Food bloggers and cameras

[robin]

http://skunkpost.com/news.sp?newsId=2442

Grant Achatz is happy that food bloggers are so excited about dining at his renowned Alinea restaurant in Chicago that they want to shoot photos and even video of their experience. And he embraces the Web as the new medium for disseminating dining information.

But he does wish they'd just sit and enjoy their food while it's hot.

"It's a double-edged sword for everybody," he says. "The guest makes the choice whether or not to prioritize documentation of the food, of the experience, and perhaps subject themselves to a lesser experience, or a less complete absorption of the vision of the restaurant or the chef."

Take the diner who recently ordered a signature dish, Hot Potato-Cold Potato, in which a marble-sized sphere of piping hot Yukon Gold is dropped into a bowl of 40-degree potato soup at the pull of a pin. Eating it at the proper temperature is key to the experience.

Yet by the time the food had been moved around to get the right lighting for photos "” taken with a tripod-mounted camera "” what the blogger probably ended up with was Warm Potato-Warm Potato, says Achatz.

 

[CunningSmeagol]

Yeah this annoys the **** out of me. Sometimes I'd rather be dining at a Chili's than somewhere nice where all anyone wants to do is fawn over the food and talk about it and photograph it. I am there to eat good food, enjoy the company, not listen to a ******* food seminar.

I have felt incredibly weird the few times I've tried to take pictures of the food.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by CunningSmeagol

Yeah this annoys the **** out of me. Sometimes I'd rather be dining at a Chili's than somewhere nice where all anyone wants to do is fawn over the food and talk about it and photograph it. I am there to eat good food, enjoy the company, not listen to a ******* food seminar. I have felt incredibly weird the few times I've tried to take pictures of the food.
It's probably an insecurity that the other diners will think you're a pleb. Who takes pictures of food unless they've never been to a restaurant like that before and are probably never going to go back. that said, I've frequently wanted to take pics, but never have. The idea of setting up a tripod in a restaurant is pretty ridiculous though... food first imo. Maybe take a quick snap with the phone, but beyond that, an SLR and all the lighting issues is too much trouble and will just ruin the food/dinning experience.

 

[pebblegrain]

most people care more about being able to prove they went somewhere rather than actually wanting to eat the food there

 

[darnelled]

We took photos of some of our meals when in Gran Case, St. Maartin. It was a tiny town with gormet French restaurants tha rivalled what we experienced in Manhattan.

 

[kwilkinson]

If you want to read this directly from the source, go to the Alinea Mosaic Forum. I believe it's an open forum now. Underneath one of the subfora pertaining to the actual restaurant and not recipes, you can see Achatz' entire post and the thread that followed. Interesting read to say the least.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by pebblegrain

most people care more about being able to prove they went somewhere rather than actually wanting to eat the food there
If you're taking pictures just to prove you were there...you need to seek help. Hell, I don't even post where I was usually, just a quick highlight of the food in front of me. As last night's pictures show, I'm not above snapping the occasional pic. If a fast and discrete Blackberry shot with ambient lighting isn't good enough, I don't care. It's just to help convey the general impression IMO, not win some photography award.

 

[robin]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

If you want to read this directly from the source, go to the Alinea Mosaic Forum. I believe it's an open forum now. Underneath one of the subfora pertaining to the actual restaurant and not recipes, you can see Achatz' entire post and the thread that followed. Interesting read to say the least.

http://alineamosaic.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=919

Wow, even video recording.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Well, now that so many "top" restaurants serve shows and experiences rather than food, it is not surprising that they appeal in large measure to people who are going to want recording of the performance.

Personally, I have never taken a pic in a restaurant, but have dined with people, roikins here for example, who do photograph and are both discreet about it and take any teasing for it well. If it enhances the experience, fine. On the other hand, I have been at dinner and heard large, fancy cameras snapping away and flashing at nearby tables. That is annoying.

All in all, I think there is a serious problem with the way we approach serious food these days, and it afflicts cooks and diners. It is just a part of the inability of Americans to understand food in the greater context.

 

[Roikins]

People who use flashes or take video of the food are idiots. I don't have a problem with a quick photo of it, obviously, as I do it. I just crank up the ISO on my little point and shoot and snap a photo, mostly to remember the course, but also because I have always thought the plating and presentation of a course is part of the "artwork" of a nice meal.

The people who typically take photos as proof they went to a place are usually the ones that post on Yelp or Chowhound, which is why I refuse to have accounts at either of those sites, or those crazy bloggers with food "review" sites that like to use the word "unctuous" a lot.

 

[Piobaire]

It's just another fad that people are taking too far and too seriously. It will fad out in a few years. I think.

 

[Milpool]

Originally Posted by robin

http://alineamosaic.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=919

Wow, even video recording.

WTF

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by Milpool

WTF

Following the Alinea Mosaic Forum and following Achatz on twitter/facebook leads to some pretty lulzworthy info.

For example, a status update he posted last week:

We make an effort w/restrictions.But request for 25
crs.menu w/these restrictions is bit much no? None of following-
corn/ all corn bi products, soy/
all soy derivatives, peanuts & oil, canola oil, grape seed
oil, sunflower, agar agar, white flesh potato or potato starch,
...bran, no wheat/flour, pork, goats milk/cheese, cantaloupe/honeydew,
orange/tangerine, aspartame, maltodextrin, abalone, conch, fructose

I mean seriously, WTF???!!

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Following the Alinea Mosaic Forum and following Achatz on twitter/facebook leads to some pretty lulzworthy info.

For example, a status update he posted last week:

I mean seriously, WTF???!!
It's pretty unprofessional to publicly ridicule clients in the way he does. At least I think it is.

 

[Roikins]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Following the Alinea Mosaic Forum and following Achatz on twitter/facebook leads to some pretty lulzworthy info. For example, a status update he posted last week: I mean seriously, WTF???!!

25 courses of water for that person. Why even bother going to a place like Alinea with those many restrictions. It's probably some a-hole trying to mess with Achatz and see what he can do. Oh wait, I guess that means they can get 25 courses of foie, quail and Jidori chicken.