Phone Eats First

Let’s talk about charcuterie boards. They are the epitome of what I want to talk about today, but what that is will be revealed in just a second. The actual word charcuterie means either a collection or cured/processed meats or a store that sells them, but charcuterie board means something quite different now. When people hear the term they think of a collection of thinly sliced cold meat, cheese, jams, spreads, olives, pickles, and even general fruits and vegetables arranged beautifully on a tray. These boards can range from a small and simple board at a restaurant for ~$10 to an elaborate and absurdly elegant spread for ~$100. They are often quite delicious, but the truly tasty ones typically have a minimum price point of about $25. All that being said, it is clear charcuterie boards are considered quite fancy and a unique treat for anyone.

Okay so what's the point?

The reason I wanted to go into that somewhat longer explanation of charcuterie boards is that they are a fascinating example of one of the new ways food is being transformed into not just a gastrointestinal experience, but a photogenic and aesthetic experience. It is a fascinating transformation from the days of simple food being prepared in the most delicious way to only the most luxurious 5-star restaurants having this style of food preparation to many smaller restaurants and even dive bars preparing food in more than just a taste bud pleasing style. The real question is why though this transformation is occurring and whether or not it is a good or bad thing (at least in my opinion).

One of the biggest contributors to this transformation is simply the evolution of restaurants from just a random building that serves delicious homemade cooking to the rating of restaurants and the feeling of a need to differentiate and stand out from the competition. The bigger factor, however, is the rise of technology, more specifically Instagram and Snapchat. Now that people can photograph their meals, they want them to not only taste good, but look good enough to show them off to their friends. This has led to the popular expression, “phone eats first” and the sharp increase in chefs creating more photogenic dishes. Of course this is not the case at all restaurants, but especially in restaurants geared to younger generations there is certainly a concerted effort to create a more beautiful dish.

After I made this avocado toast with fried eggs (above), I couldn't help but take a picture

This trend has also expanded to those cooking up meals at home. I am not the one to normally take pictures of my food, but I won’t lie that when I cook up a particularly good looking meal I can’t help but take a picture. I also have made my fair share of charcuterie boards and certainly work harder than I used to in making them aesthetically pleasing. Clearly this trend or prettier dishes to be shared with friends on social media has taken over many aspects of our lives -- especially the younger generations -- but as I mentioned before I do have an opinion on if this is a good or bad trend.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Personally, I think this trend does more bad than it does good. There are two main reasons for my belief. The first is that the cost of a quality meal at many restaurants has gone up, and no it's not just the decrease in the value of the dollar. There are still many places where someone can get a quality burger for $5, but those places are declining in numbers. Many of them are being pushed to make their food more photogenic and unique and that often requires using more expensive ingredients. Many of them have also realized they can get more bang for their buck if they make their burger or sandwich or whatever just a little prettier and charge more for it. This is not a great trend for our wallets, but the other reason that I dislike this trend is I believe it takes away from the true art of cooking. Truly good cooks toss whatever quantity of whatever thing they believe works best together into a dish and for many years all that matter was how it tasted, not how it looked. Now, a good cook must in many cases focus more on the presentation. This takes their talents away from the actual combination of the perfect ingredients and in the long-run may actually degrade the quality of their dish. Of course this isn’t necessarily the case, but I know I certainly have eaten a beautiful meal and had it taste way worse than expected.

Above is a great example of a delicious sandwich that is all content and less prettiness

There are of course also benefits to a more beautifully presented dish. The main one being that it often pushes chefs to use more inventive ingredients, which can result in a more unique and delicious meal. I love meals with more unique and surprising ingredients, but it does not always work out, especially with a less talented chef. It is also nice to see a pretty meal because it excites people when they are about to eat it and it may even taste better because their brain perceives it as tasting fancy. I love seeing posts of photogenic food, but that doesn’t mean there are not downsides as well.

Yeah, yeah let's wrap this up Noah

All that being said, I am sure many reading this will have differing opinions than me and I mean no offense to anyone in my comments. I am simply reflecting from my chefs perspective and from having made, eaten, and taken pictures of pretty food many times before. It will be interesting to see how this trend develops as I already see some people getting more excited about hole-in-the-wall places that are truly authentic, cheap, and don’t care about the look of their dishes. Anyway, that is my soliloquy for now and I’ll be back next week with something new to discuss!