instagram) and V.K Rees (here on Instagram) but also the accounts of independent mags that work in the realms of food, such as Cereal and the UK based Gourmand. Their sophisticated pics of neat tables culinary paraphernalia are pure bliss!
