It is a truth universally acknowledged, that Instagramming food will make other people envious. We singled out our pick of Aussie food Instagrammers stirring up envy, now we bring you the global edition: cult chefs, rock-star restaurants, culinary labs, food writers, eat-for-a-living editors, photographers and bloggers on Instagram who are shaping the way we eat, and whose lives we want.
Envy aside, we celebrate the savant flair these 'grammers demonstrate in documenting eating habits from Copenhagen to Manhattan to Tel Aviv. Here, we showcase the authenticity of these Instagram feeds and the visceral oomph of their well-framed food images. The impact of a single shot can at once evoke a wondrous food memory, reinforcing our global citizenry, or stump us, then humble us, a reminder of how much we don't know about food.
Instagram addicts, you need to follow these global players. It’s time to tour the world – and eat with your eyes – via these delectable Instagram food feeds.
Triple-threat (baker, stylist and photographer) Linda Lomelino started her baking blog, Call Me Cupcake, in 2009, which she parlayed into her first cookbook, Lomelino’s Cakes, by 2012. Every year since, she’s released another baking tome. Much like Australia’s Katie Quinn Davies, Swedish Lomelino’s style is rich and vivid, with loads of textured backgrounds and props (autumn leaves and flowers are common motifs), and moody lighting. And while some bloggers double up with blog pics on their Insta account, Lomelino delivers fresh (and consistently stunning) photos for her feed. Sold yet?
Why follow? Swedes ooze style and this blogger confirms the fact.
She’s the picture of foodie fairy tales. Half-Chinese, half-French Mimi Thorisson, with her photographer husband, Oddur, and their three children, moved from Paris to countryside Medoc in Bordeaux in search of room to move. She started a blog, Manger, with rustic French fare and editorial snaps of her family’s quintessentially enchanting French home and the rest, from a cookbook to TV show, is history. Thorisson’s success is anything if deserved; she captures the food, flair and charm of country France perfectly, evident in mere seconds spent poring over her Instagram feed.
Why follow? 'Cause we’d all love to pack up, move to France and spend our days eating rustic French fare – and this family does it so evocatively.
Food-blog lovers know Aran Goyoaga and her beautiful Canelle et Vanille well. The two-time winner of the James Beard Award for Best Individual Food Blog is an old-timer in the blog world, but she remains fresh and relevant as ever. Aran hails from Spain, but swapped Basque country for Seattle in the US, where she now has her own studio to shoot, style and teach. Stunning pics of her adopted city and surrounds fill her feed, along with rustic-chic food shots. Gluten-free foodies will especially love her inspired dishes.
Why follow? For perfectly styled food, travel and lifestyle pictures, and evocative captions to match.
We featured this talented duo from Tel Aviv this year in Blog Appétit and their Instagram feed is just as bookmark-worthy. Long-time friends Danya and Deanna bring together their joint love of food and individual skills (one’s a food photographer, the other a food stylist) to produce aspirational food shots for top magazines and cookbooks in Israel, as well as their delicious blog, Matkonation. Pics from the blog make it over to their Instagram feed, plus food shots from set and around town in buzzing Tel Aviv.
Why follow? For the flavours and sites of Israel in picture-perfect form.
Istanbul is at the top of most people’s travel lists these days and this Instagram account is your insider’s guide to the city’s local food haunts. Tuba Satana, the food lover and proud Istanbul ambassador behind the phone/camera, doesn’t always take the best pics and her captions are often in Turkish, but her enthusiasm for the city and love for eating is evident in the frequency and range of pics. You’ll find everything, from the markets to coffee shops, bourek hole-in-the-walls and fine diners, to the occasional cameo of Tuba herself.
Why follow? To walk in the footsteps of a local foodie in one of the hottest food capitals right now.
What should I eat for breakfast today? It’s the question that consumes Marta Greber on a daily basis, so much so she’s dedicated (and named) her blog on the topic. The German blogger’s Berlin residence provides plenty of inspiration with loads of hip cafes, which she snaps for her blog (and Instagram feed), along with delectable treats that she whips up in her cozy apartment. The lush shots look lifted from a lifestyle magazine and make us want to stay in bed or go out for brunch.
Why follow? For coffee, café, breakfast in bed and brunch porn.
When we were 18, we certainly didn’t have a cookbook on the way. London blogger Izy Hossack isn’t like most girls her age, though. She started her blog, Top With Cinnamon, in 2011 when she was just 15 and can now claim 75K Instagram followers. And, boy, can she bake. The sweet treats she makes fill her feed, with a few savoury dishes thrown in to round things out.
Why follow? For dessert inspiration, plus links to other prominent food bloggers and cookbook authors worth following.
With age, this Brooklyn-based blogger noticed she had more pronounced food sensitivities, so she cut out gluten and dairy. Today, Lindsey shares recipes for the “clean” food she eats on her popular blog, Dolly and Oatmeal. She’s not a purist – more wholefoods advocate than gluten-free evangelist – which gives her delicious lookin’ dishes even broader appeal. You’ll find these creations on her Instagram feed, plus travel pics of weekend jaunts around greater state New York. And she’s as good with her camera as she is with a frying or baking pan.
Why follow? For magazine-style shots of clever, gluten-free, dairy-free and occasionally vegan dishes.
David Frenkiel is one part of the clever team behind Green Kitchen Stories, one of blogland’s most popular sites. His wife, Luise, and two sidekick kids make up the remainder, and together the family cooks up and photographs creative, colourful dishes for the blog. They also travelled the world for inspiration for their soon-to-be-released second cookbook, Green Kitchen Travels. Sounds like a neat existence. Photos of the family’s lovely life and healthy meals grace their Instagram feed, too.
Why follow? Stunning food photography, inspired vegetarian fare and beautiful family portraits.
Food-blog aficionados will know that Keiko Oikawa used to have a superb one, Nordljus. It’s still online in all its pretty glory, it just hasn’t been updated since 2012. Thankfully, the London-based Japanese photographer and stylist started an Instagram account and you can see what she’s cooking (like sweet potato cheesecake) and where she’s travelling (recently, back to Japan) again via her feed. You can also catch her professional work in top UK food mags and cookbooks.
Why follow? Lovely food and travel photography by a consummate professional.
She’s the grand dame of the food blogosphere - she’s published a cookbook and garnered numerous accolades for her unaffected writing style and big, flavoursome food – but most people know Deb Perelman by her blog handle, Smitten Kitchen. Deb’s photography isn’t her strongest attribute, but her other talents (see above) more than compensate, and the same is true for her Instagram feed.
Why follow? For witty captions by a knowledgeable food blogger.
Some people are just freakishly talented. We’re talking to you, Christine H McConnell. The Los Angeles-based artist not only bakes, styles and shoots, she sews her own costumes, applies her own make-up, and models in scenes which she’s meticulously created. We’re not talking Donna Hay magazine food styling, either. Christine has a thing for 1950s glamour and the spooky (think Tim Burton), and the two come together in the most fantastical cakes and make-believe settings. You have to see it to believe it, and it’s a sight to behold.
Why follow? For breathtaking horror scenes played out in cake.
Cronuts. There, we have your attention. The acclaimed French-born, New York-based pastry chef would probably have a million followers by now if he’d named his Instagram account after his most famous invention, but Dominique Ansel has cult status in his own right. He’s also more than a one-trick pony (think frozen s’mores) and he’s not all about sweets, either (Asian soups crop up frequently). As Ansel sums up his Insta feed: “What I eat and what I cook (not always what you think).” The originator just released his first cookbook revealing his trade secrets, so hardcore fans will definitely get their fix of cronut pics on his feed, too.
Why follow? Did we say cronuts?
Following Noma’s comeback to top spot in San Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants this year, it’s pretty safe to call Danish René Redzepi the World’s Best Chef, too. While prime position doesn’t guarantee a good Insta feed, Redzepi’s is fascinating, with shots of unusual, seasonal produce plucked straight from the ground (everything we’d expect from the foraging king), plus occasional pics of the fine fare that makes Noma global number one (follow the restaurant @nomacph if you’re after more of this). The chef is soon to open a pop-up in Japan, so intriguing local ingredients from the other side of the world are coming through his feed now, too.
Why follow? Beautifully taken shots of simple and rare produce that will make you see nature (and what you can eat) in a whole new light.
The Instagram account of another global restaurant phenomenon: Mugaritz. Coming in at number six in the World’s Best Restaurants list, the San Sebastián restaurant is best known for chef Andoni Luis Aduriz’s culinary trompe l’oeils (AKA food that looks like something else, but is actually food, like potatoes made to look like stones). These incredible dishes dominate the restaurant’s feed and unlike many fine-dining venues or chefs with top-tier food but downgrade photos, these are all immaculately photographed. (We suspect there’s a professional behind the scenes.)
Why follow? 'Cause while most of us won’t ever dine here, it’s nice to dream of what we’d eat if we did.
Admittedly, we hadn’t heard of this US chef until we stumbled across his top-notch Instagram account by way of his boss, America’s Southern food champion and culinary rock star Sean Brock. Daniel Heinze is the Chef de Cuisine at Charleston, South Carolina institution McCrady’s, where Brock started out before he opened up his award-wining Husk (@husknashville) and is still Executive Chef. Much like Brock, Heinze (or ‘Dano’ as he calls himself) serves up Southern fare with fine-dining flair and these gorgeous dishes, almost always shot against a crisp white background with bright pops of colour, have us hooked.
Why follow? For some of the best-looking, fine-dining food photos on Instagram.
Katherine Bont is Aussie, but her feed is pretty much all Danish, so we’ve included her here. This enterprising female is living the chef’s dream and staging (that's internsing in culinary speak) at Noma, where most of her pics are snapped. If a behind-the-scenes look at the world’s best restaurant – complete with chefs in action and spectacular dishes on parade – isn’t your thing, she also posts pics of interesting home-cooked meals she whips up post-work, and food she tries out and about in Copenhagen.
Why follow? For a sneak peek at the crazy world of high-end cheffing.
Peruvian cuisine is #sohotrightnow and Virgilio Martinez is among the local chefs blazing the way for the country’s food worldwide. His restaurant, Central, based in Lima, is currently ranked 15 on the World’s Best Restaurants list and much like his global contemporaries, Martinez is obsessed with rare or under-utilised local flora and fauna. His pics aren’t the best (they’re not bad either) and captions are sometimes in Spanish, but his sculptural creations are truly captivating.
Why follow? For culinary exotica sourced from the Peruvian Andes to the Amazon.
You can tell by her handle that this girl is going to be fun (deedubbayew – geddit?). As the former associate web editor for Bon Appétit, Danielle Walsh applied her snazzy Gen Y way with words to tempting pics from the food team and helped raise the top US magazine’s Instagram following. She now works for US travel publication AFAR, but Danielle keeps the Instagram love flowing for her own admirers with bright pics of food she’s cooked herself and awesome captions.
Why follow? 'Cause this food-lovin’ girl feels like an old friend.
Eva Tsang lives a covetable life. The founder of curated city guides Trotter Mag flits from one gorgeous city to the next, posting stunning photographs of her escapades along the way. While she’s not a hardcore foodie (i.e. not every single one of her photos is about food), Eva does have a penchant - and eye for - beautiful eating spaces, as well as an addiction to coffee and cafes, which crop up just about every day on her feed.
Why follow? For light, bright perfectly composed photographs of super-stylish cafes, restaurants and bars around the world.
Fredrika Starjne is director of photography at Food & Wine, one of America’s preeminent food magazine titles. As you’d expect, her food pics, both the quality and the content, are Insta-tastic. Starjne shares photos from set, but most of what you’ll see is home-cooked fare and largely simple, produce-driven food – which suits us to a tee.
Why follow? For NYC food shoots during the week and home cooking on weekend getaways to the country.
As Bon Appétit magazine’s restaurant editor, Andrew Knowlton gets about. In fact, he travels almost constantly across the US, sampling food from both ends of the spectrum, from fried oysters in Nashville to experimental fare at top American restaurant Alma in Los Angeles. Knowlton seemingly prefers simpler stuff in his spare time – barbecues, baked bread, big bowls of salads – as these are the kinds of meals you’ll find most on his feed. No surprises here, but Knowlton is a pretty good writer, so his captions hook you in even if the food pics ain’t always that impressive.
Why follow? This guy has his finger on America’s dining pulse.
NYC-based photographer Daniel Krieger’s food shots can be seen in just about every major US food publication, from Bon Appétit and Eater.com to Time Out New York and the New York Times, and in a number of cookbooks, too. Which means he eats very well. Jealous much? Krieger’s Insta feed features food he takes on the fly with his iPhone instead of the polished photos from magazines. They’re incredibly delicious-looking and also serve as guide to New York dining and beyond.
Why follow? This top photographer is also a great captioner: food pics come with detailed descriptions and tags, which leads you to even more follow-worthy Insta accounts.
