As I culinary arts teacher, keeping up with the all the current trends in the food industry and sharing them with my students is a daily occurence. Part of that trend is social networking in the food service industry. Within the past ten years social media has played a very intricate role in the way food is presented. From food blogs to IG to photo and recipe sharing apps how we view food has become a thing unto itself. It has become a platform where just about anyone can market themselves as a food expert. I have struggled with this…. As someone who’s gone through classical chef training, has worked in the food industry, and now teaches students how to cook, I can’t help but feel slightly bothered by those who whip up a few recipes, talk about it on blog, post some pictures with props and good lighting, and now all of the sudden they have been deemed the title chef, foodie, food expert etc.. However, on the flip side, it is a pretty cool thing to be able to use social media platforms to market yourself to be whatever you like.
Despite the slight frustration with certain aspects, social networking in culinary arts has grown to become a vital part of food education. I’ve noticed my students gravitating more to social networking platforms for information as opposed to the textbooks and demonstration videos. It also allows for more creativity for the students as well. By allowing students access to create using these various social media platforms, it keeps students not only engaged but they have true interest in learning as well as a sense of ownership in what they are learning. This week I facilitated a discussion around mobile learning and teachers reluctance to embrace technology in their classrooms. The consensus was that most teachers were uncomfortable because of lack of skills and training on the teachers part. I’m happy to say I feel that I’m somewhat ahead of the curve with embracing mobile/e-learning technology as I see it to be necessary for the students professional and skill development. I also feel confident that my students won’t just be the average food blogger that can follow recipes, but that they’ll be trained foodservice professionals with creativity and subject knowledge.
ybey01/blog 
Hi Yalonda! What an interesting topic! As someone who loves to cook I’ve definitely sourced my information and skills from trial and error as well as social media platforms. I think you hit the nail on the head when you take issue with “influencers” calling themselves chefs. They do create value in their own right, and they’re entitled to share cooking knowledge with the world, but with the lack of traditional or commercial kitchen experience I find it to be a little diluted.
I think the ID courses will serve you well and help you to share the information with other instructors and chefs to create more comprehensive learning materials. I would love to see some instructional series you come up with some day and tie my skills together!
LikeLike
Hi Yalonda
I think this is a great topic to talk about and is not something that I do not think is talked about enough. I think social networking of food is a great way to show what is being made. It gives that visual aspect to enhance the product. Do you know how many people actually socially network their culinary skills? What is the best way to do that?
Vincent
LikeLike
Hi Yalonda,
I think social network platforms should put some rules for these people. I also get bothered when anyone do some cooking and call themselves as chief. I think people should differentiate between a chief and enthuses about cooking. It seems that more people get angry when you call yourself as engineer without a certificate but for chief it is okay for them.
LikeLiked by 1 person