Social Media and Chefs in Lockdown!

How chefs are reinventing themselves on social media and why it’s all healthy no matter your motivation.

Alex Claridge is bored at The Wilderness. Not totally bored but bored enough to start thinking about things in a different way. A recent tweet summed up his mood:

“Look, I’m bored of doing food boxes. If we did a live cook along for like two courses where you can buy the ingredients or collect them. Would anyone do it, like 20 quid or something, Alternatively, it’s Onlyfans?”

We can all understand this sentiment of a live cook-along. Chefs need to cook. They need to feel connected. When no-one’s eating, no-one is listening. If lockdown has shown one thing in the chef world it is a universal need to connect with customers, people and causes. All chefs are different that’s what makes them unique.

One Twitter user suggested in a retort that it should be called ‘Only Pans’, which was very funny indeed, proving that there is still humour despite the current situation.

Dipna Anand, of Brilliant Restaurant in Southall, pledged to do a new recipe every day and her followers, all 38k of them are loving it. Recent Instagram posts showed her doing workouts as well as continuing to innovate with new recipes and ideas.

Simon Wood in Manchester is also changing things up. His campaign to feed families for £30 has aligned with the work done by footballer Marcus Rashford and local food banks to offer genuine help and constructive advice for those that are struggling.

What these three examples demonstrate is that chefs need a platform and going forward as life returns to normal there will be more opportunities for chefs to express themselves in new ways outside the kitchen and not be chained to the stoves and the plate to justify their existence.

Mental health is a very important subject at the moment. We have all felt the debilitation of being confined and kept away from each other. Social media has allowed us to connect and feel connected. Let’s hope it continues. Let us know how you are using social media.