Does every chef need to be a social media star?

We attempt to explore the connection between chefs and their social media presence

There doesn’t seem to be a better time to be a chef. Chefs are everywhere—hosting cooking shows, moderating discussions, conducting classes, winning awards, representing India at international trade shows and contests, spearheading new culinary movements, highlighting food-related issues, authoring books and opening new restaurants.  They are, as some say, rockstars. 

“Chefs are on par with cricketers and movie stars. They are loved by people globally, the following isn’t limited to their own country, and food connects everybody,” says Raaj Sanghvi, CEO, Culinary Culture. 

A new identity

As the role of the chef evolves, they are no longer just faceless individuals in the kitchen; instead, they are often the faces of a restaurant or a brand, talking to guests or consumers about their food, ingredients, new dishes, new menus and food philosophies. And thanks to social media, they are easily accessible. 

This change brings with it the questions: do chefs also need to have social media clout? Does their reach and follower count matter? Are people eating through the Internet more than they are dining out? 

Chef’s table

One of the most recent developments in the restaurant industry in India was the launch of chef Manu Chandra’s new restaurant Lupa in Bengaluru. The former chef-partner at The Olive Group launched Manu Chandra Ventures (MCV) last year. Lupa is his first restaurant, and the buzz around its launch was accompanied by a social media blitzkrieg in the days leading up to the grand reveal. For Chandra’s fans, and those who (unlike us) didn’t have access to insider news, it was a good way to learn about the restaurant. Similarly, fans of Thomas Zacharias, former executive chef at The Bombay Canteen, learned about his new venture, The Locavore, via social media. The immediacy of social media means that people are always watching—what is new, what is trending, what chefs are cooking, where they eat, and what/whom they endorse. 

“When launching a restaurant, it does help the establishment if the chef has a credible fan base,” says Rini Chatterjee, founder of boutique PR firm Canary Yellow Media. She handled the launch of Juju in Goa recently—the restaurant had Goan chef Avinash Martins as a consultant. The eatery leveraged his popularity to draw in the initial crowd.

“People like to connect to a face. They like to follow chefs; it seems more relatable than a brand which always seems like an innate object posting,” says brand strategist Latoyah Trindade. As former PR manager for Hunger Inc (which owns The Bombay Canteen, O Pedro and Bombay Sweet Shop), she saw the launch of The Bombay Canteen and its gradual gravitation towards being a chef-driven restaurant. “I noticed journalists building pitches around what he [chef Thomas Zacharias] would post and I would sometimes refer to his social media account to make pitches. It did become tricky because the restaurant wasn’t meant to be chef-driven and many ideas that were pitched wouldn’t necessarily be relevant to the narrative the brand wanted to take/or tell.”

O Pedro’s popularity, too, put the spotlight on its chef, Hussain Shahzad.  Now the executive chef at both The Bombay Canteen and O Pedro, Shahzad has become a household name and a social media star. “[The late] Chef Floyd Cardoz used to tell me that social media is an important tool to help you propagate your ideas. The world is evolving and if you don't evolve with it, you will be stuck,” says Shahzad. 

“Social media is a very powerful tool today and certainly provides a platform to enhance your brand identity and connect with a large audience. While all of this is important, it is equally important to invest in continuously enhancing your skills,” says Suresh DC, head chef, Hosa Goa, adding that he never felt that being a public figure was beneficial.

Shahzad took the slow route to social media popularity, preferring to focus on cooking and doing adequate research, before putting out information and pictures. “The craft comes first; social media is a way to amplify it. You would rather have people taste your food and tell you it's good than people just commenting ‘wow’ on a photo.” 

It’s a thought echoed by Pawan Bisht, corporate chef, One8Commune (owned by Virat Kohli). “If someone is cooking and posting photos online, how can you judge how tasty it is?” He believes in word of mouth, a “foolproof method” that has worked for him in his 16-year-long career. “It has more power than social media. I would rather let people eat my food and then talk about it. I don’t want to run a restaurant via social media,” he says.  

Neither does Taiyaba Ali, who recently took over the kitchen at Khanposh in Bengaluru, which serves homestyle Lucknowi food. The home chef rarely uses social media. “I don’t think chefs need to be more than cooks to tell their story. I feel the food is enough,” she says. 

Restaurateur AD Singh is an industry veteran and has worked with chefs like Zacharias, Chandra, Anahita Dhondy, Rishim Sachdeva and Viraf Patel over the years. “To date, we’ve never recruited anyone who has been a social media star,” he says. “If a chef thinks it is all about them, is invited everywhere, and is always talking about ‘me and my work’, it doesn’t work for any company. It should be a win-win for them and for the company.” He thinks it’s “definitely a benefit” for a chef to have their own following, but is not always important.

“I don’t think every outlet or restaurant is looking for celebrity chefs with large social media followings. If you are well-known, it is a bonus,” says Sanghvi. Chatterjee chimes in, saying, “At five-star hotels, the chefs are usually unknown. I don’t need to know the chef before visiting because I know I will be served good food.”

Agents of change

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns saw many chefs turn to social media to connect with their fans, teach them a thing or two, provide entertainment, or just do good. 

Chef, cookbook author and TV host Vikas Khanna started the Feed India campaign, to provide food for migrant workers left unemployed by the pandemic. In May 2021, Shahzad started Cooks for a Cause, involving chefs like Harsh Dixit, Gresham Fernandes and Prateek Sadhu to cook a seven-course menu, the proceeds of which went to Hemkunt Foundation.

For Shahzad, the realisation that chefs have more to offer, struck in 2014 in New York. “Chefs were not just people in the kitchen but personalities; they were speaking about ingredients and produce, were raising their voices against criticism of different forms and using their platforms to amplify the voices of people that weren’t amplified,” he says. “They had become social thought leaders.”

Shahzad became more active on Instagram as an efficient way for him to communicate with the community. Bisht, too, used the medium to shine the spotlight on food from Uttarakhand. In Goa, Martins used the time during the lockdowns to research Goan food and, today, is an established voice popularising the region’s fare and breaking stereotypes about the cuisine. “The pandemic played a huge role in accelerating followers for both the brand and restaurant and the chef, too. It forced chefs and restaurants to think out of the box, to create engaging and fun content which, at times, went viral,” says Trindade. 

Striking a balance

On the opposing side of the spectrum are voices that believe that some chefs are just celebrities and don’t cook anymore; voices that wonder if they have become bigger than the brand/restaurant; and voices that question whether a chef’s social media status has a downside. “You don’t have to be associated with a restaurant and cook every day. Social media gives a direct channel and access to the chefs. But then there’s the misconception that it is a sexy career to become a chef but only one per cent can make it. It’s not only about glamour and stardom,” cautions Sanghvi.

Bisht believes the learning process for new chefs isn’t the same, with many jumping the line. Shahzad concurs. “Sometimes, chefs today jump way too many steps in the ladder and without solid backing; you are a sizzle in the pan and out. You're not just putting your job at risk but also the team members who have worked with you. It makes me upset,” he says. “The generation today sees the glamour of the food but not the sacrifices behind it.” As Chatterjee puts it, “All chefs can be content creators, but all content creators are not chefs.” 

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