TikTok and Instagram tags are changing how people cook

For centuries, cookbook authors largely lived in the dark about the lifespan and use of their recipes. Authors weren’t present to see them be prepared by strangers, to see the ingredient ratios be tweaked, or to participate in the laminated copy getting passed down to future generations. Mailed responses to recipes, whether thank you’s, stories, or suggestions, took time and effort, and therefore were rare. Then came the much more instantaneous, and revealing, tag function on social media.

Last May, I attempted Cathy Barrow’s funnel cake hand pies, a recipe that requires dropping folded apple pies into hot oil, ahead of a picnic. My greasy, messy pie shells were burnt on the outside and nearly raw on the interior. I posted a photo to Instagram Stories shortly after pulling the embarrassing pies from the oil, proud I had tried, and I mentioned Barrow in the post. By the time I had arrived at the picnic, Barrow had seen my mistake and we were diagnosing what had gone wrong together. How hot was the oil? Do you have a Thermapen? Here’s a link to buy the best instant thermometer. Here’s why I like that digital precision. Soon after, I had a new kitchen tool to protect my grease-scorched fingers and my pies.

Now that chefs are notified and able to track posts they’ve been tagged in, the distance between creators and consumers of recipes has never been closer. Creators can see new crossovers, veganized versions of their recipes, and new pairings that work with their food. Recipes are more of a two-way street, where both sides can learn something in the process and everyone has the chance to voice their opinions. I’ve been advised on bread knives by authors, egged on by flour companies, and boosted by celebrity chefs I thought were unreachable. This next generation of recipe discussion has altered the lives of chefs and authors as well, and I recently messaged four of them about it. Their answers below have been edited for length and clarity.

#fridaypieday

Erin Jeanne McDowell, author of The Book on Pie and the upcoming Savory Baking, is prolific in her Instagram Lives, YouTube tutorials, and AMAs on Instagram Stories where she diagnoses pie problems and recommends stunning bakes. Instagram has bridged connections between McDowell and other bakers, such as Raeanne Sagan, who worked with her when swapping ingredients for local Filipino fruit.

What are people tagging you in, and on what platforms? How do these tags make you feel?

I mostly get tagged on Instagram and YouTube, but sometimes on TikTok/Facebook, too. My content is all about teaching folks about baking in an approachable way, so when they share their bakes with me it’s absolutely wonderful. It’s like getting to see the direct impact my work is having and that my recipes are extending far beyond my own kitchen. It’s been especially rewarding connecting with people all over the world.

When you think about the conversations you have that start with a DM or a tag, is there one that particularly comes to mind as unforgettable or unique?

I met my fabulous assistant via DM, and we ended up working together for years (still do)! We always joke that Instagram is the modern resume. She reached out and I vetted her largely based on her account! I also had a great conversation with Raeanne Sagan, a burgeoning pie baker who wanted to turn her love of baking into a business. She has been operating for over a year now, and I feel like I really got to watch her entire journey from the start. It’s been incredible.

Does the instant feedback of food tagging feel different than the historic relationship writers and chefs had with their audience? Do you think this shift will continue into the future — and are you excited about that?

I definitely appreciate the ability to be able to explain things that people perceive as problematic or mistakes. Especially with baking, some of my very purposeful choices can seem confusing to inexperienced folks and could be viewed as a mistake, even if it isn’t! It used to be if someone thought there was a mistake in a book or magazine, it was a whole to-do, and sometimes many weeks or months would pass before an answer could be received.

Now, a few times folks have DMed me with a problem while they are baking and I’ve been able to help in real time. I can resolve a number of issues from just photos and videos. Once, someone was writing to me saying the pie had been baking for 10 minutes longer than my recipe called for. By checking the video, I could tell it needed about 10-15 minutes more. I also realized it should not take that long, and suggested that this individual purchase an oven thermometer. Turns out, their oven was running a whopping 40° cold!

#fromscratch

Eitan Bernath, author of the upcoming Eitan Eats The World: New Comfort Classics to Cook Right Now, is a 19-year-old chef most known for his snappy videos of the newest viral TikTok recipe, Jewish classics like brisket and latkes, and an earlier appearance on Chopped at the age of 11.

Does the instant feedback of food tagging feel different than the historic relationship writers and chefs had with their audience? Do you think this shift will continue into the future — and are you excited about that?

The relationship between food creators and their audiences speaks to social media at its core: it’s so user driven. You know what your audience likes and what they don’t. My audience is in the driver’s seat and every content decision I make is based off that intuition.

How does it feel to be constantly tagged in food photos and videos? What are you learning from the onslaught of tags?

With my community of over seven million, I’m constantly consumed in content that my audience is interested in. It’s a wildly new dynamic as opposed to traditional media — being enveloped in content my audience is interested in allows me to curate the content I make to appeal to them. [...] It’s incredible to see your recipes in so many different kitchens and be reinvented by so many different cooks. It’s humbling and insanely exciting. I get to learn from countless people everyday on how I can reenvision my own recipes.

When you think about the conversations you have with your audiences that start with a DM or a tag, is there one that particularly comes to mind as unforgettable?

A mom once told me in my DMs that her daughter watches one of my videos every night before she goes to bed. That’s really special to me.

#theflavorequation

Nik Sharma, author of The Flavor Equation, teaches his skills in his newsletter and shares some ingenious dishes on his Instagram, Serious Eats, and in The New York Times. Coming from a molecular genetics background, his recipes bounce between fantastic flavors and home cook techniques while teaching you the science behind the dishes — important skills for those adjusting his recipes.

Does the instant feedback of food tagging feel different than the historic relationship writers and chefs had with their audience? Do you think this shift will continue into the future — and are you excited about that?

I can’t speak for the time before social media, but it’s been a great way for me to learn from my followers. It gives me a sense of their needs and what they’re interested in and what I can share with them. What I enjoy about the interaction is learning — sometimes a reader from a different part of the world or the country will share information on how they approach the same recipe similarly or in a different way. I’ll learn about what ingredients are easily available and what is not, and then I need to think about a substitute for them. It forces me to make my recipes as accessible as possible to people.

To some degree, I doubt this will continue into the future. There will be a point of exhaustion. Our brains aren’t evolving at the same rate as we share information. Most larger media outlets rely on a team of people that respond to questions on their accounts. For someone like me that’s doing it alone, time is of the essence so I spread my time out during the week. I do my best to respond to as many questions as I can during the week and take a break on weekends.

What do you learn from being tagged in people’s meals using your recipes?

I’m often curious to see how people would pair my dishes with other dishes or how they present it. I also watch how different people approach the same recipe — some will use shortcuts while others follow it to a tee. Some might try substitutions that work and don’t work. It’s the best place to get user experience data.

When you think about the conversations you have with your audiences that start with a DM or a tag, is there one that particularly comes to mind as unforgettable?

The most special DM I’ve received, that later turned into an email, was from a reader who was looking for new ways to add some flavor back to their husband’s meal. Her husband had undergone chemotherapy and she was trying to increase his appetite by cooking some of my recipes. We got talking and it was special to learn that in some way, the food she cooked brought a moment of positivity to her and her husband.

#lunchideas

Bettina Makalintal, senior reporter at Eater (which is owned by Polygon parent company Vox Media) and watermelon radish enthusiast, fills her Instagram Stories and sizzling, shroomy TikTok with gorgeous photos of meals, working to build a personal archive of good food rather than posting recipes. Her videos are usually meditative, tightly-filmed montages without narration, where the only sounds are the ASMRy pops of fried vegetables.

What are people tagging you in, and on what platforms? How do these tags make you feel?

I get tagged on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok in pictures of people’s meals for reasons ranging from the very specific (people cooking a tofu recipe I posted a year ago) to the very broad (people making eggs — a reference to my cooking Instagram handle). I find it really heartwarming that people not only think of me when they cook or eat, but that they also trust my suggestions or see me as a source of inspiration.

There are so many people on the internet who you can go to for cooking advice or ideas, so I find it a huge honor that people have given me that bit of space in their lives. I think these tags have also served a grounding effect by making the internet, which can seem vast and impersonal, a place where I have a little community built around something as personal and intimate as eating.

Does the instant feedback of food tagging feel different than the historic relationship writers and chefs had with their audience? Do you think this shift will continue into the future — and are you excited about that?

I think it really reduces the distance between food creators and audiences. Growing up watching the Food Network or even reading magazines, it seemed hard to connect with a chef I enjoyed watching. But social media, and tags in particular, make a much easier path for connecting with a chef or recipe developer. As a creator, you can acknowledge your audience much more easily. As a viewer, you can talk to and actually be seen by the cooks you admire.

Tags also definitely increase the sense of availability of a creator to a consumer. They make real-time dialogue between creators and their audiences more possible than maybe ever before. Sometimes people will tag me early in the process of prepping or cooking, so I can even help troubleshoot in the moment or guide people through a process. I think this shift is ultimately good, but certainly has downsides of its own, like the sense that creators should always be available to provide feedback or information.

It’ll be interesting to see how this relationship continues to shift, especially as creators who’ve built up these little communities of their own through social media move them into paid and slightly more exclusive models like Demi Community and Patreon.