Opinion – Cozinha Bruta: Instagrammable food needs to end

New words are invented all the time. It is not possible to specify the date of birth of the “Instagrammable” neologism, but I was able to get an idea with a quick search on Folha’s website and in my own e-mail box.

In Folha, the first mention of the term is from August 2018. In my messages, it appeared just under a year later, when the instagrammable debuted with everything. It came in a press release whose subject line was: “‘Instagrammable’ churros burger is bistro’s bet to conquer likes and palates”.

For a churros burger, just exist; you don’t even need “Instagrammability” or conquering likes to draw attention to the absurdity. But let’s focus on the instagrammable thing.

Being instagrammable means offering scenarios and objects – food, in the case of restaurants – that yield successful photos on the social network Instagram. Success on Instagram is called engagement, how much interaction a post attracts from other users on the network.

It would be stupid to deny the importance of food appearance. Since always, the presentation of the dishes is a determining factor in the choice of picanha or feijoada, sushi or lasagna.

Very legitimate is the concern of a restaurant to offer beautiful dishes, therefore attractive, as well as adequate environment and lighting for customers to photograph, film and post on Instagram. The spontaneous dissemination of the parish is a tool that no one else can do without.

From there even using the word “Instagrammable” as a gimmick goes a long way.

When you advertise that the house and what it sells are “Instagrammable,” you elevate the social media buzz to a level of priority you don’t have.

Restaurants exist to serve food – and food quality must come before any other predicates. Service, ambience and even price come later. Glitter pony donuts and unicorn marshmallow mojito, if they’re worth anything, should be just for curiosity’s sake.

The instagrammable restaurant shouldn’t exist. This chat is just one more side of the plague of “gastronomic experiences”, bullshit and those who don’t have anything solid to deliver.

Dining in an Instagrammable environment to Instagram and gain likes is equivalent to going to the motel to watch the Brasileirão game on the pay channel of the 96-inch TV suite Luxúria. Food takes a back seat.

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